Southern Cities Make Strong Bid for Convention

Eight cities will try to woo the 1988 Democratic National Convention today and Saturday, but only Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans are said to be under serious consideration.

All eight will make formal presentations before the party’s site selection committee. After the last bid is heard on Saturday, the committee will announce which five cities survived the first round and will be visited this fall by members of the Democratic National Committee. The other five cities seeking to host the convention are the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park, Detroit, Kansas City, New York and Washington.

Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans were thought to have the best chance because many Democratic leaders want to appeal to the crucial Southern vote in the 1988 election. Some have said Atlanta would be the overwhelming favorite if it has sufficient facilities and makes a large enough bid.

Sources said some cities--Brook Park and Kansas City--would likely be eliminated because they could not meet the necessary number of first-class hotel rooms or have a convention site too small for the Democrats. The interest in the Southern vote was working against cities like Detroit and New York, which are potentially big enough to house the convention.

The problem with the nation’s capital, which unsuccessfully bid for the 1984 Democratic convention, is the fact that politicians would like to hold their convention away from where they work.

The Democratic National Convention to select a presidential nominee is scheduled to be held July 18-21, 1988.