City council at-large members Coleman Young and Mary Waters. Photo: Samuel Robinson
Candidates and incumbents running for Detroit City Council raised tens of thousands of dollars in their effort to join or hold onto a seat on the nine member body.
The latest campaign finance period ended July 20. The public will learn more leading up to the November general election when campaign finance disclosures are due again on Aug. 25.
Large donations came mostly from labor groups or nonprofits connected to billionaire Dan Gilbert and Gary Torgow, the Huntington National Bank chairman. Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun also directly contributed to candidates.
Former City Charter Commissioner member Denzel McCampbell, who is running in District 7, raised $92,032, the most of any council candidate.
McCampbell finished first, taking 35% of the vote, beating Whitsett by 56 votes. Regina Ross finished third with 25% and Bobbi Johnson, 7%.
Ross raised $10,681 spending $8,869. Sherry Gay Dagnogo, a Detroit Public Schools board member and former state rep., donated $500 to Ross. State Rep. Joe Tate also donated $50 to Ross’ campaign. Ross gave herself $4,000.
McCambpell’s total was powered by members of Democratic Socialists of America across the country, who gave McCampbell an average donation of $81. He received donations from people in Chicago, Washington DC, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta and San Fransisco.
The District 7 candidate also received $20,000 from SEIU of Michigan, which also gave the same amount to District 6 incumbent Gabriela Santiago-Romero. Romero will face State Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit. Carter has not filed any campaign finance records through his city council campaign committee.
Other nonprofit committees donating to McCampbell’s campaign included, Planned Parenthood Advocate of Michigan, Unite Here Tip Campaign Committee, Rooted in Community Leadership, the IBEW, Michigan Action.
Whitsett raised $22,000, spending more than $20,000 of that amount on campaign materials like t-shirts, brochures and consulting. She has $1,652 remaining in her campaign committee. McCampbell reported $52,702 left in his war chest.
In District 2, Roy McCalister Jr. raised $118,034, loaning himself most of the total. He reported $2,143 in remaining in his war chest. Incumbent Angela Whitfield-Calloway, who won the primary with 45% of the vote, reported $22,673 in cash on hand at the end of July.
Whitfield Calloway received $2,500 from the SEIU of Michigan, $4,500 from Laborers’ Local Union 1191 and $500 from Registrars PAC Local 58 IBEW.
Ambassador Bridge owner Mathew Moroun and his wife also gave the District 2 council member $3,900. She also received donations from attorneys from Todd Perkins’ Perkins Law Group, who gave $3,000. Four members of the Torgow family who reported being employees of the Sterling Group gave Whitfield Calloway nearly $10,000.
State Rep. Helena Scott, D-Detroit, raised $17,450 and reported $14,696 in expenditures. She received $10,000 from Rock Holdings PAC, Dan Gilbert’s political action committee funded by Gilbert and Rocket Companies leaders. And $5,000 from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters PAC.
Brenda Jones, a former U.S. representative, gave Calloway’s campaign $200.
Scott finished third, behind McCalister and Whitfield Calloway.
Rock Holdings also donated $7,500 to George Adams Jr., who finished fifth in the race for District 5.
In District 5, Police commissioner Willie Burton and UAW retiree Renata Miller will face off in the Nov. 4 general election.
Miller raised $13,660, spending more than $10,000 on her campaign. Burton raised $3,745, reporting $990 on expenditures for his campaign.
Miller’s donors included Moroun, who gave $2,400.
Michael Ri’chard, who received an endorsement from the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party, loaned himself $10,000, raising $1,870. Former state Sen. Adam Hollier gave Ri’chard $500.
Tatjana Jackson, who finished fifth, raised $500. Esther Haugabook, who finished fourth, raised $4,355, spending all but $3 of her campaign cash.
At-large incumbent Mary Waters also received donations from Moroun. He gave the max limit of $8,325, as did Cindy Pasky, CEO of Strategic Staffing Solutions.
Waters spent $39,128, the most of any candidate. She reported $23,144 left to spend.
The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters gave Waters $5,000. Dimitrios Papas, one of the Greektown Casino-Hotel founders gave $3,300. Former Mayor Dennis Archer donated $1,000.
Incumbent Coleman A. Young II spent $30,975 on his campaign, reporting $59,021 cash on hand. Young reported raising $35,275 in June at the Union Carpenters and Millwrights Skilled Training Center and $22,000 in July at the Sterling Group headquarters. He raised a combined $17,500 from the Torgow family, the owners of the Sterling Group. MPS Group CEO Charlie Williams also gave young the max individual limit of $8,325. Max Berlin, chairman of the executive committee at Southfield’s Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, one of the largest Jewish schools in Michigan, gave $5,000. Gay-Dagnogo gave Young $1,000.
Young donated $25,000 to his own campaign.
Former council member Janee Ayers finished in third with nearly 14% of the vote. She spent $20,799, with $7,475 left in her war chest.
She received maximum donations of $8,325 from Moroun and Pasky. IVY Kitchen + Cocktails CEO Nya Marshall gave $1,500. Moment Strategies CEO Alexis Wiley, a Duggan spokesperson, gave Ayers $500.
Harris, a Detroit fire chief, is also advancing to the primary after finishing fourth, earning 7% of the vote. The Detroit Fire Fighters Association PAC gave him $500.
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