Sheriff bills Romney $25,000 for Arapahoe High visit

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Sheriff bills Romney $25,000 for Arapahoe High visit

Robinson

@WireImgId=2106609

Sheriff Grayson Robinson

Robinson

Grayson Robinson

Robinson

Posted: Friday, February 17, 2012 11:00 am | Updated: 7:57 pm, Tue Jan 29, 2013.

Sheriff bills Romney $25,000 for Arapahoe High visit By G. Jeff Golden Colorado Community Media | 3 comments

Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson is keeping his word and charging the Mitt Romney presidential campaign $25,000 for a political rally Feb. 6.

The sheriff’s office announced Feb. 2 it would be charging for extraordinary security measures during political events this campaign season. Just four days later, Romney paid a visit to Arapahoe High School on the eve of Colorado’s Republican caucus.

The personnel and equipment used for security during the rally at the Centennial school cost the sheriff’s office $25,050.79, Robinson said. In accordance with the sheriff’s office decree, the bill was sent to the Romney campaign Feb. 17.

Robinson, a Republican, said he doesn’t expect to hear back from the campaign for a while.

The sheriff’s office will continue to charge political candidates for public rallies that require a boost in security for the duration of campaign season, Robinson said. The invoices will include charges for event planning, personnel deployment, crowd control, traffic management and equipment usage. These costs have historically fallen on local and state governments, which fund police and fire departments, sheriff’s offices and emergency medical services.

“It’s not the Romney campaign I’m focused on, it’s all the political campaigns that require extraordinary security measures,” Robinson said. “This is not political and this is not partisan, this is keeping my promise of being a good steward for taxpayer dollars.”

The Romney campaign did not immediately respond to telephone or email requests for comment Feb. 17.

Arapahoe County is expected to be a hotly contested battleground in the national political arena this year.

The county voted for Republican George W. Bush in 2004 but chose Democrat Barack Obama — both of whom won their presidential races — in 2008. Arapahoe is the third largest county in Colorado, with a population of 572,000. There are 354,670 registered voters, including 113,585 Republicans and 121,144 Democrats, according to the county clerk’s office.

In the Feb. 7 Colorado caucus, Romney finished second to Rick Santorum. But the former Massachusetts governor won Arapahoe County.

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Posted in News on Friday, February 17, 2012 11:00 am. Updated: 7:57 pm.

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3 comments:

jayburd2020 posted at 4:38 am on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.

Posts: 2
And why not charge the Romney campaign. Between Super-PACs and mega-bundling "Leadership Circles," our elections are now like a Google-Plus for the Top 1%. An estimated $8 billion will be raised and spent on political campaigns of all sorts this election cycle. To at least pay for all of the wasteful pork and regulatory loopholes those donations will lead to, maybe we should just tax political donations at the same tax bracket rate as income? It's enough to make you laugh, as does this funny YouTube video about one member of "Obama's Secret Service." Enjoy: http://tinyurl.com/6sevqsj
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weighing in posted at 6:03 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.

Posts: 1
As long as ALL politicians going there have the same obligations and taxpayers don't foot the bill, then this officer's approach is appropriate.
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Prince Sycamore posted at 3:56 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.

Posts: 5
Good for the Sheriff, taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for anyone's campaign.
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