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Bill O'Rights · 06-23-2004, 08:47 AM

A more detailed report. And it addresses onetime2's questions.

Quote:

Lincoln mayor readies the bill for Cheney's visitDick Cheney and Air Force Two are long gone, but a controversy still swirls around the vice president's visit to Lincoln: Who should pick up the tab for all that extra security?

Lincoln Mayor Coleen Seng says she intends to bill the vice president's office, or any other responsible party, for the nearly $32,000 in costs the city incurred last week when Cheney came to help raise money for GOP congressional candidate Jeff Fortenberry.

Republicans blasted the request, saying Tuesday that Lincoln's Democratic mayor was trying to make political hay and was embarrassing the state in the process. State GOP Chairman David Kramer said it was especially outlandish given that Cheney was returning to his hometown.

"This isn't about cost. It's about politics," Kramer said. "Lincoln is sending a message that leaders of the Free World aren't welcome here because the city is too cheap."

The Democratic Party's executive director said that if the Bush administration doesn't reimburse the city, Fortenberry, who raised $150,000 from the Cheney visit, should.

"It's shocking that a self-proclaimed conservative and former city councilman would expect taxpayers to subsidize his political fund-raiser," Barry Rubin said. "That money could pay for a new police officer or firefighter."

Lincoln city officials said they were researching Tuesday whether there is any precedent for such reimbursement. What they found, said the mayor's chief of staff, Mark Bowen, is that a lot of cities are asking that question.

Bowen said he suspects cities' interest comes from the tremendous amount of security required in the post-9/11 world.

Lincoln police were required to close off numerous streets for hours as part of the Cheney visit, and an ambulance had to travel with him at all times. While Lincoln has 40 officers on duty on a typical weekday, it needed to deploy 100 to meet the demands of the Secret Service.

Bowen said the mayor's request came out of citizen inquiries about street closings, costs and why taxpayers should bear the costs for a campaign trip.

Because that's the way it's done, the GOP's Kramer said.

Fortenberry was at a Washington, D.C., fund-raiser and couldn't be reached for comment.

Kramer noted that the City of Omaha and Mayor Mike Fahey didn't require reimbursement when Cheney came to Omaha to raise money for Bush last year.

Rubin said Fortenberry was reimbursing the federal government the $15,000 cost of flying Air Force Two to Lincoln. That, he said, shows there is a precedent for a campaign to pick up public costs for an event.

And...I'm no fan of Dick Cheney, but is that the best picture that they could find? It looks like it should have a caption about young firm breasts, or something. Yeesh