Anaheim Suits Up Its Grand Vision

Councilman Richard Chavez said he’d take his “best Anaheim suit” to Boston this week when he makes the city’s pitch to play host to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Chavez is a good guy. When I last spoke to him several months ago, he was explaining why he was willing to get arrested for picketing a Vons during the lengthy grocery lockout/strike. With the instincts of the common man, my guess is that Chavez shops at the Men’s Wearhouse, which may or may not impress the party bigwigs at FleetCenter this week.

We’re kidding, we’re kidding ... but Anaheim apparently isn’t.

To prove it, the city also is dispatching Mayor Curt Pringle to New York next month to tout Anaheim at the Republican convention. Pringle is another regular kind of guy. He comes out of the drapery business and isn’t the Brooks Bros. type either, so it’s hard to say whether he or Chavez would hold more sway. However, there’s talk that Pringle might take some muscle with him -- a guy named Schwarzenegger -- to help make his case.

As an O.C. homie, I officially jump on the bandwagon. As has been written to death in recent months, the county is cooler than ever. “The O.C.” is a hit TV show, and the Angels won the World Series in 2002 and ... OK, that’s about it ... but that’s still better than what we had before.

Anaheim’s thinking is that there’s no better way to validate itself than to hold a national political convention. A mere coincidence, you ask, that the city is thinking this way just as the conventions themselves are considered less and less relevant?

No matter. Anaheim firmly believes it’s a major league city. I don’t think even anyone in Fullerton believes that, but Anaheim is playing to a national audience, not a jealous neighbor.

Why not Anaheim? Here’s a list of the host cities for either the Democratic or Republican conventions since 1992: New York (twice), Houston, San Diego, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Does Fullerton -- I mean, Anaheim -- really belong on that list? My only question about holding a convention here is: What took ‘em so long?

Katella Avenue may not have the name recognition of Broad Street in Philly, State Street in Chicago or ol’ Broadway in New York, but whose fault is that? How about cranking out some public relations, which, coincidentally, is just what Anaheim boosters have done by hiring a consulting firm and coming up with a campaign slogan: “Next Time Anaheim ’08.”

I like it, especially when said with a catchy hip-hop beat.

Skeptics who say Anaheim isn’t ready for prime time don’t know that the city already claims that its convention center is the largest on the West Coast. I can’t confirm that, other than to say that when I was there this year I got winded walking from one end to the other. Of course, a political convention would be held at the Arrowhead Pond, every bit as good as L.A.’s Staples Center was for the Democrats in 2000.

Conventioneers pour into Anaheim every week, spilling over into Orange, Buena Park and who knows where else. Next week, the American Phytopathological Society converges on Anaheim, and you know how they spend money. Just imagine the financial effects of holding a national convention, even if people couldn’t find a good restaurant.

Let’s cut to the chase: Is Anaheim ready for a national convention? How can the answer be anything but a resounding “Heck yes!”

To entice party leaders, Chavez and Pringle will tote goodie bags with them. One of my colleagues reported last week that the bags include Post-It notes and luggage tags with the campaign slogan embossed on it.

Friendly suggestion: If those are the main items, it might help to bury a few C-notes in the bag, as well.

Dana Parsons can be reached at (714) 966-7821 or at dana. parsons@latimes.com. An archive of his recent columns is at www.latimes.com/parsons.