N.Y. and New Orleans Democrat Parley Finalists

The Big Apple and the Big Easy are final contenders in the fierce competition to host tens of thousands of Democrats when they meet to nominate their next presidential candidate, the party’s site selection committee said Wednesday.

The announcement favoring New York and New Orleans came as a disappointment to Cleveland and Houston, which still had harbored hopes of hosting the national convention from July 16 to July 19, 1992. Twenty-five cities originally had sought the national convention, although some cash-poor cities dropped out because the Democrats insisted that they provide millions of dollars of free goods and services.

Ron Brown, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said that he plans to visit the two cities within the next two weeks and announce the winner by mid-June. “This is a wide-open process,” he told reporters. “Contrary to what you may have heard, I don’t have a personal choice.”

Brown admitted that “tough negotiations” between party leaders and city officials lie ahead. Among the issues to be discussed, he said, are the logistics of access to a convention hall, hotel room availability and host city financing of at least $15 million.

Officials said that New York offered the party $22 million in cash and services, plus an opportunity to raise even more during the convention, which is expected to draw as many as 40,000 conventioneers and media representatives. Some party leaders, however, questioned whether Madison Square Garden and the Javits Convention Center would be large enough.

New York is Brown’s adopted hometown (he was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Harlem), and it also is the site of the Democrats’ last successful presidential nomination. Jimmy Carter was chosen to head the Democratic ticket at the 1976 convention in New York.

New Orleans made the cut primarily because its Superdome--site of the 1988 GOP convention--would provide more than enough space for the Democratic gathering, officials said.

However, the financially strapped city may have problems meeting the party’s financial requirements. In addition, some committee members are worried that abortion foes in the heavily Catholic state will bring negative media attention to the party’s support for abortion rights.

Brown, however, said that his decision would be made on the strengths of the locations, dismissing any negative concerns associated with either site. “It is not where the convention is held, but what is said from the podium,” Brown said.

The last Democratic convention nominated Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis in Atlanta in 1988.

The Republicans are expected to announce the site of their convention in January. Cities expected to be interested in hosting the Republicans include Houston, Miami, Kansas City, Cleveland and St. Petersburg, Fla. New York and New Orleans also have been mentioned as potential bidders.