The Detroit Greens and the Green Party of Michigan submit this proposal to host the GPUS 2008 Annual National Meeting and Nominating Convention in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit.

The location for the convention is the Dearborn Hyatt Regency and will be held from June 11 – June 15, 2008 or June 25 – June 29, 2008.

Dearborn is the 10th largest city in Michigan and contains the largest Arab American community outside the Middle East. It is the birthplace of Henry Ford and home to the Ford Motor Company. Attractions in Dearborn include: the Henry Ford, the nation's largest indoor-outdoor American history museum; the Arab American National Museum , the first museum in the world devoted to Arab American history and culture and the Automotive Hall of Fame. Within walking distance are the University of Michigan-Dearborn, containing one of the largest natural areas in metropolitan Detroit and Henry Ford Community College, sites for recruiting student participation and additional venues.

Centrally located in the mid-west, with an international airport which is a main Northwest Airlines hub, Dearborn is also easily accessible by car or train. It is 5 hours by car from Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Public transportation in Dearborn is poor though bus service is available from the adjacent shopping mall. Transport services between the airport and hotel is available.

The Dearborn Hyatt Regency has hosted conventions of the size of our Nominating Convention and will provide free meeting space on the condition that we occupy 160 room at $120/night for four nights. It has outstanding versatility in more than 62,000 square feet of public function space, 7,000 square feet of prefunction space, and 17,700 square feet of newly renovated exhibit space. The largest ballroom encompasses 17,700 square feet of usable space. 14 flexible meeting rooms all have individual or master controls for heat/AC, sound, music, telephones, special lighting effects and 110V single-phase electricity. Additional information on the facilities can be found here, including floor plans and capacity charts.

The hotel is able to supply a variety of food choices and there are restaurants in the hotel, in the mall food court and surrounding the mall. A short taxi ride will take someone to many reasonably priced restaurants serving Middle Eastern food and other cuisines.

The Convention in Dearborn will help local Greens strengthen ties to the Arab American community and the larger Detroit metro area communities. The Convention will increase the possibilities of recruiting candidates for public office from the Arab-American community. The Convention will increase Green Party visibility in the local media -- Michigan Citizen, Dearborn Press and Guide, local radio, and community access cable stations -- as well as mainstream media like the Detroit Free Press.

While not the same as having the convention in Detroit, having it Dearborn will strengthen ties to the African-American community in Detroit as well.

The Convention in Dearborn will enable Convention delegates to learn more about the Arab-American community in the United States.

The Detroit Green Party and the Green Party of Michigan both support this proposal. Detroit Greens meet monthly and have run candidates in partisan races in Detroit for 6 years. Detroit and Michigan Greens have good working relationships with many progressive groups and are confident that we can supply the necessary volunteers from our ranks and those of our friends.

Hyatt Regency Layout (PDF)

Hyatt Regency Attractions (DOC)

Local Restaurants (DOC)

Comparisons of Convention Costs from Detroit (PDF)