Rocky Mountain West in Spotlight

Dean: Western Opportunity ‘Tipped’ Democratic Convention to Denver

By Jonathan Weber , 1-11-07

	Hickenlooper

Jubilant Colorado officials and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean today portrayed the selection of Denver as the host city for the 2008 Democratic National Convention as a deliberate effort to capitalize on recent electoral gains in the region - and showcase what Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper called "a different way of going about things" in the Rocky Mountain West.

Dean, whose once-controversial "50-state strategy" was hugely vindicated in November, said in a conference call with reporters Thursday that the political opportunity Democrats see in the West was what "tipped" the decision to Denver. New York was the other major contender.

"Victories by strong Democratic candidates [in the November elections] show how important the West is, and if we win the West we'll win the presidency," Dean said. He added that the choice of a Heartland state was also a chance to "show that Democratic party values are American values."

The convention promises to be a huge boon to Denver, both in the hundreds of millions of dollars that will be spent directly by organizers and delegates and in the massive media exposure the event will provide. In a city that has long had image issues, the chance to show off the massive infrastructure investments and downtown renewal of recent years has prompted a bi-partisan celebration - including, newly installed Governor Bill Ritter said, a both-sides-of-the-aisle standing ovation in the state legislature.

Hickenlooper, a rising star in the party who will undoubtedly be in the spotlight come convention time, stressed that the decision was not just about Denver, or even about Colorado, but rather about the entire region and the sensibility it could bring to the national political scene. "That sense of possibility and prospect" that is so much a part of the Western spirit is "what this country needs," he said. "The frontier spirit is the spirit of the entrepreneur...This is an opportunity for the Rocky Mountain region."

Sen. Ken Salazar noted that Colorado and the region were "in the forefront of new ideas" in areas such as alternative energy, and that the spirit of "we can get it done in the West" would bring an important new dimension to the event. "Turning the eyes of the country [on this region] is exactly the right thing to do," he said.

While Denver had long been a front-runner in the selection process, concerns about labor conflicts, security, and hotel capacity threatened to derail the bid. But party officials indicated that they leaned hard on their union allies to solve the first issue, and Hickenlooper and the organizing committee were apparently sufficiently persuasive on the second two.

Dean credited former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart with first seeing the importance of the Rocky Mountain West for Democratic strategy, and added: "If we're going to have a national party, we have to get Westerners to vote Democratic on a regular basis."

Whatever its impact on the Democratic Party, the convention will be a huge opportunity for businesses and other organizations in Denver and throughout the region. Hickenlooper, a one-time petroleum geologist and brew-pub entrepreneur, promised a "world-class convention," and there is no doubt the city will pull out all the stops. Exactly how and to what extent the convention will directly benefit other parts of Colorado and the region as a whole remains to be seen - but if nothing else, the decision is an acknowledgement of the Rocky Mountain West's new-found clout.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.