There'd certainly be some opposition. On the other hand, as the concept of carpet-bagged conventions becomes more well-known, the dangers of having a local worldcon become less. The people who count will understand that it flopped because of the committee, rather than because of the local fan community; or are more likely to. (Ditto for succeeded, but the possibility of being blamed for a failure we had nothing to do with is one of the reasons I've heard many people express for opposing a local bid they didn't like and didn't want to be involved in.)

I can't help noticing that gerisullivan felt it safer to flee the state not too long after Seth moved here :-). Possibly the worldcon-runners level was getting too high?

(While I was an area head for N3, I agree that I'm not a "worldcon-running fan" in any reasonable sense. Haven't been in *any* significant concom position recently, and I'm rather enjoying it.)