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Michigan mayor defended spending $4,500 of public money on an open bar for his daughter's wedding. - LeRoy Burcroff, the mayor of Romulus, said his daughter's wedding doubled as a campaign event.
- Burcroff has since repaid the expenses, his attorney said.
The mayor of a Michigan city has defended spending $4,500 of campaign funds for an open bar at a yacht club for his daughter's wedding, saying it doubled as a campaign event, ABC News affiliate WXYZ reported.
Romulus Mayor LeRoy Burcroff admitted for the first time this week that $4,500 had been used specifically to fund an open bar at Belleville Yacht Club.
Despite the fact Burcroff has now reimbursed the money, his attorney Daniel Wholihan told WXYZ that the wedding was a campaign event because many of those in attendance had worked on Burcroff's campaign.
The attorney did however admit that the mayor's campaign funds to pay for his own daughter's wedding created "poor optics."
He said the Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who is investigating his spending, may conclude it was not a legal expense.
Benson has been investigating Burcroff's campaign since WXYZ reported in October last year a series of questionable payments made by the mayor with campaign funds
Those included thousands of dollars worth of payments for membership fees at Belleville Yacht Club, where his daughter's wedding took place, and further payments made to family members for office expenses.
Burcroff has returned more than $20,000 in campaign funds since concerns were first raised about his spending,
Burcroff said through his lawyer that he would not, however, be repaying his campaign for yacht club membership or for the purchase of a Jeep Wrangler. He said those were used for his duties as a mayor or for his campaign.
He will not be seeking re-election.