LETTER: Convention Center's shabby origins

"When things really broke in the papers, around May or June of '99, the only portion of the Ernst & Young report shown to the general public, hoteliers, PDCVB, etc., was the 'executive summary' of that report. A number of "deals" were allegedly in the works, with the PDCVB acting as our advocate, to allow the hoteliers to view the full text, with the hope of providing substantive rebuttal, but none of this came to pass.

"A letter from Tom Baldridge to Allen Ersellius, then PDCVB President, had Tom apologizing for going back on his word but telling Allen that he would not be able to see the full report. I also remember hearing about an offer where we could read the report in the boardroom at the PDCVB but take no notes or copies. The primary rationale for the secrecy that was given was that those, specifically potential corporate users, who provided information for the report did so on the basis of that confidentiality.

"While that would seemingly make 'some sense', 1) how could you make public policy and implement taxes on a private report, and 2) why was the report then made public? The culmination came on September 18 at the Commissioner's weekly work session, that occurred on the day prior to the vote to implement the taxes, when with a huge grin on his face and a ridiculous remark about a "first class ticket", Tom Baldridge literally pulled the report from under his coat, a la James Bond pulling his pistol, and presented on the Commissioners table. I am still waiting for Tom to show me where those alleged potential corporate users signed off and released him from his promise of confidentiality.

"23 hours later, we had a hotel tax to a cheering, literally applauding, crowd on the 5th Floor and a smug remark from Thibault about how it was the first tax that was ever cheered."