Newport News awaits reimbursement from Obama, McCain

By Sabine Hirschauer, Daily Press

NEWPORT NEWS 

The inaugural balls have been danced. The speeches were held, spirits lifted and history made.

But three months ago, when the run for the nation's top job was ensnared in a hotly contested campaign, the two presidential nominees — now-President Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. John McCain — courted Newport News heavily to help garner the Virginia vote.

And both still owe the city money, city officials contend. But the dollars are trickling in slowly, very slowly — if at all.

The McCain campaign — which descended on the Christopher Newport University campus on Nov. 1, three days before Election Day — isn't paying the city for $7,500 in expenses racked up during that rally.

The city charged the McCain campaign for $5,600 for police and $1,900 for the Fire Department's help, mainly accrued in overtime. The money includes costs for extra medical staff, additional police officers for traffic control and officers to help with security for Arizona Republican McCain.

In a brief letter last month, the McCain campaign wrote the city that it would pass on Newport News' reimbursement request to the U.S. Secret Service.

"McCain basically turned us down," said Neil Morgan, an assistant city manager. "They turned the request over to the Secret Service, which I would interpret that we don't get reimbursed. They are done with us, I guess."

The Secret Service was responsible for the security of both men, but local police officers helped the federal agents.

At the time, city and CNU officials told the McCain campaign that they expected to be reimbursed for all expenses related to the event.

In October, Democrat Obama held a rally in Newport News, packing about 18,000 people into Victory Landing Park downtown.

During his rally, the city racked up $21,073 in costs, mostly in police overtime.

The Obama campaign has so far reimbursed the city $2,154 for expenses incurred by the Fire Department during the Oct. 4 rally.

That's in addition to $4,693 that the campaign paid the city for bottled water bought by the Fire Department.

But the lion's share of the Obama tab — about $18,800 for extra police and security — is still outstanding.

Last year's presidential election will make its mark as unprecedented in many ways, including when it comes to dollars and cents.

For example, Obama outraised and outspent McCain. In total, the Obama campaign raised $741.7 million, while the McCain campaign raised $345.6 million.

Obama still had about $29.91 million in cash on hand and was debt-free as of Nov. 24, according to the most recently available information from the Federal Election Commission.

By comparison, McCain shows $4 million in cash on hand, and he's at least $4.9 million in debt.

The city will wait until next month to remind the Obama campaign about the outstanding money, Morgan said. "At the moment," he said, "I don't know if we'll get reimbursed."