The city of Portland has spent at least $180,000 on police services for visiting presidential candidates in the past two years and in a report released today, city Auditor Mary Hull Caballaro says it's time to make the candidates' campaigns foot the bill.
The most expensive recent visit, estimated at 1,400 staff hours worth $89,000, came when President Barack Obama visited in May 2015 to make a speech at Nike promoting the controversial Trans Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement.
As with visits that presidential wannabes such as Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) and others have made, the Portland Police Bureau put officers on streets to handle traffic and security but did so without compensation.
Should presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump visit Portland before the November general election, the cost of putting police on streets could eclipse the costs of earlier visits by Clinton and Sanders.
Here's the gist of the audit:
Willamette Week