100 days. The DNC clock is ticking

Rocky Mountain News staff

Friday, May 16, 2008

Brian Lehman / Special to the Rocky

DNC duties under way: John Hickenlooper, acting like he lost control of his bike, helps announce the DNC's green bike initiative.

Today marks 100 days until the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Denver. To note that milestone, we've come up with 100 things about the event - in blocks of 10.

Questions surrounding the DNC

1. Will the presidential nomination go to the first black or the first woman?

2. Will the convention come in under or at the $40 million to $50 million price tag?

3. How close to the projected $160 million economic impact will the state realize?

4. How many Western states will be considered true battlegrounds for the general election?

5. Will Clinton and Obama supporters be unified?

6. Will Re-create 68, a group against the "party machines," disrupt the event with its protests?

7. How big of an inconvenience will the convention be for residents?

8. Will people think it's worth it?

9. How much political capital will be gained or lost by Mayor John Hickenlooper and Gov. Bill Ritter?

10. Who will be the new face featured at this convention as Barack Obama was in 2004?

Things being done to green the convention

1. Delegates are asked to buy carbon offsets to ensure carbon generated as a result of their participation is reduced by increasing an activity that absorbs carbon. The cost: $7.50 per delegate.

2. Water faucets at the Pepsi Center are being refitted to ensure water-saving spigots work.

3. Cable used at the Pepsi Center will be reused.

4. The convention's 200 staffers will use laptops rather than desktops because the portable devices use about 50 percent less electricity.

5. Memos and planning documents will be distributed electronically. When paper documents are required, double-sided copies will be used.

6. Trash will be sorted by volunteers once the convention begins, in hopes of reducing the waste stream at local landfills by 85 percent.

7. Vehicles used at the convention will be powered with alternative fuels, such as electricity and ethanol, or will be fuel-efficient.

8. Staffers will be encouraged to walk the mile or so from the DNC offices at Republic Plaza to the Pepsi Center. More than two-thirds of the staff walks to work or takes public transportation.

9. Energy-efficient light bulbs will be used at temporary Pepsi Center facilities, convention hall carpeting will be made from recycled material and paints and adhesives will contain ultralow levels of volatile organic compounds or none at all.

10. Loaner bicycles will be provided so participants can navigate Denver without automobiles. (Hickenlooper promotes the bikes below.)

Helpful Web sites

1. denverconvention2008.com

2. demconvention.com

3. democrats.org

4. demconwatch.blogspot.com

5. denvergov.org/dnc2008

6. denver.craigslist.org

7. rtd-denver.com

8. RockyMountainNews.com

9. coloradodems.org

10. barackobama.com or hillaryclinton.com

Official items available for purchase through DenverDNCGear.com

1. Mouse pad $4

2. Money clip $9

3. Car magnet $8

4. Acrylic coffee mug $8

5. Trucker baseball cap $16

6. Three-star T-shirt $16

7. Five-star T-shirt $20

8. Hoodie $48

9. Poker chip key chain $3

10. Oval button $1.50

Things to do in Denver the week of the convention (that aren't convention-related)

1. Watch the Denver Broncos take on the Green Bay Packers in preseason action, 7 p.m. Aug. 22.

2. Kick back with a beer (or bottle of water) as the Colorado Rockies play the Cincinnati Reds on free water bottle day, 1:05 p.m. Aug. 24.

3. Check out the Presidential Campaigns Exhibit at the Aurora History Museum, June 17 to Sept 21 .

4. Take in a play, like A Streetcar Named Desire, which opens at the Vintage Theater on Aug. 22.

5. Jam with Willie Nelson, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26, Red Rocks.

6. Enjoy Slim Cessna's Auto Club performance at the Bluebird Theater, 9 p.m. Aug. 23.

7. Visit the Denver Art Museum, open every day except Monday.

8. Enjoy jazz at the historic El Chapultepec in LoDo, open nightly.

9. Embark on a Odell Brewing Co. tour in Fort Collins, Saturdays.

10. Tour the Brown Palace and have high tea, noon-4 p.m. Monday to Sunday.

Convention numbers to date

1. 675,000 square feet inside the Pepsi Center has been allocated for the convention.

2. 17,000 hotel rooms have been reserved.

3. 250 buses planned for transportation between convention hotels and the Pepsi Center.

4. 300 foreign dignitaries are invited by the National Democratic Institute.

5. 50,000 people are expected in Denver for the convention.

6. 21,000 people have volunteered to help.

7. 55 bloggers are credentialed.

8. 1,200 middle and high school students have submitted essays for the "Write to Lead" contest.

9. 400 General Motors vehicles will be used to transport U.S. House and Senate leadership, DNC and DNCC officials and state party chairs.

10. $50 million of federal money has been allocated to Denver for security.

Presidential and vice presidential nominees likely to be at the convention

1. Jimmy Carter

2. Walter Mondale

3. Michael Dukakis

4. Bill Clinton

5. Al Gore

6. John Kerry

7. John Edwards

8. Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton

9. Geraldine Ferraro

10. George McGovern

People likely to get the least sleep during the convention

1. Mayor John Hickenlooper

2. Gov. Bill Ritter

3. Colorado Democratic Party Chair Pat Waak

4. Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman

5. Denver 2008 Host Committee Chief Executive Officer Mike Dino

6. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean

7. Democratic National Convention Committee Chief Executive Officer Leah Daughtry

8. Barack Obama/Hillary Clinton

9. Bartenders in LoDo

10. Frank Conner, DNCC director of security

Bars in which to talk politics after hammering out the party platform

1. City Grille, 321 E. Colfax Ave. - Solid burger joint.

2. Uptown Tavern, 538 E. 17th Ave. - Drinking next to the koi pond.

3. Andrew's, 1111 Lincoln St. - Not named for Andrew Jackson, the Democrats' nominee in 1828.

4. My Brother's Bar, 2736 15th St. - Laid-back hangout.

5. The Front Porch, 1512 Larimer St. - Easy walk from Pepsi Center.

6. Benny's Restaurant & Cantina, 310 E. Seventh Ave. - Sangria served here.

7. The Supreme Court, 1550 Court Place - Welcome Al Gore, you won't lose here.

8. British Bulldog, 2052 Stout St. - Talk "Great Moments in Labour Party History" here.

9. The Brown Palace, 321 17th St. - Served as campaign headquarters for Dwight D. Eisenhower.

10. Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center, 650 15th St. - For those who don't want to leave the hotel.

Delegations traveling farthest to get to Denver, according to ask.com

1. Guam 6,659 miles

2. Samoa 5,661 miles

3. Hawaii 3,342 miles

4. Virgin Islands 2,802 miles

5. Puerto Rico 2,739 miles

6. Alaska 1,823 miles

7. Maine 1,820 miles

8. Massachusetts 1,766 miles

9. Rhode Island 1,752 miles

10. New Hampshire 1,737 miles

• May 17, 2008

  7:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Publius writes:

  The Rocky has a real scoop in reporting that Lloyd Bentsen will attend the Convention this year. I would expect he will have the best insights given the fact he has been dead for two years.

• May 17, 2008

  11:38 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  Buckwheat writes:

  People that will benefit from the DNC.
  1. Hookers - Nuff Said.
  2. Gangs - Promised new Dew Rags iff they stay away from Lodo.
  3. General Motors - For providing 400 gas guzzeling Tahoes and Suburbans to drive people 4 blocks to and from the Convention Center.

  4. ME!!!! Cause I'll be on vacation in the mountains, having a cold one on my boat, away from all the traffic and congestion...

• May 17, 2008

  12:49 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  ManginoTorreta writes:

  "The Rocky has a real scoop in reporting that Lloyd Bentsen will attend the Convention this year. I would expect he will have the best insights given the fact he has been dead for two years."

  He won't be saying anything unexpected. The dead have been voting Democrat for decades.

• May 22, 2008

  6:15 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  JohnHKennedy writes:

  It will be interesting to see if the Democratic National Convention will come and go with the Democratic Party doing a total cover up of the crimes of the Cheney/Bush Administration against our Constitution.

  If they do I think it will start to open a split in the Democrats that will lead eventually to a third major party. The Republican Party started as a third party and in spite of a tendency to let it's right wingers get out of control still has a future.

  Would be very interesting to see what would happen if someone started a third party that appealed to Liberals in the Democratic Party and Independents. Liberals are many of the Democratic Party's most active workers. If they ever get disgusted with the direction the Party is going we could have a new left party that would be a true opposition party in the Congress.

  John H Kennedy, Denver, CO

  ..