Cheney visit not reimbursed

Local taxpayers are shelling out roughly $3,500 for U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit early this month to stump for Idaho Republican candidates.

Neither Coeur d’Alene nor Kootenai County intend to ask the Republican Party of Idaho to reimburse costs for the political event, which was not open to the general public.

“Not to simplify it, but we weren’t doing it for the Republicans,” Sheriff Rocky Watson said. “We were doing it because we were asked by the Secret Service.”

Watson said the county never asks for reimbursement when high-ranking elected officials come to town or when other agencies, like city police or the Secret Service, request assistance.

He said the county even helped when Aryan Nations Founder Richard Butler paraded through downtown Coeur d’Alene.

The Coeur d’Alene Police Department has the same policy.

“For $1,500 to have a vice president in this city, I don’t think they would find that a huge expense,” police spokeswoman Sgt. Christie Wood said.

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department employees worked 60.8 hours overtime assisting the Secret Service for Cheney’s Nov. 2 visit to the Coeur d’Alene Airport.

That computes to $2,014, according to a public records request. But it doesn’t include the regular pay the 26 employees received for the time spent securing the airport perimeter, doing surveillance or patrolling the Empire Air hangar. The Sheriff’s Department said it’s not possible to separate those costs.

The Coeur d’Alene Police Department reports a total cost – both regular and overtime for six employees including the chief – of $1,506. Only one lieutenant worked four hours overtime.

The Idaho State Police also provided assistance to the Secret Service. It’s unclear which other government agencies participated in providing security; the U.S. Secret Service office in Spokane did not return numerous phone calls seeking comment.

The vice president and his wife were in town a little more than an hour and never left the hangar, making security logistics relatively easy and inexpensive, Mayor Sandi Bloem said.

Bloem said the city would provide the same security, at a cost to taxpayers, if Cheney came to Coeur d’Alene to vacation and play golf. “That’s not out of the norm at all,” she said.

Before the visit, state GOP executive director Jayson Ronk was adamant that the vice president’s visit wouldn’t cost Idaho taxpayers a cent. Now he’s not commenting.

When asked Tuesday who would pick up the bill, Ronk referred all questions about security costs to the White House.

“That’s just our policy,” he said.

Kootenai County Republican Central Committee Chairman Brad Corkill said he hadn’t talked to anyone about reimbursement and referred questions to the state party.

Cheney’s deputy press secretary, Megan McGinn, wasn’t available for comment. McGinn previously said Ronk would answer any questions regarding reimbursement.

Kootenai County Commissioner Katie Brodie said she believes the county should ask for reimbursement because Cheney’s event was strictly political. Brodie, a Republican, said she hadn’t spoken to the sheriff or the other commissioners about the security costs and whether reimbursement was even an issue.

“My guess is the state and local central committee will be chipping in to pay for those expenses,” Brodie said.

She said the county does have a duty to provide public safety, but not when it’s for a event that limits who can attend.

The Coeur d’Alene visit was free, but not everyone was invited to the rally. The local Republican central committee distributed tickets, but some people were denied because they weren’t registered Republicans.

A similar issue arose when Cheney visited Boise in August to stump for Bill Sali, the Republican candidate who won the 1st Congressional District election. Sali pledged to reimburse the city of Boise about $4,500 in police expenses. The reimbursement came after people questioned whether taxpayers should subsidize private political functions.

In a written statement to the Idaho Statesman, Sali, a state representative from Kuna, said that as a supporter of smaller government and lower taxes, he couldn’t condone the use of taxpayer money for campaign events.

The question also arose in April when Cheney was in Spokane for a fundraiser at the Davenport Hotel for Republican senatorial candidate Mike McGavick.

City taxpayers footed the bill for costs such as traffic control and crowd management. The Spokane Police Department paid more than $17,000 in overtime for officers to control crowds, escort the motorcade and help with security. That money was not reimbursed by the McGavick campaign or the state GOP, which collected $11,500 from the event.