A Perfect Fit, Again

It’s hard to believe. Before Monday, Los Angeles had been chosen just once as site of a national political convention. In 1960, it was the city’s brand-new Convention Center that housed the Democratic Party gathering. Now, it’s much the same, albeit on a much grander scale.

The brand-new Staples Center Arena will be the stomping ground for the delegates this time around, but the national spotlight will also illuminate a revitalized downtown, with its new facilities for the arts and sciences, sports and business.

It’s also fitting that the city that revolutionized the hosting of the modern-day Olympic Games in 1984 should similarly hold the first privately sponsored and funded national political convention. Moreover, the convention and its companion events will generate substantial revenue not only for Los Angeles but for surrounding jurisdictions as well.

This time, the privately financed and organized bid of LA Convention 2000, based on the Olympics model, was pushed by Republican Mayor Richard Riordan as part of a bipartisan effort including business magnates Eli Broad and Ron Burkle; Bill Wardlaw, a lawyer and Riordan pal, and DreamWorks SKG co-founder David Geffen.

The principals helped wade through some silliness over the fact that there would be no formal and direct backing from the Los Angeles city government. That was no longer an issue after someone finally suggested that the Democrats could one-up the Republicans by running a far less expensive convention under this format. And the notion of passing over Los Angeles because a former aide named Monica resides in these parts ignored the city’s rightful place as a metropolis that is already what much of the rest of the nation will come to be: racially and culturally eclectic and diverse.

If ever there was a city that exemplified strength and resilience, perseverance through adversity and just plain moxie, it’s Los Angeles. What other city could have come back so quickly from deep recession, urban strife and a string of disasters including wildfires, floods and a massive earthquake?

The Los Angeles area has come a long way in a few short years, and that is no small accomplishment. The decision to bring a national party convention here is another recognition of the vitality of this region.