Democratic congressional candidate Alex Morse, who was endorsed by Justice Democrats on Wednesday, used a city debit card to purchase a $10,000 Christmas tree in 2018 as the mayor of Holyoke.
Morse, who announced his candidacy in late July against Rep. Richard Neal (D., Mass.), faced scrutiny last year after his office purchased a $10,000 artificial Christmas tree using the city’s debit card. After a council ordinance committee meeting featured questions and criticism about the purchase, Morse stepped in and instructed the city officials to blame him, according to Masslive.com.
Bellamy Schmidt, who was in his second tenure as the acting city auditor in Holyoke last year, said the debit card was only supposed to be used for purchases up to $2,500.
Linda Vacon, the committee chairwoman of the council ordinance committee, said she was “stunned” by the $10,000 purchase and added she was surprised the department heads approved the purchase considering the city’s financial crisis. – READ MORE