Political parties give money for host cities' trouble

State and local leaders have embraced the Republican Party as it prepares to hold its national convention in St. Paul next year, and the national GOP says it wants to give back.

Standing before a renovated home on St. Paul's East Side, a Republican leader said Thursday that the party is depositing $2 million in St. Paul's University Bank to make capital available for loans to repair dilapidated homes. Ultimately, the committee will take the money back to pay expenses, but in the meantime the bank can use it.

As the GOP plans to work on local volunteer efforts in coming weeks, Democratic convention planners are conducting similar efforts in Denver where they will hold their convention next year.

Political observers say that while both parties are motivated to help the communities hosting the conventions, they are also seeking to cultivate goodwill in the general population, which is likely to find some elements of the convention burdensome.

Jack Meeks, a Republican delegate to the 2004 convention in New York City, said he and his delegation did some painting for a day at a school there.

"The parties really do appreciate hosting by a city," he said. "Minneapolis and St. Paul and the Twin Cities will be giving a lot to the party when they [its members] come here, in the form of contributions, in the form of venues, and the parties like to create a good feeling in the communities that they visit."Our goal is to try to do something every four to six weeks," said Maria Cino, president and CEO for the GOP's convention arrangements committee. The first volunteer effort will come next week, but details weren't released Thursday.

In August, the Democratic National Convention Committee deposited $2 million in a Native American bank in Denver to be used for loans for such things as American Indian economic development.

Democratic Party convention staff raked mulch in Denver parks in July with the parks and recreation department, said Natalie Wyeth, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention Committee.

Each party helps out

The bank deposits are part of the $16.3 million that each party receives from the Federal Elections Commission to organize the conventions, said Matt Burns, a Republican spokesman.

The money can only be used by the arrangements committee and laws bar the party from collecting interest on the money, he said. The party will begin drawing down on the $2 million deposit next year.

Besides helping "to make sure that as many as possible" benefit from the convention, said Cino, "the deposit also reaffirms the Republican Party's commitment to strengthening families and communities by fostering home ownership and supporting small businesses."

Meanwhile, Wyeth said the Democrats always make a deposit in a bank owned by minorities or women.

At Thursday's news conference, Cino introduced David Reiling, president and CEO of University Bank, who expressed his gratitude for the deposit. The bank has been designated as a Community Development Financial Institution by the Treasury Department and has about $100 million in deposits, he said.

Much of the money is loaned to businesses such as SMG Enterprises, which rehabbed the house on the 1700 block of Reaney Avenue where the news conference was held Thursday. Stacy Roxberg of SMG said she bought the boarded-up house for $60,000, rehabbed it with a University Bank loan and is reselling it for $149,000.

"With $2 million, you could probably rehabilitate approximately 20 to 30 houses, which is a lot of neighborhood improvement," she said.

In 2000 and 2004, Democratic staffers working on conventions in Boston and Los Angeles, respectively, participated in regular service project outings, said Wyeth.

In 2004, New York City hosted the Republican National Convention and staff members completed more than 100 community service projects amounting to more than 1,000 hours of service for more than 20 organizations, according to the party.

Among the projects were painting at a campus in the Bronx, bagging and distributing groceries at a food pantry in Harlem, and tutoring and serving after-school lunches for a youth program.

Meeks said the volunteerism is "obviously a mix" of altruistic and political aims.

Critics will remain

Joseph Kunkel, political science professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, said the convention will benefit people such as mayors, development officers, owners of hotels and bars and "Chamber of Commerce types." But "normal people" will be more critical, blaming the convention for traffic disruption, security problems and additional costs, he said.

So both parties, he said, see volunteer activities as important in building goodwill in the community.

Both conventions have reputations for fancy parties and spending big money, said John Shockley, political science professor at Augsburg College.

"Most Americans are left out of the convention parties," he said. "It's good public relations to say we're not just having a good time here, we also care about the larger community."

Randy Furst • 612-673-7382

Randy Furst • rfurst@startribune.com