11 Investigates: New county executive travels to Florida, but gives taxpayers a break

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Less than a week after she was sworn in as the new Allegheny County Chief Executive, Sara Innamorato traveled to Florida to witness the launch of a rocket carrying a lunar lander built by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology Inc., a North Side company.

“It was very exciting to see such a historic launch  in person,” said Innamorato.

The new county executive said the trip didn’t cost taxpayers a dime.

>> ‘No chance’: Pittsburgh built lunar lander will touch down on moon after fuel leak, company says

She paid for it out of her own expenses, even though she was conducting business for the county.

Earle: How was that paid for?

Innamorato: How did we pay for that?

Earle: Did taxpayers pay for that?

Innamorato: No, they did not.

Earle: You paid for it?

Innamorato: Yes, yes. We covered the costs. We used personal funds for that.

Innamorato said a county staffer also went with her and paid their own way.

She said they left Pittsburgh Saturday and flew back Monday morning after the launch.

She was back in the office on Monday.

While in Florida, Innamorato said she met the vice president of Mexico and others from around the world. She said she’s hoping to convince them to follow Astrobotic’s lead  and do business in Allegheny county.

>> Pittsburgh-built lunar lander may not make it to the moon

“My job is to go and sell the region to people, so I was interacting, with folks like I said from Mexico, from Hungary, and talking about why our region is a place where they should come and they should invest, and they should create jobs and really build up, this technology and this business.  It was a nice relationship building moment,” said Innamorato.

A spokesperson for Innamorato said that the staff member could request travel reimbursement from the campaign or the transition committee, but so far has not done that.

While the moon landing has been scrapped, Astrobotic, in a news release, said it’s still collecting valuable data from the spacecraft as it continues to fly through space.

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