The Republican National Committee group that selected Cleveland as the site for the party's 2016 national convention included a longtime Arkansas Republican with five decades of national convention experience.
State Rep. Jonathan Barnett, R-Siloam Springs, was elected in January to represent the party's Southern region, along with Mississippi's National Committeewoman Jeanne Luckey. The two Southern region delegates joined six others to form the selection committee, which was tasked with evaluating proposals from cities across the country.
Barnett was likely the first Arkansan to serve on the site selection committee, party officials said.
The panel settled on Cleveland after narrowing the list to eight cities, which also included: Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; and Phoenix.
Dallas was the other finalist.
"The bottom line is we've got eight cities that applied, and all eight cities could have made it work. Obviously, a lot of them had real strong points; some of them had weaknesses. Not every city had everything to offer that you wanted," Barnett said.
One important factor in choosing a city was the financial commitment. The chosen city would have to raise about $60 million to pay for the convention, but likely would see a financial boost of between $400 million-$600 million, Barnett said.
The site selection committee visited each of the cities and evaluated logistics, including the size of the available venues, transportation and lodging, as well as how the convention would look on television, Barnett said.
"You're trying to take that arena and make a studio out of it," Barnett said. "It's really more about that than the delegates that are there."
But Barnett said the panel did evaluate each city's proposed "delegate experience," which included what museums are near the proposed convention sites, available restaurants and access to other activities.
Barnett said Cleveland stood out from the other cities as a clear choice. He said the city has several areas with "overflow potential" for activities, easy access to and from the venue, and "plenty to do" for the delegates in their spare time, including a theater district, botanical gardens and several museums.
"We feel like we did our homework very well, and we feel like we made a good choice. We're excited about Cleveland, and we know Cleveland's excited about us," Barnett said.
Barnett was first elected to the Arkansas House in 2009 and is serving his third term. He attended his first national convention in 1972 and served as a delegate in 1976, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2008.
A spokesman for the Republican Party of Arkansas said they believed Barnett was the first Arkansan to serve on the site selection committee. A spokesman for the Republican National Committee agreed that that was likely, after reviewing all of the records he had available.
State Chairman Doyle Webb said in a statement when Barnett was elected to the committee that it was a "huge accomplishment for [Barnett] and for Arkansas."
"This is an enormous responsibility," Webb said, calling Barnett "an excellent asset to this committee."
Lily Adams, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said the party's convention committee had a different makeup than the Republicans.
"This is a technical group of staff-level experts who go to cities to examine the various logistical aspects of hosting the convention," Adams said.
Adams said that in a couple of weeks, the experts would be touring six cities that put in bids. Those cities are Birmingham, Ala.; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; New York; Philadelphia; and Phoenix.
DNC officials are currently in talks with Cleveland to see whether the experts will still visit that city, however, after Republicans chose it for their convention site. The DNC has an exclusivity clause -- if Cleveland officials sign a contract with the GOP, the city will be dropped from from consideration by Democrats, according to published reports.
The information gathered by the technical advisers is presented to the party chairman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who will also receive input from party leaders and "a whole host of people," Adams said.
"We've already seen -- from a number of cities -- that people are lobbying for the convention to be held in their cities," Adams said.
Wasserman Schultz is expected to announce the party's decision at the end of the year or early next year, Adams said.
Arkansas' Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who is the state's Democratic National committeeman, said some national conventions have been better organized, and more enjoyable than others. He compared the 2008 convention in Denver to being "stuck in airport security," but said the 2012 convention in Charlotte was "fantastic."
Millions of dollars are spent to ensure safety; and thousands of law enforcement officials are mobilized.
"Imagine a Razorback game where everyone has a security detail," McDaniel said. "The logistics are truly the primary concern."
McDaniel said he didn't have a preference about where the convention is hosted in 2016, but joked that he hoped the Arkansas delegation would get better accommodations if Hillary Rodham Clinton were the presidential nominee.
Metro on 07/14/2014