Pittsfield looking to recoup $50k from Harris campaign, DNC

PITTSFIELD, Mass. ( NE W S10 ) – Officials hope to recoup some losses after Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at a fundraiser in the city. The mayor of Pittsfield said the trip left the city with a $50,000 bill and if the democratic party does not pay it, that cost will fall on taxpayers.

Last month the Democratic Presidential Candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at a fundraiser at the historic Colonial Theatre.

“I have not received a response back from the campaign as to whether or not they will take on the costs, so we are continuing to work our avenues,” said Mayor Peter Marchetti.

He said the city was excited to find out the vice president would be speaking at the fundraiser.

That trip happened just days after Harris became the presumptive democratic nominee for president and two weeks after a gunman in Pennsylvania attempted to assassinate Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump.

“We knew the event was coming. The secret service came into town, asked to have meetings and start doing planning. We just followed through with the requests of secret service to ensure a safe day in Pittsfield for everyone,” Marchetti said.

He said the city didn’t have any anticipated costs ahead of the event and that the question over who was going to pay for it was happening as the event was going on.

He said the security costs amounted to over $50,000 and included the day of the event and the planning days leading up to the event.

“I’ve asked the campaign if they’d be paying for it. I’m now in the process of sending invoices to the DNC to see if they are going to pay for it and that’s where we are,” said Marchetti.

That money was mostly spent on overtime for the police and fire departments, Marchetti said.

“It’s already happened and we’ve already paid for it,” Marchetti said. “We will pay it if they don’t.”

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