Wary City Must Tell Democrats to Wait 4 Years

The City of San Diego was invited to submit a bid for the prestigious Democratic National Convention in 1988, but it will pass because it could be a “monumental embarrassment” if the waterfront convention center is not finished in time, City Manager Sylvester Murray said Thursday.

A spokesman from Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington said San Diego was one of two dozen cities to receive a Feb. 12 form letter from Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. to announce the party’s search for a convention site.

Among the requirements would be a meeting hall with 20,000 seats that have unobstructed views. Murray reported to council members in a memo Thursday that the only structure to fulfill that requirement would be the convention center, now under construction and scheduled to open in the early summer of 1988.

“Scheduling a major convention so close to that opening date would be risky as it is possible that there might be delays in the construction completion,” he wrote. “Such a problem would cause a monumental embarrassment to the city and therefore we will advise the Democratic National Party that 1992 might be a better year for us.”