Former Gov. Ed Rendell tapped to head up Phila effort to bring DNC to town

A familiar face in political circles has been tapped to lead Philadelphia’s effort to win a national political convention in 2016.

Former Mayor and Governor Ed Rendell has been appointed chairman of the group that wants to bring the next Democratic National Convention to Philadelphia. Rendell says there is plenty of work to do but he feels good about the city’s chances of winning the event.

“It’s going to cost a significant amount of dollars, but those dollars are going to be raised, the city is not going to have to extend any cash to this effort,” Rendell said. “The good news is post 9/11 the federal government gives $50 million for security, that will absorb all the police overtime.”

City Democratic Party Chairman and Congressman Bob Brady says Philadelphia will have to fight the likes of Columbus Ohio and Atlanta for the convention.

“What we have here the history, the restaurants and everything else. I don’t know what the hell is in Columbus, as compared to the city of Philadelphia,” Brady said. “I hope they are our competition, we will blow them away.”

The next step is setting up a non-profit and working on a formal bid for the event.