LEWISTON – Each time Laura Bush, Jenna and Barbara Bush, Andrew Card, John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards, plus a team of Secret Service agents, has visited Lewiston since Sept. 10, it’s meant extra work for the city, especially the police.

But, so far, the bill to Lewiston taxpayers has been small.

With Elizabeth Edwards visiting the Wallingford Fruit House in Auburn today, it’ll mean some police overtime to Auburn taxpayers, said Deputy Chief Phillip Crowell, since neither campaign reimburses cities for security staffing.

“We don’t get reimbursed by anybody,” said Lewiston Police Department Deputy Chief Mike Bussiere. “We’re running into the same predicaments as other cities in battleground states.”

Sounding more like a political science professor than a police boss, Bussiere explained why the area is such a hot campaign spot: Maine splits its electoral college votes by the two congressional districts. Polls show Kerry ahead in southern Maine’s 1st District, but the presidential race is close in the 2nd District, which includes Lewiston-Auburn. “The 2nd District is in play. Lewiston is the largest city in the district. That’s why they’re here,” Bussiere said.

In spite of so many visits in a short span, so far the only direct cost to Lewiston taxpayers is “a couple of thousand dollars” of overtime pay for the Sunday when Democrat vice president candidate Sen. John Edwards campaigned at the Lewiston Armory, Bussiere said.

“We’ve been lucky. We haven’t had a lot of overtime. Most of the visits have been during the week during the day,” he said. At those times, the department has more officers already scheduled to work.

When First Lady Laura Bush campaigned at the Franco American Heritage Center on Sept. 10, and when Elizabeth Edwards spoke at Lewiston-Auburn College on Oct. 13, Bussiere pulled detectives and other officers off their normal work. “We’re trying to absorb the visits within our existing manpower. Some of their work had to be put off, or officers would not be in the schools all day.”

“The same for us,” said Auburn Deputy Chief Crowell. Overtime will be needed today, because he can’t pull officers off patrol. But during the week, he’s able to pull others off their normal assignments.

For security reasons, Bussiere said he could not give specific numbers on how many officers he assigns to these candidate details, but he did say the number “is more a dozen.” That number grows when protesters show up.

“When these folks come to Lewiston, it becomes our responsibility for the day. And it’s our responsibility to make sure people can protest and counterprotest, freely. That requires officers to keep the peace between people who don’t agree with each other,” he said.

So far none of the events has had any big problems. Two protesters were arrested during the first lady’s visit for civil disobedience. Often protesters determine ahead of time who’s going to get arrested to make a political statement, Bussiere said.

Lewiston Detective Sgt. James Minkowsky is among the officers who have been at most of the high-profile events. Even though it means extra work, he said he’s enjoyed the assignments, finding them interesting.

Providing security gives police a chance to meet people they normally would not. “Rather than reading about these people in the newspaper, we get to see them.” For instance, Minkowsky said hello to Laura Bush in person. He didn’t get to shake her hand, but he did shake the hands of presidential Chief of Staff Andrew Card, John Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards. That, he said, is a perk.

He also enjoys working with Secret Service agents and knows several by name. “Kevin Flynn is their primary agent. They’re very gracious. They’re good about seeking our input,” Minkowsky said. “And we get to see the preplanning, what goes on behind the scene. The public just sees the speaking part, when several days of preparation goes on.”

Days before a big campaign event, the first job is to find the right location. Then local police and Secret Service agents plan what routes through town the motorcade will travel, where the media will park their trucks, whether and how any streets should be closed, where protesters will protest.

With only 10 days before the election, there’s speculation on who – if anyone – will visit Lewiston-Auburn next. Memories of 1960 when presidential candidate John F. Kennedy came to Lewiston the night before the election are still with many people.

“I missed that one,” Minkowsky chuckled, but he said if he heard that President Bush or John F. Kerry were coming, Lewiston would be ready.

The visits are opportunities for officers “to do something different and to show off the city,” he said.