Logo
Lovejoy Surgicenter
ISSUE #33.52 • NEWS • NEWS STORY
[ELECTION '08]

Hail To The Thief


City foresees big bill in 2008 for presidential candidate security.

Social bookmarking | Permalink
Email | Print | Rate It! | 3 comments
Recently in "News"

November 19th, 2008
Meltdown Lowdown | So how is Portland’s new, new economy looking now?0 comments

November 19th, 2008
Letters to the Editor • Inbox0 comments

November 19th, 2008
The Tragic 8 Pall | One more thing from California for Oregonians to object to: Prop 8.2 comments

November 19th, 2008
Tug Of War | A controversial prof creates a skirmish at PSU over academic freedom. 17 comments

November 19th, 2008
Rogue of the Week • Butch Miller | Un-fare play.9 comments

November 19th, 2008
Nonviolent Femmes | Sisters of the Road invites Portland to come learn the steps of the nonviolent movement.0 comments

November 19th, 2008
Murmurs • News That Needs No Background Check23 comments

November 19th, 2008
Off The Mic | Local hip-hop artist faces extortion charge just before his album debuts.16 comments

November 19th, 2008
Cover Story • House Of Gain | Aleksey Kalenichenko’s real-estate schemes cost banks hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s still a mystery how he pulled it off.9 comments

November 19th, 2008
The Weekly Fix • The Weekly Fix | Our Spin On 7 Days of News0 comments


GIVE THEM ALL YOUR MONEY: Presidential candidates plus PDX visits = $600,000.
BY COREY PEIN | cpein at wweek dot com

[November 7th, 2007]

The Portland Police Bureau expects to spend $600,000 guarding presidential candidates who campaign here in 2008. That sum could pay the annual salaries of 15 new officers.

Police spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz says the “dignitary protection” budget will cover officer OT, motorcades and the costs of securing the sites where candidates will beg for votes and cash.

The $600,000 sought from City Council by the Police Bureau is part of mid-year budget adjustments released Oct. 31. The figure could change depending on how many candidates visit, how often they come and how many protesters show up.

Oregon looks “very competitive” in November 2008, especially if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, according to an August poll by Rasmussen Reports. And though the candidates are raising record sums—Clinton, for instance, has raised more than $90 million—the costs of shielding them from would-be assassins, random wackjobs and peaceful picketers falls to taxpayers.

Inevitably, local law enforcement winds up shelling out for candidate security, even though the federal Secret Service is responsible for guarding “major” presidential and vice presidential candidates. (Sorry, Dennis.)

Former Mayor Vera Katz made a show of sending bills to pols whose security drained the city budget at the same time that the candidates were collecting checks at private fundraisers.














icon Story continues below

advertisement
OMSI
advertisement

The first such invoice, for over $50,000, went to Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) in 2002, for costs incurred by the presence of his friends George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Smith blew it off. That year, Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury reimbursed the city a measly $1,500 after his campaign brought Bill Clinton to town.

That’s the last time anyone remembers a candidate covering costs, says John Doussard, Mayor Tom Potter’s spokesman. Why

“You’ve obviously never worked on a political campaign before,” Doussard says. “You stiff everybody.”

Will Clinton pay if she comes? “I’m happy to ask,” says City Commissioner Erik Sten, who’s on her Oregon steering committee but not speaking for the campaign. “But they’re not going to.”

Without an up-front agreement with visiting candidates, the city has little recourse, says Larry Oxman, chief financial officer of ASAP Collections Inc. on Southeast Ankeny Street.

“You can’t just make something up,” Oxman says. “If you have a debt that’s not agreed on by two parties, how can it be a debt?”

Try telling that to the tax collector.

FACT: The city’s last bill to the bush-cheney campaign for $116,000 was never paid.

 

Rate This Story
5 average/3 votes

 
read all 3 comments | add your comment
 

RECENT COMMENTS ON “Hail To The Thief”

1

"You�ve obviously never worked on a political campaign before,� Doussard says. �You stiff everybody.�

And Doussard should know. His boss stiffed his own campaign staff...

Lily, Nov 7th, 2007 4:15pm
2

Suppose the city didn't provide the extra security, unless the candidate ordered and paid for it in advance?

Isaac Laquedem, Nov 7th, 2007 5:08pm
3

Unfortunately the story doesn't stop there. St. Paul and Denver will each receive $50 million for security of the nominating conventions while study after study has shown that cities which host the no...

Bruce Alexander, Nov 9th, 2007 9:49am
 
 
 





Recently in Willamette Week
November 21st 2008House Of Gain | Aleksey Kalenichenko’s real-estate schemes cost banks hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s still a mystery how he pulled it off.
November 21st 2008Just Add Milk | Director Gus Van Sant delivers the story of the gay-rights movement’s patron saint in his most political film to date.
November 21st 2008Core Issue | Barack Obama says the way we pay teachers is rotten. Does Bill Sizemore (Bill Sizemore?!) have the answer?
November 21st 2008Ad Nauseam | Do TV ads about hot dogs, golf clubs and rape work? We bring in the experts.
November 21st 2008WW Voters’ Guide, November 2008 | Tough choices, no brainers: Our endorsements for the general election.
November 21st 2008Unlucky Strike | The Oregon lottery is going into detox—and our state budget is along for the smoke-free ride.
November 21st 2008Jail Junkies | Who knows more about stopping property crime: Kevin Mannix or an ex-addict who stole 1,000 cars?
November 21st 2008Shipracked | Judy Shiprack wants to be your next county commissioner. Here’s what she doesn’t want you to know about a real-estate deal gone bad.
November 21st 2008Señor Smith | Low-wage Latino workers keep Sen. Gordon Smith’s family business humming. Not all of them are legal.