Trump, Biden, Sanders and Clinton campaigns owe city of Green Bay $64,000 for campaign events

GREEN BAY — It turns out Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders do have something in common: Their presidential campaigns all owe the city of Green Bay money.

The city on Tuesday said the 2016 and 2024 presidential candidates' campaigns owe the city a combined total of $64,264.19 for police, fire, public works and traffic services provided during three campaign events during 2016 and two campaign events this year.

By the end of Tuesday, one of the campaigns said it initiated payment of its bill this week.

The city incurs substantial costs to protect candidates and the public during campaign events and the campaigns should cover those costs, Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich said in a media release.

"We are honored to host visits from presidential candidates and appreciate the significance these events hold for our community," Genrich said. "At the same time, there are very real costs associated with the public safety resources these events require, and it is crucial that the financial responsibilities associated with these services are borne by the campaigns, not our taxpayers."

Trump has made eight stops in Green Bay, seven of them for campaign events between 2016 and 2024. First Lady Jill Biden already visited Green Bay twice this year. Sanders hosted several campaign rallies in the Green Bay area during the 2016 campaign. Clinton visited once in 2016.

Here's a look at the events and the unpaid invoices:

• March 29, 2016: Hillary Clinton held a campaign rally in the Riverside Ballroom. The campaign still owes $12,522.89 for police and fire services.

• April 1, 2016: Bernie Sanders held a campaign rally at the Kress Event Center on the UW-Green Bay campus. The campaign still owes $1,982.10 for fire services.

• Aug. 5, 2016: Trump and then-Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence held a rally in the KI Convention Center. The campaign owes $9,380.10 for police services.

• April 2, 2024: Trump rallied supporters at the KI Convention Center on the same day voters went to the polls in local government elections. The campaign owes $33,389.55 for police, fire, public works and traffic services.

• June 13: First Lady Jill Biden spoke with seniors about Medicare and Social Security during an event at the Brown County Library. The campaign still owes the city $6,989 for police, fire, public works and traffic services.

The Biden-Harris campaign on Tuesday afternoon issued a statement in response to the mayor's notice and indicated it has initiated a payment to the city for services for Jill Biden's June 13 visit.

"Unlike Donald Trump, who lies and cheats at the expense of working people so he can get ahead, we paid our bills and will continue to engage voters across Green Bay in the lead up to November," the statement said.

Amaad Rivera, Genrich's chief of staff, said the city has attempted to contact all four of the campaigns regarding the unpaid invoices and as of Tuesday afternoon, two had responded.

The city only bills campaign events, not official visits of elected officials like Congressional representatives, presidents or cabinet members, Rivera said.

For example, First Lady Jill Biden's June 13 Seniors for Biden-Harris campaign event was billed for public safety costs, but her Feb. 16 visit to the Rail Yard Innovation District to tout the White House's investment in youth apprenticeships was not billed. Similarly, Trump's April 2 downtown Green Bay campaign rally was billed for public safety costs, but HUD Secretary Ben Carson's September 2020 tour of Broadway Lofts to highlight affordable housing needs was not.

Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay seeks $64,000 from Trump, Biden, Clinton, Sanders campaigns