City asking VP to pick up tab

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by nate jenkins

Local officials say Vice President Dick Cheney forgot to pick up an important item at City Hall when he visited last week.

It wasn't the key to the city.

Mayor Coleen Seng's office wants the nation's second-in-command, or other responsible party, to pick up the tab from his visit - $31,900, at last count.

"We intend to (seek reimbursement), once we identify who we should send the bill to," said Seng's chief of staff, Mark Bowen.

The request ignited a spirited political volley Monday afternoon.

Republican City Councilman Jon Camp called the ordeal "tacky," saying a payment request ignores the economic and symbolic pluses of such a visit.

"You've got to recognize there were benefits that offset costs," Camp said.

But if reimbursement is normal protocol, he said, the city should pursue it.

The Nebraska Democratic Party, meanwhile, called for the political beneficiary of the Cheney trip, Jeff Fortenberry, to pony up.

Cheney's June 18 visit helped raise about $150,000 for Fortenberry's campaign to replace Doug Bereuter as the state's 1st District representative. Cheney was top billing at a $250-per-person breakfast at the Embassy Suites.

"Due to the political nature of Vice President Cheney's visit to Lincoln, it is unreasonable to ask Lincoln taxpayers to foot the bill," said Barry Rubin, executive director of the Nebraska Democratic Party.

"When will Jeff Fortenberry pay Lincoln taxpayers back for the costs related to his political fund-raiser?"

Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Chris Peterson called the situation "partisan politics at its worst."

"I don't remember Omaha or Kearney seeking reimbursement when they had presidential, vice-presidential, or even first lady visits," Peterson said.

Asked if the request was politically motivated - Seng is a Democrat, as is a majority of the Lincoln City Council - Bowen replied simply, "no."

Fortenberry was in Washington on Monday and unavailable for comment. But the campaign has no plans to negotiate a payment schedule.

Jessica Moenning, Fortenberry's campaign manager, directed questions about the costs to the White House, which is one place the city could begin directing its cost questions.

The Fortenberry camp, she said, has pledged to pay the estimated $15,000 cost of the vice president's trip to Lincoln on Air Force Two.

It was an honor for the city to welcome back its native son, Moenning said. Cheney was born in Lincoln in 1941.

"The nature of the vice president's visit was a homecoming as much as anything," Moenning said.

Traffic control and security costs incurred by the police department represented "about a football game and a half," Police Chief Tom Casady said.

The Nebraska State Patrol wasn't hit with any additional expenses, while overtime costs for county law enforcement officials totaled $1,974. Sheriff Terry Wagner said the cost can easily be absorbed in the department's budget.

Democratic City Councilman Terry Werner said it is Fortenberry that should absorb all the costs, especially the city's.

"The fact he's paying $15,000 (for Air Force Two) - means it was clearly just a political trip and he ought to pay for the city as well," Werner said. "The mayor wasn't even invited to anything. It was purely political.

"There are normal costs of running your city, but when you have a political event that costs the city $32,000, I don't know how you can explain that away," he said. "The city got no benefit out of this."

Reach Nate Jenkins at 473-7223 or njenkins@;journalstar.com. Don Walton contributed to this story.