But in a conference call with reporters, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz said “there is clearly no better city to have this special event than Philadelphia,” adding that Philadelphia officials crafted a “comprehensive proposal” that “will ensure we have a top-notch plan for logistics, financing and security.”
“You should know that from the beginning of this process our first priority was to ensure a city could transport and house attendees seamlessly, make sure our delegates would have the best possible experience, execute a convention that is safe and secure and make sure the convention has the resources to put on what is a very unique large-scale event,” she said.
In particular, there are 11,600 hotels rooms in the downtown Philadelphia area and the city offers mass transit to allow delegates to quickly move into the city’s convention center.
In addition, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who joined Wasserman-Schultz on the call, said state and local officials offered $85 million to finance the convention compared to the $64 million local and state officials raised for the 2000 Republican convention in Philadelphia.
“I do want to say that the decision was not easy,” Wasserman-Schultz said. “Our three finalists – Columbus, New York and Philadelphia – were all excellent.”
“And I really want to thank the mayors of Columbus and New York — particularly Mayor Michael Coleman and my colleague Congresswoman Joyce Beatty from Columbus — who absolutely did a phenomenal job,” she said.
Ohio leaders react
But the DNC decision left both Columbus and Ohio officials disappointed at the chance to showcase the state which has become one of the most competitive in presidential elections. No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio.
“I know it was a tough choice between Philly and Columbus so you know, we’ll have to travel to the convention (next) year and maybe next time we’ll bring it to Ohio,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who is a Democrat.
Whaley said she was particularly impressed with Coleman’s “leadership in putting Columbus in the forefront. This was kind of the bid that wouldn’t stop and I think that says a lot about how Ohio works: we just keep on going and going and working. But, to me, being in competition with Philly and New York and Columbus, Ohio, we have every right to be proud of that.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said his Democratic party “missed an opportunity to bring the 2016 convention to the heart of our nation’s premier swing state. Columbus is a world class city that would display the diversity, innovation, and work ethic that we all value as Democrats.”
But there were questions about whether Columbus could match the money that Philadelphia and Pennsylvania officials were willing to offer. Former Democratic congressman Dennis Eckart of Cleveland said “anytime the DNC would talk about something, Philadelphia had capacity to address it – whether transportation, infrastructure and security.”
Eckart also said Philadelphia not only is a Democratic strength, but holding a convention in the city would allow Democrats to saturate the states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey with their message.
“It’s not that Columbus’ presentation was shallow,” Eckart said. “It was more simply than Philadelphia’s was more comprehensive. Columbus is going to stay in the hunt for major national conventions because its stature has grown in the past decade.”
State Rep. David Leland, D-Columbus, and a former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said that “at the end of the day, DNC officials felt more comfortable with Philadelphia because they have a history of having events like this.”
“I was hoping Columbus would get it because Columbus doesn’t get the attention that it deserves and we need a breakthrough event like this for everybody in the country to stand up and take notice how wonderful Columbus really is,” Leland said.
The Columbus team pitched the proximity of the convention hubs – with Nationwide and the Greater Columbus Convention Center only a block apart, next to major hotels and amenities downtown and in the Short North – as well as the relative ease of getting around Ohio’s largest city. Ohio Stadium also was listed as a possibility for the Democratic nominee’s acceptance speech, and Ohio State dorms as a low-cost option for as many as 10,000 party volunteers, staffers and others.
When Democratic officials visited Columbus in August, about 1,000 gathered outside Nationwide Arena to demonstrate the city’s support for landing the convention. Many wore T-shirts with a message on the back reading, “Bring your (a picture of a donkey) to Columbus in 2016.”
Even Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams got into the act — developing the special flavor White House blueberry — and shipping it to those involved in selecting the convention site.
Laura Bischoff of the Columbus bureau contributed to this story.
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