Is S.D. a GOP Contender? Next Month May Tell

San Diego may know as early as next month whether it is still in contention for the 1992 GOP convention, or whether it’s been eliminated, the co-chairman of the Republican National Committee said Friday.

As city officials finished wining and dining GOP representatives, national committee co-chairman Jeanie Austin said the list of contenders would be narrowed to two no later than December, with one city receiving a “final recommendation.” The site won’t be determined until the 165-member Republican National Committee votes in January.

“I’m being very candid,” Austin said. “We wouldn’t leave a city hanging. It wouldn’t be fair. So we’d say, fairly soon, ‘You’ve been eliminated,’ and then narrow our list to two, with one recommended, by the end of the year.”

At an afternoon press conference, Austin reiterated the need for the $10 million earmarked for pre-convention expenses. Mayor Maureen O’Connor says the city has no money to offer, but, in the mayor’s words, “I want this convention.”

O’Connor on Thursday compared San Diego’s bid to the courtship between a handsome suitor and a “beautiful girl” with a “warm personality” and a “strong spirit”--but no dowry.

O’Connor said Friday the $10 million could be raised privately and without much difficulty. Austin said such funds are usually raised privately.

Austin said the GOP would not need a pledge of $10 million before leaving San Diego, “but we’d have to have it soon.”

Asked about potential problems involving pillars and posts that obstruct the views at the San Diego Convention Center, Austin said, “I’m sure there will be some problems, and there will be questions. Are they unsolvable? No. San Diego stands as good a chance as any other city of getting the convention.

“We were very impressed with the Convention Center, as well as the stadium. The stadium would be a different concept, but it is doable, it is workable . . . “

By “different concept,” Austin meant that San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium would provide an outdoor setting. No portion of any GOP Convention has ever been staged outdoors. (John F. Kennedy’s acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic Convention was given at the Los Angeles Coliseum.)

Some members of the Site Selection Committee expressed concern that President Bush might be staring into a bright sun if he made his acceptance speech at the stadium. That, coupled with concerns about the Convention Center’s technical limitations, left some people skeptical.

“By new concept, I meant the stadium is open air, and we’ve just never done that before,” Austin said. “It’s just something we’ve never thought about before. . . . It doesn’t mean it can’t be done.”

Austin tried hard to assure San Diego officials that concerns about the Convention Center and the stadium hardly spell doom. At the same time, she said San Diego is by no means a front-runner or any more of a contender than any other city.

Asked about a Business Week magazine report that pegged San Diego as the favorite, she said, “How that got in there I don’t know, because they don’t have a crystal ball, and we don’t either.”

Political insiders have said the city’s chances are most aided by White House aide Sig Rogich, who is said to be a confidant of Bush and the GOP figure most enamored of San Diego.

But Austin said she had spoken with the President only a few days ago and asked him, “ ‘Where would you like to go?’ And he said, ‘Just find the best place possible.’ ”

“Well, if that’s the case,” O’Connor interjected, “this is the best place possible.”

After a day that included breakfast with Top Gun pilots at the Miramar Naval Air Station and a helicopter tour of the city’s sights, Austin and her sizable delegation were presented T-shirts by City Council members Ron Roberts and Judy McCarty.

On Wednesday, Austin pointed out that other contending cities--Cleveland; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Houston and New Orleans--had presented T-shirts and slogans (and even public money) in conjunction with their efforts.

Committee members, she said, were still waiting to hear from San Diego.

So, Roberts handed over powder-blue T-shirts, still wet with fresh ink that carried the inscription, “San Diego: Your Platform for Success.”