El Paso council backs campaign deposit policy following 2019 Trump rally

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) --The El Paso City Council voted 6-2 on Tuesday to direct the city manager and city attorney to develop a policy to safeguard taxpayers from covering public safety and venue costs when candidates visit the city on the campaign trail. The policy would include an upfront deposit to cover projected event costs.

The proposal was prompted by an ABC-7 investigation that revealed the City of El Paso did not discuss costs with then-President Donald Trump’s campaign before his Feb. 11, 2019, re-election rally at the El Paso County Coliseum.

During Tuesday’s meeting, City Council Rep. Lily Limon highlighted Trump’s rally, noting the city remains impacted by the past campaign visit.

“We’re stuck with a $600,000 bill from the Trump campaign when he did the visit,” Limon said. “We have had efforts to collect, but there was no request for an advanced deposit or payment. When we don’t have a contract, we can’t go back and charge him.”

Limon clarified that the proposed policy is forward-looking and addresses future scenarios, not specifically past presidential visits. “This is to prevent that particular situation. It’s not talking about the president,” Limon said.

At the time of the event, the campaign paid a $5,000 rental fee and an additional $1,000 non-refundable deposit for the Coliseum, according to records obtained by ABC-7. Brian Kennedy, who was president of the El Paso Sports Commission at the time, told ABC-7 he negotiated a contract in advance with the Trump campaign. Under that agreement, the campaign was required to pay before Trump stepped on stage. The commission, which manages the Coliseum for El Paso County, also required the campaign to cover all venue-related expenses.

The city billed Trump’s campaign more than $470,000 about a month after the event, records show. A one-time 21% delinquency fee later increased the total bill to nearly $570,000. Records show reimbursements covered a range of costs, including equipment, personnel, and services such as security, cleanup, setup, and logistics.

Records provided by the city showed no evidence of prior discussions with the campaign, including cost estimates, quotes, draft agreements, or contracts. ABC-7 also found that the city still does not have a formal cost-recovery plan for events such as political campaign rallies.

Other cities have faced similar challenges. In Tucson, Arizona, officials declined to pursue roughly $80,000 in public safety costs from a 2016 Trump rally and about $40,000 from a Bernie Sanders rally that same year, concluding that legal action would cost more than the amounts owed, according to Andy Squire, public information officer in the City Manager’s Office. However, when Trump returned in September 2016, the city required his campaign to prepay estimated public safety and facility costs totaling $145,222, including nearly $116,000 for police services.

On Tuesday, City Manager Dionne Mack confirmed that Trump was president in 2019 when the visit occurred, though Limon maintained he was acting as a candidate.

City Attorney Karla Nieman provided clarification regarding potential complexities. “I think the caveat would be even candidates for president, at one point in their campaign, will receive Secret Service protection, and just for council’s clarification, that still qualifies even if they’re campaigning. Some of them receive Secret Service protection during the time leading up to the final election,” Nieman said.

City Council Rep. Art Fierro sought to clarify the proposed process for candidates. Fierro asked Mack if a candidate renting a facility would have to pay “the rent, the fee, the deposits, everything upfront like everybody else who rents from the city?” Mack confirmed, “For our facilities? Correct.”

Limon reiterated that the campaign is responsible for costs incurred for a campaign function.

“If a candidate comes into the city and wants to rent a venue and requests public safety, the party responsible for paying for that is the campaign,” Limon said. “Not Secret Service, not the El Paso Police Department. It is the campaign because it is a campaign function.”

City staff will present the developed policy to the council within 60 days.

City representatives Josh Acevedo, Cynthia Trejo, Ivan Niño, Lily Limon and Chris Canales voted in favor of the item, while Alejandra Chávez and Deanna Maldonado-Rocha voted against it.