Whose Park? OUr Park! Tell the DNC Host Committee to Give Civic Center Park Back to the People

On March 20, the city of Denver awarded a permit for Civic Center Park on August 24, the day before the Democratic National Convention, to a "party planner" for the 2008 Democratic Convention Host Committee. On the day we will be holding the largest anti-war march and rally the city of Denver has ever seen, the people of Denver have been locked out of the largest public park in downtown Denver. This shows utter contempt on the part of the host committee for the people of Denver. Public parks should be for the public, not for fat cats looking to get even fatter off the DNC. The host committee is already planning a “kickoff party” on August 23 at Elitch Gardens. If they can afford a venue like that, why should they be allowed to use the only big free space available to ordinary citizens the very next day? Civic Center Park should be available for political expression, not a party. The host committee should not even have been allowed to participate in the lottery. If they have any sense of decency, they will now relinquish their permit and allow the citizen group that took second place in the lottery to have it. If they refuse to do so, they make it clear that the word "democratic" in their group's title means nothing to them. Please contact the host committee and tell them to give up their permit for Civic Center Park on August 24. Write letters to the two papers denouncing this unfair use of a public park by a private, commercial organization. Denver 2008 Host Committee 1391 Speer Boulevard Suite 450 Denver, CO 80204 info@denverconvention2008.com 303-534-6200