Vice President Kamala Harris will speak at Pittsfield fundraiser for Biden-Harris campaign | CPT PPP Coverage

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PITTSFIELD — A major Democratic campaign fundraiser is planned for Pittsfield on July 27 to support the Biden-Harris ticket.

And, much to the pleasant surprise of its local organizers, Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to be the guest speaker. Harris will be joined by noted historian and author Heather Cox Richardson.

The event features performances by an array of superstars — James Taylor, Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax. 

In a recent Eagle interview, Taylor said he had cleared most of his concert schedule in the months ahead to perform in support the Democratic ticket, wherever he’s asked.

The Biden Victory Fund, organizers of the fundraiser, lists former Gov. Deval Patrick and his wife Diane, former Pittsfield Mayor Evan Dobelle and his wife Kit, and former state Rep. Sherwood Guernsey among its members.

Evan Dobelle served as chief of protocol in President Jimmy Carter’s administration; Kit Dobelle was Rosalyn Carter’s chief of staff and chief of protocol.

Interviewed from Nantucket, where he was winding up a vacation, Guernsey — former chairman and a current member of the Berkshire Democratic Brigades and current president of the Rural Freedom Network, a Political Action Committee (PAC), a grassroots media organization supporting Democratic candidates — described the event as a fundraiser for the Biden-Harris ticket.

“These days, you have to raise a lot of money, unfortunately, in order to have a viable campaign,” Guernsey said. “People got together months ago to try to figure that out, and there was a real desire to do this.”

Guernsey cited organizers Joel and Patty Ellis for successfully connecting with Taylor, Ma and Ax.

“The idea was to make this a really big event,” Guernsey said, “and I got in touch with the administration folks to see who we could get.”

He was pleased to learn that Harris was willing to come, since “this is a pretty big event and we hope to fill up the place.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve got somebody from the administration that high up to the Berkshires,” Guernsey pointed out. “It’s really exciting to get her here.”

He voiced hope that “as many people as possible can join us to listen to her give an up-front and personal rendition of what’s going on in this country and how the Biden administration is so totally the opposite of what’s going on in Milwaukee right now,” where the Republican National Convention is winding up on Thursday night with a speech by former President Trump. Vice-Presidential nominee J.D. Vance, senator from Ohio, was scheduled to speak Wednesday night.

“It is as extreme as it can be, so we need to push back on that,” Guernsey said.

Michelle Obama delivered a rousing speech at Pittsfield’s Colonial Theatre on Aug. 3, 2012, in support of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. She spoke before a capacity crowd of 780 in a 30-minute, off-the-cuff speech interrupted more than 50 times by applause, cheers and whoops, The Eagle reported the next day.

Hillary Clinton appeared in front of the Colonial in 1998 to support the theater’s restoration campaign.

The time of the July 27 event remains to be firmed up, though it will be in the afternoon, and the location remains undisclosed, at least for the time being.

Tickets starting at $100 are available through EventBrite.