Political newcomers raise and spend thousands in bids for Ann Arbor City Council
What does it take to win election to the Ann Arbor City Council? Good ideas help, but so does money, and eight candidates running in the Aug. 7 primary know that.
Campaign finance statements were due by the close of business on Friday, covering the reporting period ending July 22.
The reports show two political newcomers, Sally Hart Petersen and Chuck Warpehoski, raised and spent large sums in hopes of becoming the newest faces on council.
Nearly $1,600 came from her own pocket.
"I'm very pleased," Petersen said. "I did not do a formal fundraising letter. The contributions I got were through word of mouth and friends of friends and people going to my website, seeing I was running, and sending in donations."
That compares to the $8,475 raised by Derezinski, who spent $2,377. He also received $303 in in-kind contributions.
Warpehoski, who is running for the open 5th Ward seat being vacated by Carsten Hohnke, raised $9,558 plus $540 in in-kind contributions. He spent $5,195.
His opponent, Vivienne Armentrout, missed Friday's filing deadline and indicated she plans to submit her report late on Monday and pay a penalty fee.
Armentrout told AnnArbor.com via email she estimates her total contributions are close to $11,700, not including about $1,215 in loans she made to her campaign.
Eric Sturgis, who is running for the open 1st Ward seat, raised $2,600 and spent $1,144. His opponent, Sumi Kailasapathy, raised $4,220 and spent $2,252.
In the 4th Ward race, incumbent Margie Teall raised $4,865 and spent $2,376. Her opponent, Jack Eaton, raised $4,305 plus $1,672 in in-kind contributions. He spent $2,354.
Among the contributors listed on Warpehoski's 50-page finance statement are Mayor John Hieftje and several of the mayor's allies, including Derezinski and Downtown Development Authority board members Leah Gunn, Joan Lowenstein and John Splitt.
Warpehoski also has backing from a number of public transit advocates. He supports the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority's countywide expansion plan, while his opponent does not.
Records show AATA board members Jesse Bernstein, Roger Kerson and Charles Griffith, as well as AATA strategic planner Michael Benham, donated to Warpehoski's campaign.
He also received donations from former Washtenaw County Democratic Party Chairman Stuart Dowty, Greenbelt Advisory Commission Chairman Dan Ezekiel, Michigan League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Lisa Wozniak, the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters PAC, and state Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor.
Sturgis also received contributions from many of the mayor's allies, including DDA board members Gunn, Splitt and Lowenstein.
He also has backing from former Council Member Leigh Greden's family, 22nd Circuit judge candidate Carol Kuhnke, local business owners Mark Hodesh and Phillis Engelbert, and Downtown Area Citizens Advisory Council Chairman Ray Detter.
Other donations to Sturgis came from Derezinski, former 2nd Ward Council Member Stephen Rapundalo, Water Resources Commissioner Janis Bobrin, the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters PAC and Ironworkers Local 25 PAC.
Kailasapathy's list of contributors includes many longtime critics of the mayor and ruling council majority, including former AATA treasurer Ted Annis, accountant Karen Sidney, 5th Ward Council Member Mike Anglin, resident Alan Goldsmith, Armentrout, 2nd Ward Council Member Jane Lumm, and David Cahill, husband of 1st Ward Council Member Sabra Briere.
Petersen's list of contributors include many of the same people who contributed to Kailasapathy, including Annis, Goldsmith, Lumm and Cahill. She also is backed by former City Council candidate Stewart Nelson, who lost by a landslide to Derezinski in 2008.
Kailasapathy and Petersen both received $500 donations from Dennis Dahlmann, owner of Dahlmann Properties and the Campus Inn.
Records show Petersen held a cocktail party fundraiser on June 13 that cost $2,394 to put on and she raised $500 from the event.
Ernie and Kelly Sorini, owners of a Livonia-based hospital staffing firm, donated nearly $2,000 worth of catered food and drinks, which could be a violation of campaign finance law.
Ed Golembiewski, the county's elections director, said the contribution limit for candidate committees in districts with 85,000 or less in population is $500 for each individual contributing, so one of two things happened: a violation occurred or an accounting error was made.
Petersen said she and her treasurer assumed "district" meant the entire city, not the ward in which she is running. So they went by the city's population, which is greater than 85,000, and thus would allow contributions up to $1,000 per individual.
Golembiewski said Petersen should have gone by the ward population, though, and $500 is the limit per individual. He said the campaign will be informed of the problem and will need to correct it by returning the difference to the contributors and recording it on a new statement.
"If we are over the limit, we will rectify it," Petersen said. "We're both new at this."
Derezinski's contributors include a mix of local residents, attorneys and business owners, and a number of the same people supporting Sturgis, including DDA board members.
He also has support from the Ironworkers Local 25 PAC, Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters PAC and State Street Area Association Director Tom Heywood.
Eaton's list of contributors includes many of the same people supporting Kailasapathy, including Annis, Armentrout, Lumm, Sidney, Cahill, Goldsmith and Kailasapathy herself.
Teall's list of donors includes DDA board members, Hieftje, former County Commissioner Kristin Judge, 4th Ward Council Member Marcia Higgins, county board candidate Andy LaBarre, and Jean Carlberg, a former council member and planning commissioner.
She also received contributions from the Ironworkers Local 25 PAC, Ned Staebler's Inspire Michigan PAC, the IBEW PAC and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters PAC.
Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.
Comments
Arno B
Sun, Jul 29, 2012 : 1:26 a.m.
Well this Merry-Go-Round sure is interesting. As Mark Twain said over 120 years ago, "WE HAVE THE BEST POLITICIANS MONEY CAN BUY!!" Not much has changed, has it?
eyesofjustice
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 10:31 p.m.
@ truthbetold you should apply for a job with the AAPD detective bureau....I wonder if your posting would be considered overtime pay? As far as Dream Nite club goes, according to Stephen Postema statements at the July 2 City Council meeting he made it clear to the public and his fellow Council Members that Dream Nite Club / Studio 4 cases were all dismissed and he and the City Attorneys office did a great job, he said Tony D "took great patience" in dealing with the Liquor hearing Held to shutter the club........So what is there to represent?? The cases are closed.....As far as my personal opinion, things need to change Tony D, Postema, and Connors have been taking advantage of our Tax Dollars for years, and don't just take my word for it ask around!
truthbetold
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 7:56 p.m.
Well Sam I can see why you would want to distance yourself from the other Sam. But, for example, if you look at the prior comment on the Dream Nightclub article of June 7, 2012, it is by Sam. The third comment down is where Sam pontificates about the Dream Nightclub case at some length at 12:21 am. Amazingly if you hit the Sam in that article it links you directly to your other comments, including you as the author of the comment above. So perhaps this is a crazy problem with the comment system. Perhaps it lets different users have the same name. If so, you really should change your name here as it has you as a Dream Nightclub supporter.
Sam
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 7:20 p.m.
In response to "truthbetold",I dont know anything about Dream Nightclub.MY opinion on the city of Ann Arbor city council member stems from the fact that hes too lazy to return phone calls and emails to his constituents and seems to vote all big spending projects in the city.Also Tony Dand the city attorney are graduates of the same law school and my father always insisted that if yiu take a donkey and send it to the highest learning institution,all you end up is a educated ..whats the common word for donkey..seems that truth be told youre are no more than a "tool" for the city administration who can't face the truth.
truthbetold
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 6:41 p.m.
As I posted in another piece, many of the detractors of Councilmember Derezinski are angry at him because they are supporters of the Dream Nightclub, as shown by their many comments about the Dream Nightclub cases and articles. These commenters include roadman, sam, and eyesofjustice. They also don't like all of the judges who ruled against them and the City Attorney. I'm not sure anyone cares what the Dream Nightclub people think of Mr. Derezinski.
Roadman
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 8:58 p.m.
I have not criticized Mr. Derezinski's performance as a City Council member - however I do believe that Mrs. Petersen is the superior candidate. I have admittedly lambasted Eric Sturgis as blatantly unqualified and not even belonging on the City Council ballot; he has no known connection to Dream-Nite. I have been critical of several judges - including Julie Creal - who also have no known connection to Dream-Nite.
DJBudSonic
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.
I am not familiar with local campaign finance rules; if a candidate takes in a certain amount, but spends less than that amount, what happens to the balance? For example, if Mr. Derezinski took in $8k but spent $3k is he required to spend that before the election, or give it back, or keep it? Just curious.
Ryan J. Stanton
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 2:40 p.m.
What usually happens is the candidate committeee will retain the balance and have it to use in the next election.
RUKiddingMe
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 1:41 p.m.
"Among the contributors listed on Warpehoski's 50-page finance statement are Mayor John Hieftje and several of the mayor's allies..." "Warpehoski also has backing from a number of public transit advocates. He supports the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority's countywide expansion plan..." Please, please, please do not vote for this guy. Vote for people backed by people, not people backed by entrenched cronyism and special interest money.
A2comments
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 12:51 p.m.
If you can't handle City Council finance rules, you clearly aren't qualified to understand Ann Arbor's finances... Same goes for not filing on time.
Brad
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 1:46 p.m.
Actually she seems to have quite a good grasp on how the city wastes money. But I guess as long as they waste it on schedule you're good with it. Like with the Garage Mahal ...
David Cahill
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 11:40 a.m.
Sturgis set an all-time low record for the number of people attending a fundraiser: four, including his grandmother.
northside
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 2:53 p.m.
On the bright side, Sturgis can claim strong family involvement (grandmother attends fundraiser, mother takes down opponent's campaign signs). :-)
Brad
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 1:43 p.m.
Ouch. That's pretty pathetic.
Goober
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 10:10 a.m.
Why would someone want to spend a lot of money to run for AA City Council? Go figure!
Veracity
Sun, Jul 29, 2012 : 11:58 a.m.
Obviously there are some forms of personal gains attached to being a City Council member (power, prestige, sense of public service, etc.).
Veracity
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 5:43 a.m.
IMHO, Tony Derezinski has good relations with the Mayor and DDA board members along with local ironworkers' and carpenters'. Since Tony has regularly supported major construction projects favored by the Mayor and DDA board members, their contributions to his campaign are not surprising. For instance, he favored the imprudent building of the $50 million dollar municipal building and the $50 million subterranean library parking structure. Also he wanted Valiant Partners to construct a 12-story 150 room luxury hotel over the library parking structure along with a 32,000 sqft conference center. Fortunately, a very critical feasibility study by hotel expert Chuck Skelton led City Council to withdraw consideration for the project. The servicing of bond issues for constructing the municipal building and the parking structure has created budgetary difficulties for the DDA which is quickly depleting its reserve fund in order to avoid deficit spending. Soon the DDA liabilities may become City budgetary liabilities. The added liabilities may require City Council to request more tax money from Ann Arbor residents in the form of either a millage or an income tax. Furthermore, Tony has been the City Council liaison to the Housing Commission and has failed to assist in resolving the issue of $14 million of accumulated structural repairs required by the 370 affordable housing units (according to the Housing Commission's own sponsored evaluation by Schumaker and Company whose report was accepted in March 2009). In addition Tony is a member of the 1% for Ann Arbor Public Art Commission (AAPAC) that has blessed Ann Arbor with the $770,000 Herbert Dreiseitl "water sculpture" in front of the Municipal Building. Besides being unattractive, the "water sculpture" has not functioned correctly since construction a year ago. Furthermore, the AAPAC's next project is to install a $150,000 chandelier in the Municipal Building.
Sam
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 5:38 a.m.
Poor Tony D running neck a neck in his fund raising efforts against Sally P.Alas it would end up as a losing cause for the incumbent.It seems that the bar stool at Knights will have a permanen t resident . Good luck Sally.Go kick some behind....
Kima Greggs
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 1:12 a.m.
I believe this is the 6th time Ms. Armentrout has run for office in Washtenaw County and has had to complete this finance statement. Books closed on July 22nd but in the last five days Ms. Armentrout was unable to balance the campaign budget. And her most recent tweet from yesterday is "In spite of the weather and a campaign, my cabbage is heading up. Time for cabbage rolls." Are these the right priorities, to make cabbage rolls and incur a penalty fee? I wonder how her donors feel. It will be interesting to eventually see what is in her finance statement.
aanative
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.
Lighten up, Kima.
Vivienne Armentrout
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 2:57 a.m.
I have to say that the cabbage rolls are still in my mind. The cabbages are still in my garden. I have to dream. My husband is getting used to eating from the freezer and eating out. The cabbage rolls will wait till after the election. (I'm gratified that someone is reading my tweets.) I've run for office 7 times, actually, counting the run for Library Board in which I incurred no donations or expenses. I've also served as a treasurer for others' campaigns, most recently Alice Ralph's campaign for the BOC two years ago. I am fully knowledgeable about campaign finance rules. The truth (embarrassing, but truth is truth) is that I was working on organizing my materials this week but didn't start filling in the forms until this morning. I was working on my actual campaign instead. Most candidates have a treasurer who does all the paperwork. I didn't have one. My husband is my treasurer of record but he is not familiar with campaign finance. I'm also my own campaign manager and was working with volunteers through the week to get literature out. We do what we must. I hadn't reckoned with the effort to use the very clunky Secretary of State pdf form to fill in each entry. I started at 8:00 a.m. and around 2:00 started filling in the forms by hand. But by 4:00 I had to recognize reality. (I had a really, really long list of donors.) I assure you that my donors will have nothing to regret when I turn in my late report (Monday morning) and pay $25. It will all add up. And balance.
Roadman
Sat, Jul 28, 2012 : 12:26 a.m.
Actually, this is a rare article in which "resident" Alan Goldsmith is mentioned in the body of the article. Although many have heard of the name, few outside of his Fourth Ward actually are familiar with his background. Alan made his mark locally as a music journalist after coming to Ann Arbor in the early 1970s. Many have encouraged Alan to run for office however he has declined citing his federal employment and Hatch Act strictures. Take a bow, Alan.
Roadman
Fri, Jul 27, 2012 : 10:56 p.m.
Rather interesting that Leigh Greden's family is helping fund the Eric Sturgis campaign as well as judicial candidate Carol Kuhnke. As well as Tony D. and Rapundalo. Carol and Mr.Sturgis were also cited by fringe candidate Albert Howard, the self-proclaimed "prophet" and "King of Islam", as signators to his mayoral campaign nominating petition to place him on the ballot as an independent candidate. Interesting. Eric Sturgis is clearly unqualified to sit on City Council - he lacks the maturity and experience and his supporters should be embarrassed for publically endorsing him.
BobbyJohn
Sun, Jul 29, 2012 : 2:02 p.m.
I would have to agree on your assessment of Eric Sturgis. Eric does have a lot of fire and passion, and those are good things. But he does indeed lack the maturity and judgment needed to be an effective councilman.