How much? US towns gag on cost of hosting Kerry, Bush

Link : http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040930/323/f3lyj.html


CHICAGO (AFP) - The city of Cloquet, Minnesota, was more than willing to host Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry when he came to town for a rally on July 2.

"We thought it was a really neat opportunity to have him here ... and showcase the city at the same time," said city administrator Brian Fritsinger.

But town councillors never imagined that Kerry's 45-minute presentation would wind up costing taxpayers about 10,000 dollars, and they felt it was only right that the Kerry campaign should foot the bill for some of the cost, so they asked them for 3,000 dollars.

That was about six weeks ago, and this small cash-strapped city of about 11,000 people 205 km (128 miles) northwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul hasn't seen any cash yet, Fritsinger said Wednesday.

And officials in Cloquet aren't the only ones looking for a little compensation to defray the security-related costs of hosting a White House hopeful this frenetic campaign season.

Mayor John Brenner of York, Pennslyvania, billed the Bush-Cheney campaign 21,000 dollars for a July 9 electioneering visit by President George W. Bush.

"The City of York has worked hard over the last few years to balance our budget and hold the line on taxes," Brenner explained in a letter dated July 15.

But Bush operatives referred Brenner to the Secret Service, the agency that is mandated to provide protection for the president and vice president and their families, which said it was not "equipped or funded" to cover such costs.

"It didn't make sense. This is a campaign issue," said Brenner, puzzling over why a campaign with a warchest of millions of dollars could not spare a few thousand dollars.

"I really thought the president could have hit a home run by providing some leadership on this issue," he went on.

Like many towns, York, a town of 40,000 about 281 km (175 miles) east of Pittsburgh, is struggling to maintain essential services in the face of a budget crunch.

The town eliminated about a dozen positions in its police and fire departments last year, and has hiked property taxes 10 percent this year.

"I didn't expect to get the 21,000, but it would have been nice to get something," lamented Brenner, a Democrat.

At least six other cities, towns or counties have asked the presidential campaigns for remibursements this year, many of them in hotly-contested swing states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, and Minnesota, according to USA Today.

"I can see where it would get out of control if you had multiple visits because you're in a swing state," said York's Brenner, adding that the security measures required did appear somewhat "excessive," but an inevitable consequence of the September 11 attacks.