One Detroit mayoral candidate raised $361,880 in the months before the November general election while another has yet to file.
Mayor Mike Duggan, seeking a third term as Detroit’s mayor, garnered massive donations from top executives at companies, such as Quicken Loans, the Forbes Company and DTE Energy between August and October. His opponent Anthony Adams, however, told the Free Press he will file his campaign statement on Wednesday as he wraps up tallying his contributions and spending.
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The deadline to file was Friday, according to the Michigan Bureau of Elections.
Records show that Adams, an attorney who served as deputy mayor under former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, missed another filing deadline. He received notices to file his post-primary election report, which was due Sept. 2, according to the Wayne County Campaign Finance reporting system.
Failing to file results in a fee. Records show that Adams paid the $500 fee and Wayne County then submitted a letter acknowledging the receipt of his fine. The letter also stated he still had to file his post-primary campaign finance report.
Adams told the Free Press he filed the post-primary campaignreport. But the campaign statement was not reported as of Friday in Wayne County’s finance system. Messages were left with the Wayne County Clerk’s Office.
Wayne County also flagged anonymous contributions in his pre-primary finance statement using his committee’s mailing address. Committees that receive anonymous contributions must donate them to a tax-exempt charity, per Michigan campaign finance laws.
Simon Schuster, executive director at the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said that candidates cannot take any amount of anonymous contributions.
“It’s a misdemeanor to accept these things,” Schuster said.
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Adams said he corrected the reported anonymous contributions by adding the names of the donors. But the latest filing doesn’t show marked changes.
“The names were submitted in the amended report,” Adams said.
Duggan, who has faced numerous remarks from Adams about accepting corporate contributions, said his opponent was legally obligated to file the report on Sept. 2.
“I’ve never seen a campaign where someone didn’t even file,” Duggan said.
Duggan overwhelmingly swept Adams as the top vote-getter in the August primary with more than 72% of the vote, while Adams trailed with nearly 10%. The mayor raised more than $1.1 million before the August primary election, between January and July, while Adams raised $160,575, according to campaign finance statements.
This sets Duggan at more than $1.7 million in campaign donations, which includes post-primary contributions from July to August. His new donor base also grew by 40% this election cycle compared with his run in 2017, according to Alexis Wiley, campaign manager.
“We’ve grown our new donors compared to last cycle, we’ve grown our Detroit donors. What we’re seeing overall is the mayor’s base of support is growing just as we saw in the primary,” Wiley said. “When compared to the last cycle, our number of Detroit donors have doubled.”
Duggan continues to shore up his campaign with donations from out-of-state contributors, including real estate developers and employees from companies such as Comcast, Whole Foods and Google.
Contact Dana Afana: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @DanaAfana
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2021/10/23/detroit-mayoral-candidate-files-campaign-finances-other-still-working/8522623002/