Bernie Sanders campaign reportedly owes Solano County cities more than $82,000

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally at Waterfront Park on May 18, 2016 in Vallejo, California. A day after winning the Oregon primary, Bernie Sanders is campaigning in California ahead of the state's presidential primary on June 7. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) less Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks at a campaign rally at Waterfront Park on May 18, 2016 in Vallejo, California. A day after winning the Oregon primary, Bernie Sanders is campaigning ... more Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Bernie Sanders campaign reportedly owes Solano County cities more than $82,000 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

The presidential campaigns of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders are leaving some cities that hosted their rallies with a bit of a financial strain.

According to a lengthy report by the Center for Public Integrity, a Pulitzer prize-winning investigative journalism nonprofit in Washington D.C., all three major candidates owe substantial sums to municipalities and their police forces. Senator Sanders, however, is the only candidate self-reporting such debt. The "Debts and Obligations" reports filed by Trump and Clinton with the FEC do not list any of the expenses, despite invoices published in the Center for Public Integrity's report.

"The Trump campaign — despite receiving demand letters and collection notices — doesn't acknowledge in federal campaign financial disclosures that it owes cities a cent," the report reads. "Nor does the Clinton campaign, which hasn't paid at least $25,000 in bills. The Sanders campaign, in contrast, says in federal campaign filings that it owes $449,409, spread among nearly two dozen municipalities and law enforcement agencies."

Sanders' public admittance of debt is overshadowed by his campaign's delay in paying local governments. In California, the area that appears to have taken the biggest hit is Solano County, home to seven cities that dedicated significant resources and helped staff event security for Sanders' rallies in 2016.

As outlined by the Federal Election Commission, the Sanders campaign owes Solano County cities $82,264.86 collectively. The fees are said to be owed to city administrations, police departments, and fire officials.

The city out the most money is Vallejo. The city invoiced the Sanders campaign $72,827 and has received only $36,693, according to Joanna Altman, Assistant to the City Manager. That would mean Vallejo is still owed $36,134, but the Sanders campaign claims it only owes it $34,573.

Per Sanders' FEC report, also due money are the Benicia Police Department with $4,338, the city of Vacaville for $7,718, and the Solano County Sheriff's Office with two expenses totaling $22,194, among others.

The Sanders campaign has not responded to SFGATE's multiple requests for comment on remaining debts.

Some organizations have sent multiple invoices to the Sanders campaign, including the Benicia Police Department and the Cordelia Fire District. An official for the latter organization says it has mailed invoices for $2,352 to, "his campaign headquarters and to all address locations to where he works out of," to no avail.

"We are a small fire protection district and we do not have the funds to take legal action against Mr. Sanders," said Keith Martin, Cordelia Fire District Fire Chief. "If we had the money we would have taken those [legal] actions against him."

The City of Vacaville is in a similar position, telling SFGATE that, "the cost of the litigation may far outweigh the debt owed, and if it comes to that point, we will have to decide whether to move forward or not with litigation."

The Solano County Sheriff, however, like the city of Vallejo, may pursue legal recourse. Matthew Davis, the Public Communications Officer for Solano County, says they've sent two separate invoices for two different security-related expenses to the Sanders campaign--one for a May 18th rally on the Vallejo waterfront and the other for a June 3rd rally in Fairfield. Neither was paid, leading the local police and fire department officials to request Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa reach out to Sanders campaign organizers on their behalf. Davis said they have not heard any updates, despite requesting action in September. Rep. Thompson's office has not responded to SFGATE's request for comment.

The problem, as Davis says, is that the procedure for securing police for these rallies isn't standardized, and sometimes there's no paper trail of signed agreements. Frequently, these campaign rallies are last-minute events, and city police departments are forced to provide extra security without any kind of payment contract in place.

San Mateo County, which held a Donald Trump campaign rally in April, staffed and added extra officers for the Hyatt Regency event at no cost to the candidate's campaign. Their priority, as a spokesperson for the Burlingame Police Department told SFGATE, is to protect the First Amendment rights of protesters and the safety of those in attendance. No financial deal to provide security for the candidate's campaign was attempted.

Other city and county governments, like those in Solano County, attempt to work out verbal agreements with candidates to help pay for added security as they don't have time to generate a contract to obligate candidates to pay for services rendered. As Davis adds, "There really wasn't that much time to prepare for these."

And now, Solano County cities are awaiting payment, or for the Solano County Sheriff to consider taking legal steps towards reimbursement for these police and fire agencies. "There are no hard and fast rules for agencies to pursue legal action," Davis says, "but if it is a significant amount, [the legal department] may get involved after the debt goes to collections."

Vallejo is considering a similar strategy. "With the lack of further response from the Sanders Campaign," says Altman, "we are now considering legal action."

Ed: SFGATE's requests for comment from the cities of San Francisco and San Jose, which held large rallies for candidates Clinton and Trump, were not returned.