Democratic Delegates Turn Westward for National Convention

By Kelly Bronk

In 1908, Denver hosted the 20th Democratic National Convention where delegates nominated Williams Jennings Bryan for president. Bryan lost the 1908 presidential race to Republican nominee William Howard Taft, but Democrats assembling in the city August 25-28 are hoping that their candidate will fare better in 2008.

At the party's 45th convention Barack Obama is expected to claim the formal nomination of the Democratic Party to run for the presidency of the United States.

The Democratic National Convention dates back to 1832. The Democratic National Committee, established in 1848, is the oldest partisan political organization in the world. At the national convention, party representatives gather to nominate and confirm their candidates for president and vice president, adopt a party platform (positions on key campaign issues) and present itself to the American public as a unified body. Approximately 50,000 people will attend the Democratic National Convention in August, including state delegates, super delegates, politicians and party leaders, volunteers and media.

The convention is expected to pump an estimated $160 million into the economy of Denver and the state of Colorado during the convention. More than 38,000 hotel rooms have been booked in the Denver metro area, and convention goers are predicted to be big spenders at local restaurants and stores.

In addition to the revenue generated by attendees, the Democratic Party is pouring money into convention preparations. One of the biggest expenses for Democrats will be transforming the Pepsi Center, which is home to the Denver Nuggets (basketball), the Colorado Avalanche (hockey), and several other professional sports teams, from a sports and entertainment arena into a venue appropriate for a made-for-television political extravaganza. Millions of dollars also will be spent on catering healthy food, transporting delegates, politicians, journalists and volunteers around the city, and purchasing red, white and blue balloons.

Making the 2008 convention environmentally friendly is a party priority. Environmental activist Andrea Robinson has been hired as the first-ever Director of Greening to help reduce the Democrat's carbon footprint. As part of the convention's innovative plans to be environmentally friendly, Denver is hosting "greening workshops" for vendors and local businesses and Coors Brewing Company, headquartered in Colorado, is donating biofuel made from beer waste to fill up the tanks of convention vehicles. (See "National Conventions Going Green ( http://www.america.gov/st/elections08-english/2008/April/20080414160544hmnietsua0.378689.html )").

Hosting national conventions can be expensive. Denver (and Minneapolis-St. Paul where Republicans will convene in September) will receive $50 million from the federal government to offset security-related costs for hosting the convention. Denver Mayor John Hickenlopper, a Democrat, has promised that local taxpayers will not have to pay convention-related costs. Instead, the party has tasked the Democratic National Convention Host Committee in Denver with raising $55 million in private cash and donated services to fund the event. However, so far the committee has come up short - it missed its goal to raise $40 million by mid-June by $15 million; as a result, Democrats have been forced to cancel several parties to welcome delegates to Denver.

BEYOND THE CONVENTION CENTER

Once convention attendees arrive in August, there will be plenty for delegates to do outside the political arena. Denver is home to eight professional sports organizations, including professional baseball, basketball, American football, arena football, hockey, football (known in the United States as soccer), rugby and lacrosse teams.

Denver citizens not only love sporting events; they also love the great outdoors. Denver has the nation's largest city park system and 850 miles of urban trails for explorers to navigate. More opportunities for adventure are nearby. The city is a short drive from the Rocky Mountains, which stretch from Canada to New Mexico and are home to famous ski and snowboard resorts like Aspen, Vail and Breckenridge as well as numerous hiking trails.

Denver, which will mark its 150th birthday in November, is the capital of the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado. Denver is nicknamed the "Mile-High City" because its official elevation, 5,280 feet, is exactly one mile (1.6 kilometers) above sea level. The city was founded in 1858 after the discovery of gold in the region caused settlers to throng westward hoping to strike it rich. Even though very little gold was found around the banks of the South Platte River, some settlers remained to found a community.

The city's location as a gateway between major Midwest cities like Chicago and St. Louis and West Coast ports like San Francisco and Seattle made it a key commercial center. In addition, the city's proximity to the Rocky Mountains made mining an integral component of its economy. Newmont Mining Corporation, one of the world's leading gold producing companies, is headquartered Denver and has operations around the globe.

Traditionally Denver has been a liberal city in a fairly conservative state. Democrats have not grabbed the state's nine electoral votes since 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected, and since 1908, Democrats have only won the state of Colorado in eight out of 25 presidential contests. In 2008, however, Democrats and many political pundits believe that Colorado will be a pivotal swing state, one of the reasons the party decided to convene in Denver.

In recent years, a population shift has occurred in the region - Hispanics, who traditionally vote for Democratic candidates, are now nearly 35 percent of Denver's population. In addition, a large number of Colorado voters are registered as independents, rather than belonging to one of the two major political parties, which means that both Obama and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will work hard to court their votes.

In the United States, the Democratic and Republican conventions mark the end of the long primary season and officially kick off the parties' general election campaigns.

"It is fitting that the journey leads to Denver - a city that is younger than the Democratic Party itself, but filled with the promise that our party has always fought for," said Obama during a January campaign stop in Denver. "This city, built at the base of the Rocky Mountains, stands as a monument to a uniquely American belief in things unseen. Here, in Denver, fur trappers and traders; gold rushers and ranchers; came in search of opportunity, and made the future their own."

Source: U.S. Department of State

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com