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.
