Democratic Convention Group Seeks $4 Million in City Funds

After months of touting this summer’s Democratic National Convention as a largely private venture that would not cost taxpayers a cent of cash, backers of the effort now are preparing to ask the city government for about $4 million--on top of the services Los Angeles already has agreed to provide.

That represents a significant about-face for the event’s planners, who have long compared it to the city’s enormously successful 1984 Summer Olympics. Those games were privately funded, and their success was hailed as a breakthrough, both for the Olympics and for the notion of public-private partnerships.

In winning the Democratic convention for Los Angeles, city leaders and Democratic Party officials repeatedly promised that they would not seek any direct public subsidy for the event.

Despite the shift, leaders of the convention’s host committee Thursday defended the move as a wise civic investment. The three-day affair and accompanying events are expected to boost the local economy by about $132 million and provide the intangible, long-term benefits that could flow from Los Angeles showing off its recovery from the riots, earthquake and recession of the early 1990s.

Moreover, supporters of the public subsidy say that cities almost always kick in money to the conventions of the national political parties. This year, for instance, Philadelphia is contributing $7 million in cash to the Republican National Convention. Pennsylvania is giving another $7 million to the event, and the neighboring state of New Jersey is contributing $3 million.

“We are raising far more private money . . . than has ever been raised by a host committee in the history of political conventions,” said Noelia Rodriguez, who heads LA 2000, the event host committee.

Nevertheless, the proposal is sure to run into some opposition. As news of the request spread among City Council members and others Thursday, critics complained that it undercut the host committee’s initial claims of protecting taxpayers. What’s more, some argued that it was unfair for the host committee, whose leadership includes some of Los Angeles’ richest residents, to ask taxpayers to foot the bill.

“There’s never any money for the things we need in this city,” said City Councilman Joel Wachs, a candidate for mayor and forceful opponent of public subsidies for many private ventures. “Suddenly, there’s going to be money for this?”

Wachs, who opposed public financing for Staples Center and for the group that recently tried to bring a football team to Los Angeles, took particular offense at the idea that taxpayers would be asked to help pay for an effort sponsored by some of the city’s richest and most powerful residents. The co-hosts of the event include billionaires Eli Broad and Ronald Burkle, entertainment mogul David Geffen and Democratic Party insider Bill Wardlaw.

“These are enormously wealthy people,” Wachs said. “Who’s going to go to all the parties and get all the attention for this? They are, not the people who are going to be asked to pay for it.”

Although less vehement, other council members grumbled about the possibility of being asked to dip into the city’s general fund.

To date, the host committee has raised more than $30 million in cash and in-kind contributions. It is contractually obligated to raise $35.3 million--of which $18 million must be in cash--as well as to pay for several events not included in that total.

Insiders estimate that the committee, to fulfill its obligations, must raise $10 million to $11 million more in the coming weeks.

The city already has pledged to pay for transportation and security expenses associated with the convention. Combined, those are expected to cost about $7 million. The California Highway Patrol has requested state money for some convention-related security equipment.

The new requests to the City Council, however, represent the first time that convention planners have asked the city or state for a direct public subsidy.

Mayor Richard Riordan has led the fund-raising in recent weeks, and has himself raked in nearly $5 million in contributions, officials say. But he and other backers of the effort concede that it has occasionally been tough going.

Manuel Valencia, a spokesman for Riordan, said late Thursday that he had not seen the specifics of the funding request. He said, however, that Riordan supported it in concept.

The Democratic National Convention Committee, which is charged with staging the event, last week tapped political fund-raiser Terry McAuliffe as its chairman. McAuliffe said all the remaining money will be raised this month.

The national organization had no immediate comment Thursday on the host committee’s request.