USA TODAY
Swing-state cities tire of paying for campaign visits

9/29/2004

Swing-state cities tire of paying for campaign visits
By Debbie Howlett,
Cleveland plans to bill the campaigns of President Bush (news - web sites) and Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) this week more than $270,000 for security and other costs from nine campaign visits in six months. The city doesn't expect to get paid but wants to make a point. "This is a national election. The cost ought to be borne by the federal government, not city governments that have the misfortune of being in swing states," Mayor Jane Campbell says. The presidential campaign has concentrated on as many as 17 battleground states where the race has been close. So the candidates and their wives have visited often. At least eight cities have billed the campaigns for security and other costs. Only one has gotten paid. Dubuque, Iowa, billed both the Bush and Kerry campaigns $18,400 for three visits. The city received $1,300 from the Bush campaign and $3,000 from Kerry's, city manager Susan Gwiasda says. But presidential campaigns rarely reimburse cities for the cost of police, planning, ambulances or garbage pickup that even the briefest campaign stop can require. (Related story: Cost of candidates' visits wearing out welcome) The campaigns maintain that the Secret Service is responsible for security costs. Bush campaign spokesman Scott Stanzel says: "Whenever the president comes to town, the Secret Service works with local authorities. ... In this day and age, it's important to make safety a priority." The Kerry campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Secret Service spokesman Charles Bopp says the agency relies on assistance from local police. "At the same time, we're not funded or equipped to reimburse communities for those costs," he says. In Cloquet, Minn., near Duluth, the city agreed to cover $4,000 for security when Kerry visited July 2. But the town balked at spending $3,000 to remove several streetlights, as ordered by the Secret Service, to provide a quick exit for Kerry's motorcade. "That one seemed a little above and beyond," city administrator Brian Fritsinger says. In York, Pa., a July 9 visit by Bush cost the city more than $21,000, mainly for police. It included $7,100 for firefighters and emergency medical technicians, $888 for planning and $200 for a doctor. "We make civic groups pay for these things when they have a parade. Why not campaigns?" York Mayor John Brenner says. Cleveland expects the running tab to double after the vice presidential debate is held there Oct. 5. "This isn't a partisan issue. It isn't even a political issue," Campbell says. "It's a financial issue - a huge financial issue for cities."