Democrats worried about convention

As Obama seeks to unite party, excessive costs and poor planning are exacting a toll.

By LESLIE WAYNE, N ew York Times

Last update: July 5, 2008 - 6:05 PM

For all Sen. Barack Obama's success raising money and generating excitement among voters, he faces a daunting challenge as he prepares to claim the nomination in August: a Democratic convention effort marred by costly setbacks and embarrassing delays.

With the Denver convention less than two months away, problems range from the serious -- upwardly spiraling costs on key contracts still being negotiated -- to the more mundane, like the reluctance of local caterers to participate because of stringent rules on what delegates will be eating, down to the color of the food.

At last count, plans to renovate the inside of the Pepsi Center for the Democrats are $6 million over budget, which may force convention planners to scale back on their original design or increase their fundraising goals.

The convention is being organized by the Democratic National Committee, which is run by Howard Dean, with his chief of staff, the Rev. Leah Daughtry, leading the effort. Only in the last month has the Obama campaign been able to take over management of the convention planning, and his aides are increasingly frustrated at organizers who they believe spent too freely, planned too slowly and underestimated costs.

"We are now going into the final construction phase, and it is turning out to be much higher," said a person with knowledge of the budget but who is not tied to either the Obama campaign or the party. "So the Obama camp is not pleased and is raising questions about where all the money had been going. And they look at the posh office space for the Democratic party staff here, which is really plush, with big-screen TVs, and they say, 'They spent the money on that?'"

The Obama campaign has dispatched 10 people to Denver to help "get a handle on the budget and make hard decisions" about what has to be done and how to move forward, said Bill Burton, a campaign spokesman.

With Democrats seeking to use the convention to move past the bitterness of their bruising primary fight, the gathering in Denver from Aug. 25 to Aug. 29 is likely to draw intense interest as the Obama forces try to show a once-divided party rallying around the nominee. And their convention comes a week before the St. Paul gathering of the Republicans, whose convention efforts have been much smoother.

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