City Commission Candidates' War Chests a Mix of Personal, Donated Funds

The Nov. 8 election is nearly here and candidates' finance reports are in. The seven Royal Oak City Commission hopefuls are reaching into their own pockets to fund their campaigns, although some more than others, the reports show.

According to candidates' statements filed with the state last week, the top money-raiser was Kyle DuBuc at $14,583, who contributed more than $2,000 of his own money. Bill Shaw netted the least amount of the seven candidates, reporting $1,320 raised. 

Oct. 28 was the deadline for candidates to file their Pre-Election Statements with the Secretary of State office. The statements show DuBuc, Gomez and Warheit started fundraising in May, Fournier in June and Karlowski in July. Goodwin and Shaw didn't begin their fundraising efforts until September.

What the reports show

Candidates' committee financial reports detail contributions, expenditures and in-kind donations. Funds raised by each candidate are itemized in the report, and names of contributors or committees are listed, along with the individual contribution and total.

Michigan’s Campaign Finance Act, P.A. 388 of 1976 requires groups participating in Michigan elections to form and file committees. Committees receive contributions or make expenditures to influence voters.

According to the Michigan Department of State Bureau of Elections, the types of committees covered by the Act are:

• Candidate Committees
• Political and Independent Committees (PACs)
• Ballot Question Committees
• Political Party Committees

PAC money

The purpose of a PAC is to help elect candidates or advance political issues.

DuBuc is the only Royal Oak City Commission candidate to report receiving PAC money. He received $500 from Equality Michigan Pride for receiving the second highest number of votes in a contest called "Nominate a Pro-Equality Candidate," and $250 from People for the American Way.

A group of 17 Royal Oak residents filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of State on Oct. 27 alleging Todd Cook of a PAC called Citizens for a Better Tomorrow violated campaign finance laws by exceeding contribution limits in support of DuBuc, Fournier and Warheit. The group also named these three candidates in their complaint.

Citizens for a Better Tomorrow's October Triannual Campaign Statement shows the PAC spent $842.61 on "City Council Royal Oak."

Fred Woodhams, a communications representative at the Michigan Department of State, would not comment about this complaint specifically, but said PACs may spend "unlimited funds on issue advocacy" as long as they are working independently. If making a contribution to an individual candidate, PACs may donate up to $500.

The state has five days to make a determination to dismiss the case or to conduct an investigation, Woodhams said, meaning the complainants should hear something by the end of the business day Friday.

Candidates' reports

Following is a summary of each of the candidates' reports. Click on each candidate's name to read their profiles and see a file of their full Pre-Election Statements:

• Raised: $14,583
• Spent: $11,938.93
• Balance: $2,644.07
• Amount contributed by Dubuc: $2,351.24*
• Listed as PAC donations: $500 from Equality Michigan Pride; $250 from People for the American Way Action Fund

• Raised: $9,442
• Spent: $8,033.37
• Balance: $1,408.63
• Amount contributed by Fournier: $300
• Fundraiser dinner on Aug. 4: $1,865

• Raised: $2,450
• Spent: $1,192
• Balance: $1,258
• Amount contributed by Gomez: $600

• Raised: $4,410
• Spent: $4,277.75
• Balance: $132.25
• Amount contributed by Goodwin: $500
• Meet and greet fundraiser on Sept. 15: $2,615*

• Raised: $6,240
• Spent: $4,694.89
• Balance: $1,545.11
• Amount contributed by Karlowski: $3,088*
• Women's Club gathering fundraiser: $1,440 

• Raised: $1,320
• Spent: $782
• Balance: $528 
• Amount contributed by Bill Shaw: $2,380.38*

• Raised: $7,155
• Spent: $2,432.71
• Balance: $4,722.29
• Amount contributed by Scott Warheit: $1,193.98*
• Fundraiser dinner on Oct. 18: $2,005

*Amount includes in-kind donations. According to the State Bureau of Elections, in-kind contributions are goods, services and facilities provided to the committee at no cost or at a discount. An in-kind contribution could be a donation of postage stamps to the committee, a person paying off a debt incurred by the committee or a person donating professional services to the committee.