A Fair Share.

Minority-Owned Firms Must Dispel Myths to Win Convention Business

WITH the Democratic convention only days away, many minority business owners and community activists are still grumbling loudly that convention delegates and sponsors will rely mainly on major corporations to provide most of the goods and services for the convention. They worry that the L.A. Host Committee and the Democratic National Committee haven't done enough to ensure that minority business owners have fair access to contracts.

They may have reason to worry. Presidential conventions are huge gold mines for local businesses. In 1996, the Republican and Democratic conventions held in San Diego and Chicago generated more than $100 million in revenue for local businesses. Hotels, restaurants, transportation providers, leisure companies, entertainment services firms, retail supply companies and communications firms reaped a colossal bonanza from the thousands of free-spending delegates and sponsors that jammed the conventions.

L.A. almost certainly will reap an even bigger windfall. The economy of the city and state is booming. Consumer confidence remains high. And the prospect of a freewheeling, wire-to-wire horse race of a presidential contest will spur even more public attention and interest in politics. L.A. business leaders gleefully expect the more than 40,000 persons attending the convention to dump an estimated $200 million into local businesses.

But to get a piece of this lucrative action, minority business owners must dispel two widely held myths. The first is that their businesses are simply shoestring, mom-and-pop service and retail stores. Black Enterprise magazine's 1999 survey of the 100 top black-owned businesses revealed that as a group they generated $3.6 billion in revenue and employed thousands.

According to a recent Census Bureau survey, the number of Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander businesses has soared in the past decade, especially in Los Angeles County. They have diversified and expanded into trade, communications, marketing, high tech, retail and the food service industries. These companies are capable of effectively and efficiently providing quality goods and services.

The second myth is that minority businesses expect public agencies and corporations to do business with them solely because they are minority-owned. Most minority business owners have never asked for special treatment based on color alone. And even if some were tempted to play the color card, the dismantling of many state and private affirmative action programs has made that virtually impossible.

But shattering these popular myths isn't enough to guarantee that minority business owners will get a fair shot at convention business. Los Angeles city officials and Democratic National Committee members must increase their efforts to see that they do.

So far, they have taken two solid steps in that direction. They have promised to compile a print directory and establish a Web site that lists the names of minority-owned businesses and the types of services they offer to convention delegates and sponsors, and to establish a small-business advisory committee to prod delegates and sponsors to seek out minority businesses.

It's both good business and good politics for city officials to encourage the Democrats to support and patronize minority businesses. This will bolster their often-made claim that the spectacular expansion of minority businesses boosts employment, economic growth and minority self-sufficiency.

They could also tout these businesses as showpiece examples that shatter the public perception from the 1992 riots that the city is out of control, and that minorities are hopelessly mired in a cesspool of poverty and urban decay. Showcasing the huge number of strong and viable minority businesses in Los Angeles sends the powerful signal to the world that L.A. has rebounded from the turmoil of the past.

Democrats have an equally huge stake in working hard to see that minority businesses get their fair share of the convention business. In a dogfight between the presumptive Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush and Democrat A1 Gore, the Democrats will need all the minority votes they can get.

California is a must-win state for both parties. The swelling number of minority voters, particularly Latino voters in the state, will play a major role in determining who sits in the White House and Congress in 2000.

The Republicans make great fanfare of their campaign to woo Latino voters. They believe Bush's huge appeal with many Latino voters in Texas gives them a good shot at bagging a sizable percentage of the Latino vote in California and the rest of the country. They plan to spend more money than ever within Latino communities in this election.

The well-worn truism is that business and politics mix. If the Democrats are smart, they will do everything they can to make sure that minority-owned businesses in Los Angeles aren't frozen out of the mix.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a radio commentator and the author of "The Crisis in Black and White."