Thursday, January 11, 2007
DNC
Well, folks, it appears that for once, to a certain number of people, Denver is more attractive than New York. Yes, yes, it's hard to believe, I realize, but it's true as today Howard Dean, Chairman of the DNC, announced that the 2008 Convention will be held in our fair Mile High City, beating out New York in its bid to host a convention for the second time in a row.
The City's been abuzz about the prospect for several months and the announcement was delayed from December until January for some "unknown" reason. It can hardly be considered irony that after eight years of rule under a big R Republican, Bill Owens, the City's bid for the convention was announced a mere 48 hours after the inauguration of big D Democrat Bill Ritter in the state's top spot. The Quigg Newton Memorial Auditorium (now the Ellie Caulkins Opera House) opened its doors in 1908, to, you guessed it, host the Democratic National Convention--another nice synergy, don't you think so?
In 1970 Denver was announced as host city of the 1976 Olympic Winter Games. Then state assemblyman,--and future Governor-- Dick Lamm, led a movement that would allow for the residents of Denver to vote on the $5 million bond issue to raise the money necessary to finance the Games. Almost needless to say, the citizens did not pass the bill and the Games went to Innsbruck, Austria (after an offer to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada). It seems that the today's announcement has allowed citizens to harken back to this "incident," which occured nearly 40 years ago. Citing everything from the inability to raise the $70 million needed to finance the convention, to the traffic nightmares that are sure to ensue, to the influx of Texans and Californians that will most likely flock to our state following five days of television saturation. What they seem to be forgetting is that five days of a long-er commute, heightened security and a year and a half of glad-handing while begging for cash will ultimately bring only good to our abode. Tourism will thrive, convention business will boom and the influx of people moving to our state will only strengthen our real estate market. It's a win-win situation, in my opinion. And, yes, I would say this if this were the Republican convention, too, because it's good for the City and I'm not only a big D Democrat, but a big D Denverite, too!
The City's been abuzz about the prospect for several months and the announcement was delayed from December until January for some "unknown" reason. It can hardly be considered irony that after eight years of rule under a big R Republican, Bill Owens, the City's bid for the convention was announced a mere 48 hours after the inauguration of big D Democrat Bill Ritter in the state's top spot. The Quigg Newton Memorial Auditorium (now the Ellie Caulkins Opera House) opened its doors in 1908, to, you guessed it, host the Democratic National Convention--another nice synergy, don't you think so?
In 1970 Denver was announced as host city of the 1976 Olympic Winter Games. Then state assemblyman,--and future Governor-- Dick Lamm, led a movement that would allow for the residents of Denver to vote on the $5 million bond issue to raise the money necessary to finance the Games. Almost needless to say, the citizens did not pass the bill and the Games went to Innsbruck, Austria (after an offer to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada). It seems that the today's announcement has allowed citizens to harken back to this "incident," which occured nearly 40 years ago. Citing everything from the inability to raise the $70 million needed to finance the convention, to the traffic nightmares that are sure to ensue, to the influx of Texans and Californians that will most likely flock to our state following five days of television saturation. What they seem to be forgetting is that five days of a long-er commute, heightened security and a year and a half of glad-handing while begging for cash will ultimately bring only good to our abode. Tourism will thrive, convention business will boom and the influx of people moving to our state will only strengthen our real estate market. It's a win-win situation, in my opinion. And, yes, I would say this if this were the Republican convention, too, because it's good for the City and I'm not only a big D Democrat, but a big D Denverite, too!
# posted by Molly @ 8:25 PM 
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