Judy, her staff, and everyone else in the city have put in a lot of extra hours to make sure the DNC goes off safely and securely. I was downtown last night and saw firsthand how much those efforts are paying off. There was a large crowd of folks enjoying themselves at the Sustainable Living Roadshow on 16th Street in LoHi, at the uphill side of the Highland Pedestrian Bridge. Another large crowd was gathered in front of the MSNBC broadcast tower behind Union Station. The 16th Street Mall was jammed, and the shuttle stops were all two or three rows deep. There were big clusters of people in Riverfront Park, in the LoDo bars, around Coors Field, down at Civic Center. The approaches to the Pepsi Center were thick with vendors, street preachers, political activists, photographers, gawkers, people just going about their regular business. . . . There were people everywhere, activity everywhere, and it was all as peaceful and as civilized as it could possibly be. People were participating as much or as little as they wanted, in whatever ways they wanted, and there was not a single sign of disorder or disruption. The streets were clear, and the pedestrian traffic was flowing; I didn’t see a single confrontation between cops and civilians, nor between civilians and civilians for that matter.
We still have one more event to get through, but so far Denver has done itself very, very proud. Thanks to everyone who helped (and is helping) to pull it all together.
