Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Live from St. Paul…

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Back in December, when the list of the 33 cities invited to bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention was first released, I wrote:

The list is basically the same as the 35 cities on the 2004 invitee list, with the following differences:
In 2004, Minneapolis and St. Paul were both on the list (which made no sense), but only Minneapolis is on the 2008 list. Continue Reading...

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Democratic Convention Quotes

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Here are some recent quotes from and about the cities bidding for the 2008 Democratic National Convention:

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman: Continue Reading...

Monday, July 17, 2006

Twin Cities also push region’s strength

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

I wrote yesterday about how Denver is promoting its bid as representing the whole Mountain West region. Well Minneapolis/St. Paul is playing that game also:

“Here at the headwaters of the Mississippi River, you can be at the headwaters of a political strategy that will win the next election,” Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said at a news conference Monday with his St. Paul counterpart, Chris Coleman.
…
But the mayors are working hard to repackage Minnesota as part of a region that could determine the outcome of the 2008 election. Together with the swing states of Wisconsin and Iowa, there are 27 electoral votes in play in the Upper Midwest, or the equivalent of Florida. Go downriver to up-for-grabs Missouri and Arkansas and the tally rises to 44 votes – not quite California-sized, but bigger than any other single state. Continue Reading...

Monday, July 17, 2006

Dems choose St. Paul Xcel Center for Twin Cities bid

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

It was an unconfirmed report I noted 3 weeks ago, but now it’s official. The DNC has told the Minneapolis/St. Paul bid committee that if Minneapolis/St. Paul gets the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the convention itself will take place in the St. Paul Xcel Energy Center.

The arena would host the evening events, including nomination speeches, endorsement votes and the candidate’s acceptance speech, the mayors said at a press conference at the arena. They said there would be plenty of hospitality across the Twin Cities. Continue Reading...

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Denver looking for money from other Western states

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Denver is trying to get some money from neighbor states to help finance its bid to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention:

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper is asking governors of four other Western states to raise millions of dollars to bring the Democratic National Convention to Denver. While there is enthusiastic support for a Rocky Mountain convention in theory, governors are harder to pin down on dollars. Continue Reading...

Friday, July 14, 2006

Denver comments on New Orleans

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Dan Slater, Vice-Chair of the Denver 2008 Host Committee, is very happy that a potential contender is gone:

This is obviously great news for Denver’s ongoing bid. New Orleans’ exit leaves Denver, New York City, and Minneapolis – St. Paul as the only remaining finalists for the 2008 Convention (and both New York and Minneapolis – St. Paul are also bidding for the Republican Convention). (Caveat: for those of you who are unaware, I serve as the Vice-Chair of the Denver 2008 Host Committee.) The Denver 2008 Host Committee is continuing to work hard to raise the money and exceed the expectations of the DNC. Expect to continue to hear good news about our bid in the next few weeks… Continue Reading...

Friday, July 14, 2006

Daily Kos Poll – updated numbers

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Kos put up a poll yesterday. Current results (2064 votes):

Denver: 61%
Minneapolis: 26%
New York: 11% Continue Reading...

Thursday, July 13, 2006

New Orleans is out – updated

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

As I posted yesterday, New Orleans is no longer in the running to host the 2008 Democratic Convention:

New Orleans has dropped out of the race to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention, saying the cost of holding the event after Hurricane Katrina last year was too massive. Continue Reading...

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Tourism planners happy with Librarian convention

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

The biggest issue New Orleans has to overcome to even have a chance of getting the 2008 Democratic National Convention is to show that the infrastructure is in place. Well, business convention planners attending the recently completed American Library Convention at the New Orleans Convention Center thought things went very well:

As the biggest conference held post-Katrina, national meeting planners watched the city perform for the ALA the last week of June — 10 months after the storm — to see if it remained capable of providing a world-class experience for an estimated 17,000 visitors. Continue Reading...

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

New Orleans drops out?

WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

Democracy in Action is reporting that New Orleans has decided not to pursue a bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. I haven’t seen this reported anywhere else, but the DiA site is usually reliable.

Posted by Matt at 9:45 AM Continue Reading...