6 cities looking at 2012 RNC bids

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2012 Democratic National Convention Site Selection News
2012 Republican National Convention Site Selection News

Atlanta is moving forward with its efforts to bid for the 2012 Republican National Convention, with a meeting planned for Nov. 22 to kickstart the effort. Here's the October letter announcing the meeting:

We are excited to announce the formation of the Georgia 2012 Republican National Convention Bid Committee. I wanted to give you an update:

The first meeting of the Committee will be Saturday November 22, 2008.
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After Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine called for Atlanta to host the RNC in 2012 at the 2008 RNC in Minneapolis Minnesota, members of the party have unified behind this effort.

And even better for us, they let us know who the competition is:

Already Republicans in Arizona (Phoenix), Indiana (Indianapolis), Louisiana (New Orleans), and Texas (Dallas) are organized and moving forward with their 2012 bids. All these states have already formed committees - before the close of the 2008 election cycle. In fact, Arizona who is busy trying to elect their US Senator as President, is able to also focus on 2012. New Orleans has already earned the support of the Democrat Mayor, who sent an official delegation to Minnesota to observe and prepare for their bid. Indianapolis is hosting the 2012 Super Bowl and the Indiana state GOP is working with the business community - today - to do both the Super Bowl and the National Convention.

There are also stirrings in San Antonio:

San Antonio was at one time among the cities considered to host the 2008 Democratic and Republican national conventions, but those mega events were eventually awarded to Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul, respectively.

Now some Texas Republican leaders say they would support San Antonio making a bid as a potential host city for the GOP’s 2012 national convention.

San Antonio showed indifference in 2006 when it was among the cities under consideration by both parties for their 2008 national conventions.

That spring, San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger, concerned with the high costs associated with hosting a national political convention, informed officials on both sides of the political aisle that the Alamo City was declining the invitations to bid.

See here and here on why San Antonio dropped out of the 2008 bid process.

Previous posts on Indianapolis and Dallas.

And so it begins...

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I am so psyched. (Yes it doesn't take much). We have our first news on 2012 site selection, and we've got two cities expressing interest! First up, Dallas:

As she walked the Pepsi Center grounds in the midst of the Democratic National Convention, Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Elba Garcia appeared convinced: Dallas should host this event in 2012.

"We'd be a perfect location," Dr. Garcia said. "Dallas has the capabilities to do the logistics, and we have the desire. We most definitely should go after a convention."

She's not alone.

Mayor Tom Leppert, for one, says he's also interested in pursuing a national convention four years from now, be it the Republican or Democratic version.

The city was home to the 1984 Republican National Convention. Dallas made the finalist lists of both parties for their 2008 conventions, but the city did not submit formal bids.
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The Dallas Cowboys' stadium in Arlington also will be open, giving convention organizers the option to conduct a large-scale event, similar to Barack Obama's nomination acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High, in a massive, modern facility.

Of course, Dallas is also home to the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. Recent renovations have pushed its seating capacity to beyond 90,000. - Dallas Morning News

First, kudos to DMN reporter Dave Levinthal, who also covered Dallas' aborted attempts for the 2008 conventions.

Dallas was never really enthusiastic about a 2008 bid, and ultimately said they weren't ready. There's also this matter of the three-week-long national Mary Kay seminar held every summer at the Dallas Convention Center, that seemed to be an issue for the 2008 bid.

Second, Indianapolis. Note that this article is from November, 2007:

Add the decision on whether to go after the 2012 GOP National Convention to the list of things the new administration of mayor-elect Greg Ballard will have to tackle. Indiana Republican Party Chairman Murray Clark said once the chaotic schedule of transition has eased a bit, he hopes to sit down with Ballard to talk about the convention.

"Without his blessing, I'm not interested. We wouldn't go for it," Clark said.

Indianapolis tried to lure the 2000 convention, but lost out to Philadelphia. It could cost up to $250,000 to put together a bid, but the payoff is an enormous event that brings 50,000 attendees.

More delegates blogging, y'all!

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Something must be in the water in Dallas!

Obama Delegate Erin Moore and Clinton Delegate Paul Tran from Dallas join me in the blogesphere. Erin is the elected Obama delegate in the same district that I was elected as a Clinton delegate. Paul is a delegate elected at large from Texas. They both rock and are super cool dems. Erin was elected among dozens of Obama supporters and Paul was selected among 4,000 at large nomination applications.

Join me in welcoming them to the Democratic Convention blog world by visiting their sites:

Erin's blog is located at http://lgbtdelegate.blogspot.com/

Paul's is located at http://www.electpaultran.com/

And don't foget my blog at http://jstrater.blogspot.com/

Web chat with Sen. Clinton

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Thanks for DemConWatch for inviting me as a contributor. I'm Jeff Strater, a national delegate from Dallas, Texas. I also have a blog, "Jeff Strater's Denver Bound Blog", located at http://jstrater.blogspot.com/

I wanted to let you know that Sen. Clinton will have a web chat tomorrow (Thursday, August 7, at 12:00 PM EDT). You can follow the link below for more details. Hillary mentions that she looks forward to the Democratic National Convention and that Hillaryclinton.com will include more information about the convention and schedule in the very near future.

Check out Hillary's message regarding the online chat:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/chat/?sc=1995&utm_source=1995&utm_medium=e

Dallas explains their decision

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Dallas was always been a bit conflicted about whether they were going to bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, so it was not suprising when they dropped out last weekend. Today's Dallas Morning News has more on the decision:

Don't expect the nation's political parties to party here just yet.

Dallas will not submit bids for either the Democratic or Republican national conventions in 2008 and will instead look toward hosting a convention in 2012, City Manager Mary Suhm says.

The decision comes after both the Republican and Democratic national committees this year invited Dallas to submit convention proposals. The Democrats' proposal deadline is Friday and the GOP's is Monday, party officials said.

"The city would be honored to host either convention, but the city really isn't in a position for 2008 to host them," said Phillip Jones, president and chief executive officer of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Doing it in 2012 would make a lot more sense for a number of reasons. It would be a much better opportunity to showcase Dallas."

Atop Mr. Jones' why-2012-is-better list: more robust development in downtown Dallas and the Trinity River Corridor, and the expansion of the area's public transportation system.

Ms. Suhm agrees.

"It's probably something better to consider for the next go-around," she said. "Our downtown, our transportation and our venues will be more competitive in the future."

The Victory Park real estate project near American Airlines Center – the arena would probably house major convention activities – is slated to be filled with several new hotels and a bevy of restaurants, living space and recreational facilities by the decade's end. But it won't be fully developed in time for a 2008 convention.

Money is also a factor, for while conventions are potential boons for local economies, they typically cost cities tens of millions of dollars to pull off.

While some elected officials and partisans attempted to generate support for a 2008 convention in Dallas, a concerted effort never materialized.

Even if one had, landing the Democratic convention in particular would have proved challenging, said Darlene Ewing, chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party.

"I don't think the national people are considering Texas a player in 2008, which is unfortunate," Ms. Ewing said. "We probably won't be on the short list this time around, but at least it lays groundwork. It's sort of like the Olympics: You have to go after it a few times before you win it."

Dallas drops out - and then there were 6

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I wrote back in February on Dallas's lack of committment to bidding for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and now it's finally official, Dallas is out. From Democracy in Action:

Frank Poe, CEO of the Dallas Convention Center City of Dallas, stated in a May 1, 2006 e-mail, "Dallas is not preparing a bid for either meeting for 2008. Current business activity in our primary convention facilities do not provide the dates needed for either meeting.........We believe 2012 would be a better time period for Dallas to prepare bid documents for these two important meetings."

This leaves 6 cities left in contention to host the 2008 Democratic Convention: Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, New Orleans and New York.

Will Mary Kay keep the convention out of Dallas?

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All sorts of interesting information in today's Dallas Morning News, in an excellent article written by Dave Levinthal:

Although Dallas government and political leaders say they'll aggressively pursue hosting either the 2008 Republican or Democratic national convention, a top tourism official questions whether the quadrennial gatherings would prove more trouble than benefit, as they could interfere with the city's most lucrative business bash.

"It's unlikely Dallas will be able to bid for either political convention. We have a long-term contract with this little group called Mary Kay," said Phillip Jones, president and chief executive officer of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It's unlikely we'll even submit a bid."

Not so, says Bill Blaydes, the Dallas City Council's Economic Development and Housing Committee chairman.

"They bring color, they bring class, they bring the American way right to your doorstep. We'd be selling this city to the world," he said of the party conventions.

Mary Kay Inc., the Addison-based cosmetics giant, conducts its three-week-long national seminar annually – and during the summer – at the Dallas Convention Center. [Scheduled for July 16 through August 2, 2008]

"I would certainly believe we should go after a national convention in '08, with the understanding that we work very closely with our good friends at Mary Kay. I'd like to think we could do both," council member Gary Griffith said.

For the Democrats, I'm not sure what the issue is. If the Democrats hold their convention in Dallas, it would likely be at the American Airlines Center, not at the Dallas Convention Center. The Democrats are holding their convention 3 weeks after the Mary Kay event is over. What's the problem?

And if the Republicans go in September, there's even less of a conflict.

Whether those dates would overlap a political convention is unclear: Neither Democratic nor Republican leaders have formally selected dates or sites for 2008, and the party in power traditionally conducts its convention last.

But the Democrats have formally announced their date, as is mentioned in just the next paragraph:

But Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said in November that he's scheduling his party's convention between Aug. 25 and Aug. 28.

If those dates stand, the GOP would have to choose whether to host its convention in July (before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing), in August during the Olympics, or in September – quite late since the presidential contest traditionally kicks off on Labor Day.

As I wrote yesterday, it will be interesting to see what date the GOP chooses.

Mr. Blaydes said the city should create a "gold-ribbon" commission to lobby the national parties and construct proposals for hosting their conventions, at which they nominate their presidential candidates.

You mean, like, um, Denver has already done, and had their first meeting already?

And here comes the strange part:

Besides, hosting a political convention in 2012 would allow Dallas to boast a more robust city center and suspension bridges over the Trinity River, [Jones] said.

"We'd love to host it," Mr. Jones said, noting that he'd follow the mayor's directions one way or another. "But we're not in a position at this time."

The CEO of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, blowing off both conventions, for absolutely no good reason? This city needs to get their act together.

And finally for the Democrats, comes the bottom line:

Even local Democrats say Dallas is more likely to score the Republican convention in 2008.

"You'd have to consider us a dark horse realistically," said Darlene Ewing, Dallas County Democratic Party chairwoman. "But Dallas County is becoming Democratic. You can't keep writing us off."

Well Ms. Ewing, the CEO of your Convention Bureau apparently has written off both the Democrats and Republicans, so don't take it personally or politically.

Thoughts on a Texas convention

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Burnt Orange Report has an interesting thread discussing the pros and cons of a Texas city hosting the 2008 Democratic National Convention, as well as comments on other potential cities. Some of the comments on Texas cities:

Having a Democratic Convention in Dallas would probably indirectly help out the local parties, but I don't think Dallas is on shortlist for the Convention. Houston might have a reasonable chance of getting the convention. I don't see San Antonio getting the convention at all.

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2008 in Houston? It'd obviously be at the Toyota Center, but they could spin off some ancillary events at the Convention Center that's within walking distance. Also, the conditions which led to our withdrawal from consideration in 2004 don't seem as applicable for 2008 and the sting of missing out on the Olympics might lead to a sizable push by Team White to show off the finished work on some of the changes we've built around town. At worst, I don't see how we can be lower than SLC on the pecking order.

My hunch is that all the Texas locations would be a longshot, though. I've got to think Houston at least puts in a proposal.

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I don't think the DNC convention should be in Texas. That's like the RNC hosting their convention in San Francisco. Just plain doesn't make sense.

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Where better than to demonstrate how the Republicans have screwed everyone over, starting with Texans? Houston's Party (Democrat & in the literal sense) infrastructure can handle the task.

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Hillary will never allow the convention to come to such a red state either.

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Seriously, to this native Texian, ex-New Orleanian and present beachside Californian the suggestion of the 2008 DNC in the "heart of darkness" may not be as crazy as it first sounds--for me, more than just an excuse to come back to see the folks, hassle Republicans (like shooting fish in a barrel lately) and munch on bar-b-que and creole cuisine (still my favorite). After all, Houston has a very popular Democratic mayor and Dallas has a no-nonsense Democratic lesbian Sheriff. Dallas County (and I believe Harris also) is trending Democratic. And the Republicans will love it or, as Harry Truman said: "we will make them love it!"

I agree that a Texas convention is probably a long shot. But if Houston decided to make a serious bid, they would have to be considered a contender. There's a lot of good will towards Houston over the way they welcomed Katrina evacuees, and maybe it might carry over into the bid process.