The municipal council for the National District (Santo Domingo) has pledged a long and hard fight to keep the city free of political paraphernalia that sprout up like mushrooms. Against all odds, the city has managed to do what it set out to do and what no other city government was capable of. The local government belongs to the PLD party, and in the face of government opposition and their own party?s insistence, the city administration kept its word and cleaned house. Mayor Roberto Salcedo never hesitated to use the resources at his disposal to clean up what others had dirtied. Two political leaders were arrested, fire-breathing PRD militants were faced down, and his own party?s requests were denied, as Salcedo spent RD$2 million of his budgetary funds to keep pace with the ?mushrooms.? None of the parties have ever reimbursed the city for its expenditures in removing the signage installed by the political clans. Even the posters and signage of political non-entities such as Rafael Flores Estrella have become a nuisance, and Jose Miguel Martinez, in charge of Environmental Management for the city, told reporters that the removal of this tiny party?s propaganda has filled a truck. As if to emphasize the problem, El Caribe printed a photo of a city truck that was nearly set on fire by an irate man who watched the removal of PRSC campaign signs in the Jardines de Fontainbleau, near John F. Kennedy Avenue. The man doused gasoline on the truck and threatened light a match. He was detained for questioning, but no charges were filed, as PRSC deputy Licelot Matos de Barrios intervened on his behalf.