Ridge touts security for GOP gathering

updated 5:33 p.m. ET Aug. 25, 2004

NEW YORK - Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Wednesday that security measures for the Republican National Convention are as strong and well-coordinated as officials have had for any event.

“We are prepared,” Ridge told reporters after inspecting mobile police command facilities that will be deployed to protect the convention, which begins Monday. “The city’s secure, it’s safe, and we hope the visitors and the community enjoy the terrific week that lays ahead of us.”

Ridge said New Yorkers should rest assured that authorities have put a remarkable amount of planning into venue protection, airspace security and emergency equipment. He met earlier with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. George Pataki and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

'We are not closing down'
“We are not closing down,” Bloomberg told reporters. “We will be safe. We will enforce the laws of our land. The eyes of the world will be on us. We have a unique opportunity to tell New York’s story of openness, tolerance, inclusiveness and hospitality.”

Bloomberg said he expected disturbances for surrounding neighborhoods to be minor and “more than offset by the positive effects of the convention.”

Large protests are planned for each of the convention’s four days as well as the weekend before it opens. New York police also must protect Mets and Yankees baseball games and the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

REGISTER TO VOTE Forms available for most states Click here for voter registration forms that you can fill out and mail in for the next election.

At a press conference with Ridge and Pataki, Bloomberg repeatedly invoked the economic benefits he expects the convention to bring to the city, whose voters are overwhelmingly Democratic. Authorities have said security costs for the GOP convention could exceed $60 million.

“Whatever our political persuasions,” Bloomberg said, “a national political convention where a party nominates its candidate for the presidency is a fundamental part of our electoral system. We all have a vested interest in making sure that New York City is a good host.”

Capitol police also on hand
Joining law enforcement officers in New York City are Capitol police who protect members of Congress in Washington. Citing security, officials in Washington wouldn’t say how many Capitol police would accompany House and Senate members to the convention.

Congressional leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., have Capitol police teams assigned to them nearly 24 hours a day. The Washington-based officers also provided protection to congressional members who attended the Democratic convention in Boston last month.

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

Al Gore rebuts Palin's climate change claims Dems praise tentative health bill compromise S.C. panel nixes impeachment measure for gov. House votes to extend $31 billion in tax breaks Congressman ends effort to honor Tiger Woods Petraeus warns new surge progress will be slow Congress to subpoena 'party crasher' couple House OKs tax hike for investment managers Battle lines forming over TARP extension Obama is sued for White House visitor list Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: