Political newcomer in top 2 for fundraising among Lansing City Council candidates
Jeremy Garza, a sitting Ward 2 council member who is seeking a new seat as an at-large member, has dominated recent fundraising, according to campaign finance reports that were due July 25, which cover fundraising from January through July 20.
There are 19 candidates running for city council or mayor. Garza raised $48,050, which is twice as much as any other candidate, and a political newcomer raised the second most money.
And while incumbent Mayor Andy Schor, who like his competitors raised fairly little recently, has nearly $180,000 on hand.
Here's a deeper look:
Lansing City Council at-large seats
With two seats up for grabs and 10 candidates, Garza has raised $48,050, reports show.
But Garza's contributions are not - with the exception of a single $50 donor - from individuals.
Garza's fundraising is almost exclusively from unions or other organizations. The Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 333 union, which he helps lead as vice president, contributed $24,500, the largest single donation in the city this cycle and bigger on its own than any other candidate was able to raise overall. Garza's average donation, from 14 organizations and one individual, was $3,200.
The runner-up, in the money race, is also seeking an at-large position, and collected big dollars from lots of smaller donations.
Clara Martinez pulled in $21,650 from more than 150 individual donors, with only two large organizations contributing: the Michigan Education Association and the Regional Council of Carpenters gave a collective $1,500. Most of Martinez's money came from individual donors, including several city figures like Mayor Andy Schor, council member Peter Spadafore, developer Pat Gillespie and Lansing Board of Water and Light General Manager Dick Peffley.
Two other candidates raised more than $10,000: Julie Vandenboom and Aurelius Christian, who each reported around $14,500.
Tirstan Walters raised almost $8,000, with more than a third of that being self-funded. His donors include sitting council members Garza, Adam Hussain and Ryan Kost.
Gloria Denning reported raising $600 and having almost as much on hand with $2,472 in in-kind contributions.
Two candidates, Jonah Stone and Olivia Vaden, did not file reports.
Mayoral race
There isn't much money flowing in the mayoral races, at least on paper.
Mayor Andy Schor reported raising $3,650, but the mayor reports an intimidating war chest: He has $179,268 on hand.
Two of the five candidates have not filed election reports in several months, meaning the public doesn't have a window into the fundraising or expenses for David Ellis and Kelsea Hector.
The three candidates who have filed raised $6,485 combined.
Ellis said, in a Facebook post, that he is working with the county to get an extension for his report.
Hector said they have not passed the $1,000 fundraising mark yet, but expect to pass that and submit filings soon.
Brett Brockschmidt reported raising $535 and spending $1,440, with most of those expenses coming out of his own pocket.
Jeffrey Brown, a sitting council member who is running for mayor, reported raising $2,500, including $1,100 from himself.
2nd ward
Neither candidate for the 2nd ward seat, Erik Almquist and Deyanira Nevarez Martinez, filed a report this cycle. Both are uncontested in the August Primary election.
4th ward
All three 4th ward candidates filed reports. Sitting council member Peter Spadafore, who is running for a ward seat instead of his current at-large seat, has the money advantage.
Spadafore raised $18,021 and reported a balance of almost $11,000 on hand.
Heath Lowry, an attorney, raised $4,795, with more than half of that from himself, and has $535 on hand.
Zacharie Spurlock, a bartender and challenger, reported about $1,414 in expenses and no outside contributions.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing City Council candidates file campaign finance reports
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