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Debate no economic juggernaut, but seen as worth it
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
The Democratic presidential candidates’ debate here in Charleston did not prove to be the economic juggernaut that some had hoped for, but the impact of the positive publicity, not to mention the positive experience the eight participating candidates had in the city, is incalculable, said Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.
“Personally, I believe that one of the eight people who graced The Citadel stage will be the next president,” said Riley, a lifelong Democrat. “But beyond the excitement of having these individuals here, this was a wonderful thing for our city, economically and in so many ways.
After all, you can’t cover an event in Charleston without covering Charleston.”
While the host city was a logistical challenge, expenses for overtime and the like were well within what was budgeted for those items this year, Riley said.
“You always build a cushion into your budget because you anticipate that over the course of the year, something unforeseen at budget time will need to be addressed,” he said.
And some things the city had initially planned did not materialize, such as a proposed Sunday night reception for visiting reporters at the Riviera Theater downtown.
“You know, you also can’t interpret expenditures until you look at them against the backdrop of what they achieve. In other words, they are an investment in our future,” Riley said.
Long before the night of the event, officials and the state’s Democratic insiders were asserting that the debate could have an economic impact approaching $30 million.
The justification for such an estimate?
A statement attributed to the Orangeburg Chamber of Commerce in advance of the April 26 Democratic candidate debate at South Carolina State University, regarding the potential impact of the debate on that community.
However, a few days before the Charleston debate, Orangeburg Chamber President David L. Coleman largely disavowed that assessment, contending that it was based on the assertion of a reporter working on a story about the debate and was never based on any kind of analysis done by the business organization.
“Make no mistake, the Democratic debate was very good for Orangeburg, for South Carolina State University and the state of South Carolina as a whole … it was wonderful publicity,” Coleman said. “But as far as translating the impact into dollars, either before or after the event, that’s something that would be very difficult to do and something we’ve never
undertaken.”
The S.C. Law Enforcement Division declined to comment on manpower and budget allocations related to the debate, citing security concerns.
Mara Gassmann, a spokeswoman for CNN, also declined to comment, saying the network never comments on the costs associated with their programs.
About the only people who spoke at all about the financial and other impacts of the debate was The Citadel.
But even then, The Citadel spokeswoman Charlene Gunnells cautioned that any numbers that could be discussed are purely preliminary.
“For instance, right now, I can’t give you a tally of how much overtime has been and will be paid in regard to debate preparations,” Gunnells said. “What I can tell is that about 30 people were involved in the planning of the event from The Citadel’s perspective, including five people working in Public Affairs.”
Campus public safety personnel worked with SLED to support the event.
“We did this to help ease traffic and parking congestion on campus,” Gunnells said.
In addition to these activity, The Citadel spent about $36,000 on marketing, landscaping and building maintenance inspired by the debate.
Most of the marketing expenses were related to the creation of two large banners—one measuring 24 feet wide by 47 feet tall, the other, 183 feet wide by 6 feet tall—designed by Cognetix in Charleston, printed by Associated Posters in Winston Salem, N.C., and were hung by Charleston Sign and Banner of Charleston.
Although they were created for display during the debate, Gunnells said because they don’t specifically mention the debate, they’ll be used at subsequent special events like football weekends, parent’s weekend, homecoming and commencement.
“As a state agency we at The Citadel are very mindful that we must be good stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars,” Gunnells said.
CNN committed to picking up the expenses specifically related to the debate, and brought its own generators to power nearly all of their debate-related activities, Gunnells said.
For his part, Orangeburg’s Coleman believes The Citadel’s and the city of Charleston’s preparations and expenditures will be well worth it.
“Charleston is a very different place than Orangeburg and already a major destination area, so I’m sure you had an influx of people arriving earlier and staying longer,” he said.
Part of the reason Orangeburg didn’t get as big an economic bump as many were led to believe was that the debate was the only political event being held in town during a week that was full of them.
“The state party held its annual fundraising dinner that week, Rep. James Clyburn held his annual fish fry, but all of those events were in Columbia, so that’s where most of the candidates stayed,” Coleman said.
“Still, the debate might not have been an economic bonanza, but it enhanced the image of the university and enhanced the image of Orangeburg. You know, I’m told the day of the debate there were seven private jets parked at our municipal airport. That’s pretty unusual for Orangeburg.”
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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