When Minnesota DFLers went to Boston for the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2004, they stayed at the Radisson Cambridge, a union hotel. “The labor movement has been a close partner with the Democratic Party since the New Deal and we should do everything we can to honor that,” said John Stiles, a St. Paul DFLer who made the trip. Continue Reading...

The city once thought to be the front-runner for the 2008 Democratic National Convention may be flagging, and Minnesota organizers say they’re more hopeful than ever they’ll overtake Denver in the quest to host the gathering. Two of Colorado’s top convention organizers publicly acknowledged over the weekend that the lack of unionized hotel workers in Denver could hurt its chances of landing the national Democratic gathering.
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Unions have yet to organize a single hotel in Denver, although the convention doesn’t open for another two years. … By comparison, the labor group representing hotel workers in Minnesota, UNITE HERE, lists 13 organized hotels in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul.
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But follow-up responses and the fine print in the party’s site inquiry could be the keys to the Democrats’ 2008 site selection. The Democratic National Committee’s request for proposals includes a provision that “unions of various jurisdictions will not engage in any work stoppage or similar action that would disrupt the convention” in return for the party’s exclusive use of union labor “whenever available.” Continue Reading...

Four senior Democratic Party officials returned to the Twin Cities last week, inquiring about the region’s bus inventory and literally counting parking spaces outside St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, the venue party officials have said they’d like if they come to Minnesota. Continue Reading...

After Nevada was awarded an early caucus spot in 2008, sandwiched between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar that he would do whatever he could to help Denver land the party’s national convention. Continue Reading...

Denver will probably lose its bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention unless the city gets a union hotel, leaders of the effort to bring the convention here have acknowledged. The pressure stems from a lobbying effort by a local union that has been trying to organize the new Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center. Its opposition to Denver’s bid has caught on with delegates from strong union states. Continue Reading...

Almost everything else about the 2008 Democratic National Convention is
uncertain: where it will be held, who will chair it, what its rules will be, who
its speakers will be, and, most importantly of all, who its nominee will be. Continue Reading...

As a handful of American cities vie for the honor of hosting the 2008 national political conventions, changes are under way that could further marginalize their value as tools to grab the country’s attention and shape the final months of the presidential campaign. The key change could be a long-threatened boycott by the big TV network anchors, who might stay home. If the evening newscasts aren’t anchored from the conventions, that would make it easier for the networks to scale back prime-time coverage of them even more. Continue Reading...

In spite of the fact that New Orleans officials in July withdrew their bid to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the president of the National Urban League on Wednesday urged both parties to hold their conventions in the city. Continue Reading...

Last week Mayor Bloomberg crossed party (and state) lines in favor of a much stronger allegiance: money.
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the Mayor attended the Democratic National Committee’s annual summer meeting in Chicago, where he rubbed elbows with his former party’s brass and made a case for holding the 2008 Democratic National Convention in the Big Apple.
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Bloomberg, however, seems colorblind when it comes to party (NYC is also on the short list to hold the RNC gala the same year). Rather than hoisting a candidate to the presidency, as NYC conventions did for both Carter and Clinton, Bloomberg sees only the financial boost. Along with plenty of protest and general bellyaching, the 2004 event reaped about $255 million. Continue Reading...