City Council Campaign Disclosures

I sure hope this is the last post of a really busy day, but this one is important. To their credit the two candidates running for City Council who raised and spent over $1,000 filed the proper disclosures. The Emmet County Clerk just sent them over.

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Candidate Bill Donahoe's filing shows that he contributed $10,000 of his own money toward his campaign. As of late October he has spent $6,239.35.

The vast majority of that sum ($6,075) went to North Compass Political, the same exact political consultant that did all those postcards last fall from We Love Harbor Springs and VoteYes439. (You know, the one who can't seem to find any picture of Harbor Springs so uses pictures from Mystic, Connecticut.)

The address where Mr. Donahoe sent his check is the same Traverse City address that was on the bottom of the VoteYes438 signs last year. (That wasn't strictly "by the book" either).
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Candidate Jeanne Benjamin also filed her disclosure on time and she should absolutely get credit for the transparency. Ms. Benjamin's filing shows she raise $1,500 and was not self-funded.

She raised money from two donors:

A family member (I think) contributed $1,000.

Current Councilmember Wendy Reeve contributed $500. (I asked at the Council meeting today if any of the Councilmembers made donations to any candidates running to join them-I was guessing-yikes!)

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This is why these disclosures are important. By telling people who contributed, how much, and where the money supporting candidates is spent, we have a better picture of the candidates. I am assuming the other three candidates have not raised or spent more than $1,000 on their campaign.

I want to thank both candidates for filing. You can read the full pre-election disclosures here. They are public record.

Bill Donahoe Disclosure
Jeanne Benjamin Disclosure