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A visit for history, not for tourists

By C.T.BOWEN
Published January 16, 2005

There is one copy of the Times sitting on my desktop as a keepsake. It is the Oct. 20, 2004, edition with a headline that notes A George Bush kind of bash.

There is no denying the president's Oct. 19 campaign rally and 30-minute speech at Sims Park in downtown New Port Richey is historically significant.

Friday, Bush was back in Florida, visiting Florida Community College in Jacksonville to tout education and jobs training. It was his first visit since his re-election and the 35th time he has traveled to the state since he took office in 2001.

It is familiar terrain. The president was in Jacksonville in October, drawing 50,000 people to a campaign rally. Three weeks from today, Jacksonville will be host to other dignitaries at that rally site, Alltel Stadium. So, who do you think will lure more tourists to Florida, the president or Peyton Manning/Tom Brady/Ben Roethlisberger? We'll pick the drawing power of a quarterback over the commander in chief.

The point here is that historical significance doesn't necessarily translate into tourist attraction. Just ask the folks at Weeki Wachee. It's not like droves of people began beating in the door to watch the mermaids after Dick Cheney visited in 2000.

Or look at the Saddlebrook Resort, the top tourist destination in Pasco County. The Wesley Chapel resort touts its tennis and golf amenities. There is no mention in its promotional material that Tom Ridge, Tommy G. Thompson and Christie Whitman visited simultaneously in November 2000.

The future Homeland Security chief, secretary of Health and Human Services and Environmental Protection Agency administrator were all sitting governors at the time and traveled to Pasco County for the Republican Governors Association meeting at Saddlebrook. Incidentally, the governor of Texas stiffed Pasco County then, skipping the trip while the presidential election recount continued.

For some reason, though, there is the belief the president's Sims Park visit will help Pasco's tourism. The belief is espoused by Pasco's Republican Party. Tuesday, county commissioners heard a pitch from GOP Chairman Bill Bunting to include a picture of a plaque commemorating the Bush visit in the county's tourism material. The commission ducked for the time being, referring the matter to its Tourism Development Council.

It's a bad idea. Money generated by the county's tourist tax is intended to increase tourism in the county. It should not be used for what could amount to a thinly disguised push to advance partisan politics. Talking up the visit is fine. Spending public money to promote it, even under the guise of tourism, is misguided.

"I cannot think of a single instance in which a sitting political leader is used to promote tourism," said Honey Rand, Pasco's tourism consultant.

Besides, the presidential visit is not being ignored. The city of New Port Richey is allowing the GOP to pay for the plaque commemorating the campaign visit. Even that has brought grumblings from some quarters, as attested to by letters of protest published in this newspaper.

I say put the plaque up as long as it matches the other historical markers around the county, which cost about $1,800 apiece, and the language on the placard is vetted for historical accuracy and to ensure no partisan spin.

The Greater New Port Richey Main Street conducts walking tours of downtown historical sites and already mentions Vice President Dan Quayle's 1992 visit to Sims Park. Will the Bush visit be added to the tour commentary?

"Absolutely. Anything of notoriety that can help put us on the map is worth mentioning," said Judy De Bella Thomas, executive director of Greater New Port Richey Main Street.

The West Pasco Chamber of Commerce also said it will mention the Bush visit in its relocation guide, about 4,000 copies of which are printed and distributed annually.

"After all, it is the first-ever visit by a sitting president to our county," said Joe Alpine, chamber president.

Therein lies another problem - inaccuracy. At least one president is believed to have ventured to Pasco County long before Bush.

There are eyewitness accounts, but no written documentation, of President Calvin Coolidge's visit to Dade City and lunch at the Gray Moss Inn during his railroad trip to Florida as part of the Feb. 1, 1929, dedication of Bok Tower in Lake Wales. Whether Coolidge's visit is the first for a sitting president isn't known.

"We don't know. He may not have been the first. I'm pretty certain that Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech in Tampa. Unless he came by sea, he would have had to travel through Pasco County," said Bill Dayton, a Dade City lawyer and member of the Pasco County Historic Preservation Advisory Board.

Roosevelt, famous for giving locals short whistle-stop speeches from his railroad car, even in the middle of the night, could have done likewise in Dade City, Dayton speculated.

Still, that doesn't diminish the Bush visit. He was here. It should be noted. Just not in publicly financed tourism material.

"We haven't had much in the way of presidential visits, so that is a significant thing," said Dayton, "but I don't think that would attract tourists. The president has visited all over the country."

Reach C.T. Bowen at bowen@sptimes.com or at 727-869-6239.

[Last modified January 16, 2005, 00:33:22]