The Red Carpet’s Ready

If America has a millennial city, out on the edge, Los Angeles is it, the whole package. It’s the place to start a business, to connect with the Asian market, to get in touch with new ideas. Flattened by a bad economy in the early ‘90s, the city has overcome riots, earthquakes and bad jokes to bounce back. It’s become the sort of place that ought to be seen by people--say, the politicians and delegates of the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

The Democrats came here in 1960 and nominated John F. Kennedy as their standard-bearer. The Biltmore, the convention hotel then, is still a treasure, and the number of hotel rooms in L.A., even without counting those in the Valley, has doubled since 1960. The city could easily accommodate a political convention in 2000.

A new nonprofit group, LA Convention 2000, has submitted a bid to the Democratic National Committee for Los Angeles to be the convention city two years hence. Hosting both major parties’ conventions would be even better, but San Diego won the 1996 GOP convention and the Republicans will no doubt look eastward for 2000.

Not since Los Angeles’ successful campaign to win the 1984 Olympics has there been such a concerted effort here to secure a high-profile event. The Games put Los Angeles and Southern California on display before national and international audiences. A political convention would similarly showcase the city and bring in millions of dollars in business revenues.

The biggest advantage Los Angeles has over its chief competitors for the convention--including Miami, Detroit and Philadelphia--is California’s 54 electoral votes, more than any other state. But the sunshine, cheap air fares and wealth of regional attractions are certainly alluring frills.

The convention’s publicity spotlight would show that L.A. is coming together in different and new ways. There’s the move to revitalize downtown, which was hard-hit during the downturn of the early ‘90s by an exodus of major corporations. Construction is beginning on the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a new Roman Catholic cathedral. A public-private partnership will build the Staples Center to bring professional basketball and hockey--and fans--downtown by the fall of 1999. The adjacent Los Angeles Convention Center has lured back big events, including the American Booksellers Assn. and the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Overall, convention bookings are way up.

Beyond the bricks and mortar, Los Angeles is creating a new if sometimes confusing American mosaic of cultures, businesses and politics. There is a need to build bridges between big and small businesses and between diverse communities so that we can address, together, our needs for improved schools, new jobs and leadership accountability.

Of course, with plenty of public needs still to be met, there are those who say the city cannot afford to host a convention. The city’s cost is projected to be $27 million, but most of the funds would be raised from private sources by LA Convention 2000. A similar public-private venture put together the 1984 Olympics. The convention would bring an estimated $137 million into the city.

Chicago, host of the 1996 Democratic convention, credits the event with helping repair its image, marred since the street violence during the 1968 Democratic convention. Playing convention host would help get the word out about Los Angeles: This is a city vastly changed from its low point earlier this decade, a vibrant city on the upswing.