Trump’s Security Costs Add Up in N.Y.C.; New Twist in McCrory N.C. Election Saga
Tourists and pedestrians in front of heightened security at the entrance to Trump Tower in New York City.
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily News Digest: New mining claims blocked in Montana; California pension headache; and Texas border residents worry about president-elect’s wall proposal.
POLICE | According to three New York City officials, providing protection to President-elect Trump and his family is costing the city more than $1 million per day. "The number one imperative here is safety and security. We owe that to the president-elect, his family and his team," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference. But he added that the city would need help from the federal government to cover the added costs, including police overtime. [CNN Money]
ELECTIONS | In the latest twist in the North Carolina gubernatorial election, the conservative Civitas Institute based in Raleigh is suing the State Board of Elections in federal court over 90,000 early voting, same-day registrants. Incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory is alleging voter fraud as he trails challenger Democratic state Attorney General Roy Cooper in the vote count. Democrats want McCrory to concede, but opponents suspect he may be trying to cast enough doubt on the elections process so the Republican-controlled legislature can step in and choose a winner, per state law, a decision that can’t be challenged in court. [The News & Observer]
PUBLIC LANDS | U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced in Montana on Monday that the Obama administration would temporarily block new mining claims on about 30,000 acres of Forest Service land, north of Yellowstone National Park. Two mining companies have asked the state of Montana for permission to look for gold on private land in the area. [Bozeman Daily Chronicle]
PENSIONS | CalPERS, the massive California pension fund for public employees, is preparing for rate hikes that could cost government agencies billions of dollars. “The most important thing we can do is shore up the funding,” said Richard Gillihan, a representative for Gov. Jerry Brown’s Department of Human Resources. “We can’t wait to do that. It’s pay now, or pay more later.” [The Sacramento Bee]
HOMELESSNESS | The announcement of where four new 150-bed homeless shelters in Salt Lake City will be located was postponed Monday by Mayor Jackie Biskupski’s office. Negotiations on parcels of land where the facilities will be located have not been completed, and it’s not clear when they’ll be finalized. [The Salt Lake City]
BORDER WALL | “The wall might make mid-America feel safer, but for those of us that live on the border, it’s not making us feel any safer when we know that people can go over it, around it, under it and through it,” said Monica Weisberg Stewart, Texas Border Coalition security expert, about President-elect Trump’s plan for keeping undocumented immigrants out of the country. Locals along the border worry they’ll lose access to their land over a concrete wall that doesn’t make geological or monetary sense, especially when the U.S. government’s “virtual wall” using cameras, observation balloons and drones continues to expand. [Savannah Morning News]
HEROIN | Illinois Sen. Kyle McCarter was one of 11 senators who voted against $60 million in funding to assist heroin addicts—surprising considering his daughter, Amber, died of an overdose along train tracks near East St. Louis in 2006—arguing: “Government is not good at transforming lives. About the only thing we can do to get addicts to stop is keep them in prison.” [Ogle County News]
INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS | Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine are bracing for the possibility of federal funding cuts, once President-elect Trump takes office. Of top concern: Less funding for social services, including those to address homelessness. [The Seattle Times]
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