Bush to Get Police Tab From Democratic-Led San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — President Bush, who wooed backers at a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser here last week, now faces a $20,000 tab himself, courtesy of the City of San Francisco.

That is the amount the city paid about 250 police officers on security duty during the President’s three-hour stop. On Monday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors--all Democrats--agreed to bill it to Bush’s reelection campaign.

“I don’t begrudge the President the police protection; he needs it,” said Supervisor Carole Migden, who also is president of the San Francisco Central Democratic Committee.

“But the city is already paying dearly for the President’s recession. We can’t afford to pay for his coming here to make excuses for it.”

Bush raised $1 million last Tuesday at the luncheon at the St. Francis Hotel.

Arthur Bruzzone, vice chairman of San Francisco’s Republican Central Committee, criticized the board’s action.

“We wonder whether this Democratic supervisor . . . would be submitting such a bill for a standing Democratic President,” Bruzzone said. “I’m calling it posturing and a political attack on the President.”

Migden agreed that the city would have been legally obligated to pay security costs of the President’s visit had he arrived on official business.

“But Mr. Bush didn’t even make a pretense of coming here to resolve any of the issues facing our city. No elected official, including the President, should expect the taxpayers to help pay for their fund-raising events,” Migden said.