http://www.lancasteronline.com/pages/news/local/4/7557Free country, expensive visit
President's appearances here spark debate about who should pay the bills
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LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - President George W. Bush has returned to Washington, D.C., following last Friday's campaign swing through south-central Pennsylvania. Now the bills from that visit are coming due. York Mayor John Brenner, a Democrat, plans to bill the Bush campaign for more than $21,000 in expenses associated with the visit, including police overtime for traffic and security.
In Lancaster, a bastion of Republicanism, a suggestion that the Red Rose City do the same was met with little enthusiasm. Lancaster resident Gregory Paulson, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for City Council, asked Mayor Charlie Smithgall at Tuesday's City Council meeting if he planned to try to recoup expenses associated with the president's visit here.
Smithgall, a Republican, said it isn't something the city has ever done before. He said because Bush did not stop in the city - his bus motorcade only traveled through town - costs were minimal. ... Paulson replied that the Bush re-election committee has raised, to date, $215 million. "One would think they could take a $2,300 hit," Paulson said.
Councilwoman Julianne Dickson, a Democrat, said, "It's my understanding that taxpayers are not supposed to pay for any campaign expenses." She urged Smithgall to look into the matter....
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