How Much Does it Cost to Campaign For and Against a Charter Amendment? Reports Shed Light.
The campaign committees in favor of and opposed to a proposed charter amendment to move East Lansing’s City Council elections from odd- to even-numbered years have spent thousands of dollars making their case, documents filed with the Ingham County Clerk’s Office show.
If approved, the amendment would move City Council elections to November of even-numbered years, extending current council members’ terms by one year. The change would also align city elections with state and federal races, which draw higher voter turnout.
The proposed amendment has emerged as the most hotly contested local issue of the election cycle, with advocates on both sides using yard signs, mailers and websites to make their case to voters.
A closer look at campaign finances through Oct. 18 reveals how the dueling campaigns have made and spent money.
The campaign in favor of the amendment has a fundraising edge.
According to the campaign finance reports, the group in favor of the amendment has raised more money than the group in opposition. Proponents for the amendment had upwards of $10,000 in assets, while the opposition group had just over $6,500.
“East Lansing Residents for Good Government,” the group in favor, raised $9,595 in direct contributions and just over $460 in in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions represent the value of non-cash contributions to campaigns, including items like yard signs and services that help a campaign.
The group was helped by a $5,000 donation from the Make Michigan Great PAC, a PAC run by a labor union that, despite its name, tends to support Democrat-aligned causes and candidates.
East Lansing Residents for Good Government invested most heavily in mailers, with two purchases worth more than $3,500 spent on mailers. The group also invested close to $800 in yard signs and $240 in palm cards, according to the report.
With $4,400 still on-hand when the filing was completed, East Lansing Info reached out to East Lansing Residents for Good Government Treasurer Adam DeLay to see if the campaign has plans to spend cash in the closing days before the election. In a text message sent on Tuesday, DeLay said the group plans to send out another round of mailers and has “a few other projects” planned.
There is also a $1,000 outstanding loan from a supporter included in the report that could be repaid.
“Keep Local Elections Local,” which opposes the amendment, raised about $1,580 in direct contributions and more than $5,000 in in-kind contributions.
The bulk of spending came from Kathy Swedlow, the wife of East Lansing Mayor Erik Altmann, who spent about $4,000 on printing and postage and another $685 on yard signs. These in-kind contributions from Swedlow are marked as loans. Altmann contributed just over $120 for internet and mailing services.
The campaign had only spent about $5 from its direct contributions as of Oct. 18, and Swedlow’s entire $4,700 loan remained outstanding.
Altmann is not the only East Lansing mayor to financially back the “no” campaign, as former mayors Victor Loomis and Liz Schweitzer each contributed.
To learn more about the arguments each side is making, read this previous reporting from ELi. Additionally, residents for and against the amendment made their case during an episode of the East Lansing Insider podcast.