DENVER (Los Angeles Times):
For nearly a decade, city leaders here have wooed the Democrats, hoping to lure their national convention to this often-overlooked town and showcase its new public transit system, bustling downtown and sweeping views of the Rocky Mountains.
Municipal leaders were jubilant when they won the right to hold this year's event. But the convention is raising questions about whether this perennial booster town has bitten off more than it can chew.
The host committee is as much as US$10 million short in fund-raising, and financial difficulties have forced it to cancel two dozen parties for delegates.
Harsh criticism
Denver officials are scrambling to deal with the logistical challenges of Barack Obama's acceptance speech being held at an outdoor stadium instead of in the arena where the rest of the convention will take place. Even special daisies that the city bred partly to show off for the convention are failing to sprout.
Criticism has been so harsh that this month the host committee felt compelled to issue a news release defending its much-mocked catering guidelines, which recommend organic produce and colour-coordinated meals and discourage fried food.
"It's an embarrassment, particularly for the political class," said Floyd Ciruli, a former chairman of the state Democratic Party who is now an independent pollster unaffiliated with the convention effort. "At this point, everybody's thinking about the burdens rather than the benefits."
Local political leaders and the host committee insist everything is fine, and that any bumps along the way will be overshadowed by the attention showered on the city next month.
"That's a little bit of white noise around the perimeter," said Mayor John Hickenlooper. "Did we ever dream we'd have a candidate of this historic magnitude? Did we ever dream we'd have a candidate who'd make his acceptance speech in front of 80,000 people and have to turn away another 80,000?"
Nonetheless, at a conference on Western issues last week, Hickenlooper referred to the event as the "blasted convention" and compared it to a summer he spent painting a house for which he was never paid.
"If we'd known back then what we know now, we'd never have done it," he said, before quickly adding, "and what an incredible shame that would have been."
Last month, the host committee said it was US$10 million short of its US$40-million target, but it now refuses to discuss fund-raising totals.
Officials blame several factors: The drawn-out primary battle sapped would-be donors.
The economic downturn has hit Denver hard because the city's relatively modest corporate base includes struggling companies such as Frontier Airlines, which is reorganising under bankruptcy law protection.
Fighting unions
And business leaders say attention and money are being diverted by union-led ballot initiatives that they are fighting, measures they insist could destroy their livelihoods.
Tom Clark, executive vice-president of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, said his organisation was going to donate US$250,000 to the convention but had to hold back US$150,000 to fight the initiatives.
"There's a lot of calls on the money right now," he said.
Denver leaders say they are determined to meet their goals.
"We will find the money and get it done," Clark said. "When you're an aspirational city, you don't walk away from your place on the world stage."
In the last decade, Denver has built an immense airport, now the world's 11th busiest. It revived its faded downtown, now speckled with clubs, restaurants and condos, with a new wing on its art museum designed by renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. It has invested in a US$6-billion project to build 119 miles of light rail.
Denver competed unsuccessfully for the 2000 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Los Angeles. The city was the sentimental favourite this year for a Democratic Party eager to highlight its new reach in the West.
Hickenlooper vowed the convention would be the most environmentally friendly one yet.
Catering issues
Problems swiftly surfaced, starting with fund-raising. The host committee told caterers they should make "every effort" to ensure that each plate consisted of 70 per cent organic food and 50 per cent fruits and vegetables; include nothing fried; and contain at least three of these five colours: red, green, yellow, purple/blue and white.
After caterers complained and the policy was mocked in the media, the host committee put out a defensive news release saying the guidelines were voluntary and fried food would still be available.
"That was not a good start, creating the food police," said Councilman Charlie Brown.
For their part, many Denver residents, apparently fearful that security measures will paralyse the compact downtown, say they plan to skip town the week of the convention.
