Area readies for presidential visit

With the president’s visit to Charlottesville less than 24 hours away, officials were still busily preparing Thursday evening.

City officials were meeting “almost every hour” with U.S. Secret Service personnel to make sure security and transportation arrangements are up to snuff for Barack Obama’s appearance at the Charlottesville Pavilion, where he will headline a rally to support Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Ivy.

“Essentially, it’s just getting questions answered and making sure that these little, last-minute issues get worked out,” said Charlottesville spokesman Ric Barrick.

Perriello is facing Republican challenger Robert Hurt and independent conservative candidate Jeff Clark in Tuesday’s election.

Charlottesville police Lt. Ronnie Roberts said the city, in addition to getting a visit from Obama once before, has played host to a number of other presidents, as well as foreign dignitaries.

“If you look at the big scheme of things, we’re pretty accustomed to visits from dignitaries,” Roberts said.

He added, “There’s a gentleman who lived up on a hill that makes this a very popular area.”

Obama is looking forward to leaving Washington and coming back to Charlottesville, White House spokesman Adam Abrams said Thursday.

Ahead of the visit, Perriello said he hasn’t always agreed with Obama, but is glad for his support.

“The president will be the first to tell you that I have disagreed with him to his face on very high-profile issues,” he said. “But it’s about a basic choice between people who stood on that cliff when we were headed into a depression and said, ‘Not on our watch.’ I will stand with the fighters any day.”

Hurt said that he thinks Obama’s visit will help his campaign, not Perriello’s.

“I guess Congressman Perriello should be commended for his loyalty to the president,” Hurt said. “I think the president has led this country down a path that nobody wants, whether it is the health care bill, the financial regulation bill, cap and trade, or the stimulus package. Congressman Perriello has again and again demonstrated his allegiance to this president. This president is coming back to reward him.”

Obama also mentioned Perriello in his Wednesday-night appearance on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” as one of several congressmen in “basically Republican” districts who backed him in tough votes because of their principles.

“And my hope in this election is that people who vote on the basis of what they think is right and have integrity and aren’t just thinking about the next election, but are thinking about the next generation — that they are rewarded,” Obama said on the show.

Albemarle County police officers will also be involved with security, especially the route from the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport to town. It’s expected to take about 60 officers, including about 30 off-duty officers called in to work, county spokeswoman Lee Catlin said. There will also be help from a number of other agencies.

Officials aren’t publicly confirming exact routes or schedules, but the county has announced that motorists should stay clear of U.S. 29 north of town from 6 to 9:15 p.m.

“[We] are strongly encouraging motorists to avoid the Route 29 area entirely during that timeframe as extended closures of Route 29, including intersections and adjacent roads, will be occurring,” Catlin wrote.

Andrew E. Harris Jr. of the Secret Service said that security officers try to minimize the inconvenience presidential visits cause.

“Unfortunately, … that doesn’t happen all the time … because of infrastructure,” he said.

In the city, several roads near the Pavilion will be closed to traffic, though only Belmont Bridge will be closed to pedestrians, Barrick said.

At the Pavilion, the line will start forming at 2 p.m. and the gates will open at 5 p.m., Barrick said. Two lines for the free, public event will stretch down the mall, he said.

Officials estimate the venue, as currently configured, will hold a crowd of about 5,000, Barrick said.

Merchants on the Downtown Mall were hopeful the crowd would spend money.

“People want to be part of the action, and that’s going to translate to business,” said Heather Hightower, store manager at Jean Theory.

In addition to actual event attendees, the “action” Friday is expected to include protestors.

Americans for Prosperity will be in Lee Park starting at 4 p.m. and activists were also working Thursday to organize an anti-war demonstration.

There will also be a mixed martial arts fight this evening at the Main Street Arena (the former Ice Park) and a performance of the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra at the Paramount Theater. It’s also the night before a home football game at the University of Virginia.

People actually attending the rally will be asked to leave their signs at the door, in accordance with Secret Service policy, Barrick said.

They should expect roughly the same security measures as are used for flying on an airplane, officials said.

The rally is one of several Obama has attended lately to boost candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.

At a recent campaign event in Seattle, he emphasized the importance of turnout and excitement in upcoming elections, press accounts indicate.

According to an account from the Daily of the University of Washington, where Obama spoke, he appeared on stage for about an hour, speaking for less than that.

Barrick said he expects the cost for the event to the city to be in the range of $3,000, principally for overtime. The Perriello campaign has confirmed it will cover that cost, Barrick said. Catlin said the county will be tallying up its own cost and will accept any donation the campaign cares to make, though details remain to be worked out.