NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Mayoral candidate Robert R. Moulton Jr. is again being fined for failing to submit his campaign finance report on time.
The pre-election filing covering the period between Sept. 2 and Oct. 20 was due by midnight on Monday, Oct. 30. The report was filed on Nov. 1.
Candidates who fail to file campaign finance reports in a timely fashion are penalized $25 a day up to $5,000 and must pay with their own, not their campaign, money to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Moulton also missed the preliminary filing date of Sept. 11 by nearly two weeks and was penalized with a $300 fine. A second notice assessing the fine was sent on Oct. 12 with the warning it could be referred to a collection agency if not paid.
The first report was filed on Sept. 23, 12 days after the due date, and listed no contributions and no expenses.
The second required report filed on Wednesday had minimal information. He reported 14 contributions totaling $947, no unitemized contributions, and, so far, expenditures of only $199.56, both for Walmart for supplies for campaign events.
Of the contributions, 11 were from North Adams and three from Vermont, with the largest being $300 from his mother, Carolyn Moulton and the second largest $200 from Charles Jewett of Bennington, Vt.
The report was cited as amended "to add out of pocket expense" listed as $1,923.30 for printed materials and a web page through 180 Media of Pittsfield. The summary report, which does not calculate the out-of-pocket expenses, shows him with an ending balance on Oct. 20 of $747.44.
The other candidate in the race, Thomas Bernard, filed his report on Monday and showed receipts of $8,012 and expenditures of $5,591.57, for an ending balance of $10,883.59.
He had ended his first filing period on Sept. 1 with receipts of $11,630 and expenditures of $3,166.84 for an ending balance of $8,463.16
Bernard's largest expenditures in this filing was for printing and mailings, with $1,382.90 spent on postage alone. He also spent $600 for office rental on Ashland Street and another $600 for hosting and catering an event at the American Legion. Some $255 was spent on radio advertising and $324 for advertising on iBerkshires.com. Bernard's also made use of the Democracy Engine, a political donation site, expending nearly $200 on fees.
He had 74 direct donations during this time period and unitemized donations of $1,154. The largest donors were his stepfather, Thomas G. Bernard, and Bruce Jacobson of Florence at $1,000 each, and $500 from Joseph Finnegan of Williamstown.
The bulk of his donations to date are in the $50 to $100 range; nearly 60 percent of all donations are from North Adams, with another 15 percent from Williamstown and almost 17 percent coming from outside the Berkshires.
The two candidates will face off next Tuesday in the general election. This is the first time in 34 years that no incumbent is running for re-election.
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North Adams Airport Commission Discusses Damaged Hangar
By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Airport Commission discussed what to do with the now-closed, city-owned Shamrock Hangar on Tuesday.
Chairman James Haskins said that after pipes burst in the hangar last winter, the Shamrock has basically been sitting empty.
"Pipes were frozen in the walls and broke," he said. "It was shut down a year ago. The pipes are still broken, and the city did fix a broken pipe outside that led up to the building a few weeks ago, but we have to make a decision on what to do with that space and make a plan."
The city purchased the hangar in 2017 with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funds. It was subsequently renovated and opened as a public space. Commissioner Dean Bullett expressed disappointment that the building was never winterized.
"This is something that should have never happened in the first place," Bullett said.
Haskins clarified that the city intended to winterize the property, but due to "overlap," officials could not get to the hangar quickly enough to do so properly. He noted that although some work has been done to repair the hangar, the project needs to be completed.
Airport user and former commissioner Trevor Gilman said that when it was open, the Greylock Soaring Club leased space in the hangar. The city waived the lease fee, and in exchange, the club maintained and cleaned the area.
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