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Tampa, New York and New Orleans will get visits from Republicans seeking a location for their convention.
By DAVID KARP and ADAM SMITH
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 18, 2002
Tampa moved a step closer Wednesday to landing the 2004 Republican National Convention, one of the biggest and best-televised political events in the world.
The national Republican committee that will choose a convention site decided Wednesday to send officials to Tampa, New Orleans and New York to evaluate each city.
"Now we have to pull out all the stops and do everything we have to do to win," said developer Dick Beard, a co-chairmen of the Tampa/St. Petersburg host committee. "It's not going to be easy."
Consider: New Orleans and New York each have hosted national political conventions and are known worldwide for nightlife and entertainment. New Orleans offers the French Quarter. New York boasts Times Square. Tampa has Ybor City.
New York also offers President Bush a powerful and patriotic backdrop for his re-election campaign. A convention in Manhattan would play heavily on the war on terrorism and the fallen twin towers.
Florida offers obvious political benefits to the GOP. It is the biggest swing state in the nation and crucial to Bush's re-election bid. Brother Jeb Bush is seeking a second term as governor, so a Florida convention would throw the national spotlight on the Bush dynasty.
Florida played a key role in putting Bush in the White House -- and not just with its recount. Floridians pumped $5.7-million directly into the Bush campaign in 2000, more than every state but Texas and California, according to the Center of Responsive Politics. The state also sent nearly $36.6-million to national Republican committees, making it the fourth biggest contributor.
The RNC site selection committee on Wednesday didn't eliminate Miami and Boston, the other two cities bidding for the convention. The GOP committee left open the possibility they might look again at Boston and Miami, which are competing for the Democratic National Convention.
Now the hard work begins.
In two weeks, the selection committee will visit Tampa, New Orleans and New York to see which city can best handle the thousands of elected officials, party loyalists and journalists who attend the convention.
The GOP needs a city that can book 20,000 hotel rooms, move thousands of visitors to the convention easily and entertain governors, corporate tycoons and U.S. senators.
Tampa's Republican host committee, which is being led by Beard and developer Al Austin, have been preparing for the visit.
While in Tampa, the GOP committee will stay at the downtown Tampa Waterside Marriott, which would be the convention hotel, will see the Tampa Convention Center, which would house thousands of journalists, and tour the Ice Palace, which would host the convention.
The site selection committee might take a boat ride across Tampa Bay to St. Petersburg, where they could tour downtown hotels and Tropicana Field, which might host a large Republican rally.
"The trick to the whole deal is convincing them we can meet our budget," Beard said.
The local GOP host committee must agree to raise about $50-million.
Logistics alone won't determine which city gets the convention. Remember, this is a political decision.
Besides Jeb Bush, Florida has powerful Republicans in its corner. Florida luxury condo developer Al Hoffman of Bonita Springs was such a big money-raiser for President Bush's presidential race that he became co-chairman of the 2001 presidential inaugural committee and the Republican National Committee's national finance chairman.
U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, is chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
In 2004, Florida will have a U.S. Senate race featuring Democrat Bob Graham's re-election campaign or a widely watched battle for his open seat, should he retire. Republicans hold a 15-8 advantage in the congressional delegation, and they expect to increase that in November with newly drawn districts.
Awarding a convention to a state is no guarantee of picking up electoral votes, however. Al Gore won Pennsylvania, home of the last GOP convention, and Bill Clinton in 1996 won California, where Bob Dole accepted his party's nomination.
Some state Republicans worry that devoting massive energy to hosting a convention could take away from their efforts to re-elect President Bush.
David Johnson, executive director of the state GOP, downplayed that concern. "You have to be mindful of the time and commitment it takes, but we'd be able to handle it," he said. "Structured right, a national convention is a great economic boon."
The most obvious political disadvantage to a Florida convention is the guarantee that it would resurrect memories of the tumultuous recount. Some Democrats would love to fill television screens with images of protesters wielding "Bushwhacked!" signs.
Anger over the election fell dramatically after Sept. 11, though, and by 2004 it's likely to fade more.
On Wednesday, Beard acknowledged feeling a little nervous as he arrived home to hear the news about Tampa.
"I did walk in the house," he said, "and fix a drink."
-- David Karp can be reached at (813) 226-3376 or karp@sptimes.com.
The Republican National Convention will be Aug. 30-Sept. 2, 2004.
The deadline for submitting proposals to host the convention was June 17. Of the two dozen cities invited to bid, five submitted proposals: Boston, Miami, New Orleans, New York and Tampa-St. Petersburg.
On Wednesday, the site selection committee decided to send officials to New Orleans, New York and Tampa-St. Petersburg to review potential sites. Decisions to visit Boston and Miami could be made later.
The committee reaches its final decision after Election Day, Nov. 5, and before the end of the year. Republican National Committee members approve the final selection at the party's Winter Meeting, Jan. 29-Feb. 1.
The host city must provide a facility capable of seating at least 20,000 people -- including 5,000 delegates and alternates on the ground floor.
The city must have at least 20,000 hotel rooms and 2,000 one- and two-bedroom suites.
Among other conditions, the host city must round up 8,000 volunteers to work the convention, and must guarantee there will be no work stoppages during the convention.
The Democratic National Convention will be July 17-23, 2004. The Democrats are considering bids from Boston, Detroit, Miami and New York. The site advisory committee is visiting those cities this summer.