Democrats choose Philadelphia to hold 2016 national convention

After much deliberation and the appearance of New York City as the front runner, the Democratic National Committee announced today that the city of Philadelphia would be the site of the 2016 national convention. This will put the the Republican and Democratic conventions in neighboring states just about a week apart in July of 2016.

Report from Philly.com:

Philadelphia has been selected to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention, DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced this morning.

The city, along with Columbus and Brooklyn, was among the three finalists for the event, which will take place the week of July 25, 2016.

“In addition to their commitment to a seamless and safe convention, Philadelphia’s deep rooted place in American history provides a perfect setting for this special gathering,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement.

The DNC evaluated cities on factors that included transportation, security, finances, logistics and hotel capacity.

City leaders had aggressively wooed the selection committee, touting the city’s vibrancy, history, landmarks, transit and hotel capacity. The city had also sought to assure the selection committee it could line up the funding necessary for the convention, and that the announced mayoral candidates were as supportive of hosting the event as current Mayor Michael Nutter.

“The City of Philadelphia is excited and honored to be selected as the host city for the 2016 Democratic National Convention,” Nutter said in a statement Thursday. “We believe that it was our proven track record of hosting big events safely and efficiently with a dynamic team of top-tier professionals to organize and manage a conference of this magnitude, paired with our City’s tremendous amenities, its accessible location and historical significance, which made Philadelphia the ideal choice for the 2016 DNC.”

Philadelphia hosted the Republicans’ convention in 2000.

After the political fallout in New York, I’m not surprised Philly took the nod. Republicans had already chosen Cleveland as their base for 2016 so a Democrat choice of Columbus seemed out of the question.

Furthermore, some Democrats wanted to avoid New York since that is where Bill Clinton accepted the nomination in 1992.