Presidential Politics From the Ground Up

Hard to believe, but not everything the presidential candidates do makes news. One example: John McCain was in Birmingham, Ala., this past Monday, and held a $100-per-person fundraiser in the suburb of Homewood. Not exactly we-bring-you-special-coverage material.

But even a non-story can have a story behind it.

It seems that the "young professionals" event - that's the campaign's description - was held at Rosewood Hall, a facility in Homewood City Hall. Also seems that Mayor Barry McCulley knocked down the cost of renting the two rooms. Normal fees: $1,250. Invoice to the McCain campaign: $300.

And one more thing: the usual $100 set-up fee. The mayor had two city jail inmates set up the rooms, for free. A McChain gang, someone said to me.

The Birmingham News brought this campaign curiosity to light.

I called Mayor McCulley to see if the News had gotten it right. "I'm sure you were shocked" by the story, he said. "So was I."

McCulley's perspective: The city rents Rosewood Hall for receptions, banquets, weddings. But on Mondays, the place always seems to be dark. There's a free-market way to fix that, and he took it. He told me, "I merely set that new rate for the first event that came along."

So if you want Rosewood Hall for a Monday night, it's yours for $250. But what McCulley calls a new rate, others call a discount for McCain.

The city council president told the News that McCulley wanted the hall for free, and she said no. McCulley never asked the city council. That helped McCain's people, since council consideration is a two-week process -- even, as Homewood councilman David Hooks told me, when Homewood High School sought a discount for the senior prom. (The council said yes, reversing its decision from last year.)

As for the inmate labor: For reasons that remain murky, preparations for the Monday-evening fundraiser had to be done Sunday afternoon. Mayor McCulley says two city workers usually handle Rosewood Hall. But they didn't want to come in on Sunday, so he not only solved the problem, but saved the campaign $100 by using two jail trusties.

There's no evidence the McCain campaign knew about any of this beforehand, and as presidential campaign news goes, it's about as small-potatoes as they come. But if you want to get technical, consider that Homewood is an incorporated city, and corporate contributions to presidential candidates are illegal. The standard for business transactions with campaigns is fair market value in the ordinary course of business.

Larry Noble, a campaign finance lawyer who spent years as general counsel to the Federal Election Commission, said with a laugh, "It's always dangerous to have a presidential candidate be the first one to get a discount."

Local Democrats complained to the Birmingham News that they never get a price break when they hold their annual dinners at Rosewood Hall. McCulley made a point of noting to me that he's not a Republican.

It's also true that the non-partisan municipal elections come up before the presidential election, and Homewood is pretty solid GOP territory.

Now, Watergate this ain't. But here's why it caught my eye. The national press sweeps in and out of towns with the presidential campaigns, and rarely sees the local politics in play. So here's one look at the presidential race through the other end of the telescope.

-- Peter Overby

1:49 PM ET | 04-25-2008 | permalink