Dec 12, 2006 9:23 pm US/Mountain
Denver Waits For Word On DNC Decision
by Terry Jessup
DENVER (CBS4) ―
Democrats in Denver are waiting in anticipation for the announcement of the 2008
Democratic National Convention's location.
"I told somebody this is David versus Goliath," said Debbie Willhite, Denver 2008 Host Committee's executive director.
Denver is up against New York City which has hosted national political conventions six times.
"We have met all the criteria, we have the right time, the right place, the right leadership, enthusiasm," Willhite said.
"New York is a great place, it's a great place to go and have fun, it's not new," said former mayor
Wellington Webb.
He spoke at the last two Democratic conventions and believes the New York attention would be "ho-hum" next to Denver.
"If the Democratic convention comes to Denver, it's the biggest game in town," Webb said. "If the Democratic convention goes to New York, it's one of only several games in town."
The last "game" Denver played was nearly 100 years ago when William Jennings Bryan was nominated and went on to lose.
If Denver loses the bid, many observers said to just follow the money.
"It will be a signal that maybe Denver has not quite yet arrived and that the money offers, the monetary offers to the party out of New York were just too compelling," said Eric Sondermann, political analyst.
The
Host Committee also sees the state's Mountain Time zone as an advantage to deadline-weary reporters who would come along with a projected $150 million in convention business.
"By 11:00 Prime Time in the east, its 9 here," Willhite said. "Media gets to go out to dinner, they get to socialize, and they loved it in L.A. for that reason."
The Denver committee already has guaranteed reservations for 18,000 to 19,000 rooms for the convention crowd and even locked in the room rates. They also guaranteed the rooms will definitely be cheaper than those in New York.
The Host Committee said the $80 million price tag to host the convention would be funded by a combination of private and corporate donations, with a major part of it coming from the
Department of Homeland Security.
The decision ultimately rests in the hands of Democratic National Committee Chairman
Howard Dean. An announcement is expected some time this week.
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