While over 750 ticketed Harris supporters attended the sold-out fundraiser at the Colonial Theatre Saturday, Erin Milne of Adams was not among them.
“I grew up here and have lived most of my life here," she told WAMC. "I work out of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Berkshire Community College. Before that, I worked at MCLA for a long time, and I continue to work there as an adjunct instructor. I'm also a local elected official. I'm on the Hoosac Valley School Committee, and I'm an Adams town meeting member, and I have a fairly long history of civic and social engagement in Berkshire County.”
Harris’s visit to the county was a historic one. As both the sitting vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, she represents the highest ranking national political figure to appear in Pittsfield since then-First Lady Michelle Obama in 2012. Milne was excited.
“I had actually bought the ticket before she was the presumptive nominee," she said. "It was before Biden resigned. I was driving home from work, and I got a notification from the Berkshire Eagle that she would be appearing at the Colonial with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax and James Taylor. And I'm a musician, so the musicians were a big draw for me, and I'm also just kind of a political nerd. I actually went to the Hillary Clinton visitation at the at the Colonial back when I was in grade school because I had won an essay about women in politics.”
Then-First Lady Clinton visited Pittsfield in 1998.
“So, it just seemed like an event I really wanted to go to," Milne continued. "So, as soon as I got home, I jumped on the website, and I pulled up the Eventbrite page, and there were exactly two $100 tickets left, and I grabbed one of them.”
On the morning of the fundraiser, Milne saw on social media that other people who had bought tickets received last-minute word that they had been rescinded without explanation. When she checked her email, she was shocked to find out she too would be barred from the Colonial.
“Dear friend, we cannot accommodate you, and this decision is final," read Milne. "I didn't know what that had come from. My first question was, why?”
On Eventbrite, the new email address attached to her now useless ticket was for a Democratic National Committee staffer.
Despite reaching out to organizers, Milne got no explanation.
“I have a long history of engagement with local politics, with national politics, with the Democratic Party itself, as a voter, as a donor, as a volunteer," she sighed. "I spent 2008 when I was in grad school going house to house in Cleveland, knocking on doors for Obama. I wish I knew why [my tickets were canceled]. I wish they had been more transparent about their decision making, and I wish they had been more prompt, because they had requested that we keep the entire day open without knowing what time the event actually would take place. So, I had to cancel a bunch of plans, and then I didn't find out until I was just about to get ready to leave for the event.”
Other Berkshire entities were shut out from the much-hyped event as well, including local media outlets like iBerkshires.com and the Berkshire Edge.
The experience has left Milne with a sour taste and unanswered questions.
“They didn't even really apologize for the inconvenience at any point, and they haven't still responded to my email asking what was up, even the local organizers, although I have since received seven emails asking them to asking me to donate more money. I have not donated more money," she laughed. "I probably will continue to support Harris as a candidate. I don't think it's fair to hold this against her as a candidate, but it does give me pause about what kind of operation she has running around her- What kind of people are making decisions, how they're making decisions. Did they decide I was a security threat, for some reason? Was my ticket sold to a donor who had more than $100 to spare? I just don't know, and in the absence of that information, I'm just frustrated.”
Reached for comment by WAMC, the Harris campaign did not offer a conclusive answer for why ticketed attendees were cut out from the fundraiser at the last-minute other than to suggest the event had reached capacity. Harris raised $1.4 million from the afternoon.
