Hillary cost Hendersonville $3,968

The Hendersonville newspaper has the story. Ouch. And just as Hillary plans to throw in the towel on her campaign. You guys are just rubbing salt in the wound:

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s visit on May 2 cost Hendersonville $3,968, an expense the Clinton campaign promised to repay.
The expenses were mostly for the rental of equipment, but some labor was included in an invoice sent to the campaign.

The city incurred $800 for bleacher rentals, $735 for supervising labor, $644 for chair rentals, $440 for barricade rentals, $341 for the use of a dump truck, $246 for the use of a pickup truck and other smaller expenses. “It’s pretty detailed what we sent to them,” Public Works Director Tom Wooten said.

The invoice was mailed a couple days after the visit, he said. Wooten was unsure whether the invoice had been paid, but he said the campaign had up to 40 days to pay the bill.

The mountains played a major role in the Clinton campaign’s strategy in North Carolina. She visited Asheville in late April and held a rally in front of the Historic Courthouse in downtown Hendersonville a week later. Several thousand people attended the rally in Hendersonville, and coverage of the event appeared in major publications around the country. “It’s good she came,” Hendersonville Mayor Greg Newman said. “It was good publicity for the town.”

He said he understands the Clinton campaign’s position. The campaign is millions of dollars in debt and might not be able to pay the bill. He said the expense is not a financial burden to the city.

Clinton lost North Carolina by 14 points and is close to losing the nomination to Sen. Barack Obama. She did, however, win Western North Carolina and earned the support of Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, a superdelegate.

At the time, Gov. Mike Easley said, “If she carries the mountains of North Carolina, she will carry the state of North Carolina. If she carries North Carolina, she will get the nomination … you got the power. There are power in them there hills.” tal of equipment, but some labor was included in an invoice sent to the campaign.