The eight candidates running for the three seats on the East Lansing City Council have used mailers, yard signs, social media and much more in the campaign for the Nov. 7, 2023, election.
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Campaign Expenses Reveal Big Differences in Resources Available to Candidates

Kerry Ebersole Singh lapped the field in fundraising, local plumbers and pipefitters are major donors, and much more was revealed by financial reports City Council candidates have filed with the Ingham County Clerk. 

While fundraising certainly does not always translate to victories on election day, money raised allowed candidates to buy yard signs, digital advertising, mailers, political consulting and other promotional materials that can be advantages while campaigning. Here is ELi’s analysis and breakdown of the records from the County Clerk. Because candidates write in their own list of expenses, the information must be sorted in order to make sense of it. 

Data from Balance Statement of candidate financial reports. Does not include late contributions. Does not include in-kind expenses/contributions. 

Yard signs, printing and advertising: How candidates spent their money. 

As one would expect in a local election, candidates went all in on purchasing yard signs. For example, some candidates like Rebecca Kasen and Joshua Ramirez-Roberts spent around half of their budget on signs.

Sending out mailers or handing out fliers appears to be a central strategy for majority of the candidates, as many had printing, postage or mailing as significant campaign expenses. Candidates also opted to garner votes online, with many spending big on websites, social media pages and digital advertisements. 

The Lansing City Pulse proved to be a popular outlet for candidates to place advertisements. Noel Garcia, Kasen and Chris Wardell all placed advertisements in the publication. 

Mark Meadows’ campaign expenses were almost solely made out to one company: Practical Political Data. While Meadows doesn’t appear to be the only candidate to use the locally-founded political consulting company, he relied on it far more than any other candidate. Outside of a loan repaid to himself and a fundraiser costing just over $300, all of Meadows’ major expenses went to Practical Political Data, totaling over $19,000. He received everything from yard signs to mailers to consulting and campaign research through the organization. 

Six candidates received money from PACs. 

Political Action Committees, commonly known as PACS, can be a shot in the arm for candidates in need of funds. PACs are often representative of larger groups and can provide larger donations than many individuals are willing or able to contribute. 

If elections were determined by money raised (they aren’t) then a local trades union would be kingmakers. The Local 333 PAC represents mid-Michigan plumbers, pipefitters, welders and HVAC service techs, and distributed $5,000 to three different candidates: Garcia, Meadows and Singh. 

The $15,000 donated by the 333 PAC is far and away the most from any single donor this election cycle, but candidates found meaningful funds from plenty of other sources.

Erik Altmann picked up a $250 donation from the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union. He was one of three candidates to receive a $250 donation from the PAC. 

Dan Bollman was one of three candidates to receive $1,000 from the Realtors Political Action Committee of Michigan. 

Along with the Local 333 PAC donation, Garcia’s campaign received contributions from two other PACs. The Clark Hill PAC gave $500 and Realtors donated $1,000 to his campaign. 

Meadows also received PAC contributions outside the 333 PAC. He received $1,000 from the Realtors, $1,000 from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights and $250 from the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union. 

Like other areas of fundraising, Singh paced the field when attracting donations from PACs. In addition to the $5,000 from the 333 PAC, Singh received $1,000 from the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, $1,000 from the Council of Carpenters, $500 from the Curtis Hertel Jr for MI PAC, $250 from the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union, $200 from the Comcast Corp & NBC Universal PAC, and $200 from the Dykema Gossett PAC. 

The Garza Working for Michigan Fund, a PAC supporting state representative candidate, Rep. Alex Garza, and other candidates, donated $50 to Wardell’s campaign. 

The number of donors and amounts donated to candidates by PACs.

Singh more than doubled her closest competitors in fundraising. 

The data point that jumps out from the financial reports is the massive edge Singh holds over the field in fundraising. 

Along with donations from local residents, Singh received contributions from California to New York, held two fundraisers and was able to lure donations from several PACs. 

And it does not look like Singh’s campaigning is slowing down. She took out a $10,000 loan on Oct. 19, which the report did not indicate had yet been repaid. In addition to the more than $56,000 Singh initially reported she raised, she filed a notice of late contributions that showed three new donations totaling $1,500. 

Singh’s campaign financing efforts include a pair of fundraisers where nearly $25,000 was donated. The first event was held at a private residence on Sept. 21 and saw 80 individuals attend and resulted in more than $21,000 in contributions. The second event hosted on Oct. 23 was smaller, with 25 participants reported, and $3,175 in contributions. 

Singh, who works as the executive vice president and chief talent solutions and engagement officer for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, is new to campaigning for public office but may have been assisted by her husband, State Sen. Sam Singh. Sam was listed as treasurer for Kerry’s campaign and is well versed in campaign financing, having won three elections to the state house and most recently a senate race. He was also elected to the East Lansing City Council in 2006 when he was just 24. 

With her trove of assets, Singh invested heavily in getting her name out in front of voters. Campaign expenses showed Singh paid Washington, D.C.-based company Amplify Power close to $26,000 for mailings, postage, printing and yard signs. Additionally, Singh invested more than $13,000 in digital advertising through Change Media Group. 

Looking back at election cycles covered by ELi, there are no candidates keeping pace with Singh’s fundraising. In 2017, there was around $43,000 in spending dedicated to Aaron Stephen’s campaign. However, around
$33,000 of that was spent by the Greater Lansing Association of Realtors’ PAC, which received almost all that money from the National Association of Realtors in Chicago. The Realtors used that money to purchase mailers supporting Stephens. Stephens campaign committee itself spent around $10,000.

Singh’s campaign is very different because money being spent is through her campaign committee and her campaign is not nearly as financially dependent on one single supporter.

The last time the city saw a campaign eclipse $50,000 in funds raised was in 2015, when then-mayor Nathan Triplett spent nearly $52,000 on a reelection bid. But big spending does not automatically translate to election wins. Triplett finished fourth and did not retain his seat on Council in the 2015 race. 

Current Council rallies around Garcia. 

Garcia is the only candidate running in the Nov. 7 election who is currently on City Council having been appointed in January when Lisa Babcock was elected to the 54B District Court Judgeship. Records show he gained support from each of the current Council members. In addition to personal contributions to his campaign, Garcia received $500 from Councilmember George Brookover and $100 from Mayor Ron Bacon in late June. He then received $25 from Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg in August and $50 from Councilmember Dana Watson in September.

There is precedent for Council members contributing to the campaigns of candidates currently on Council. In 2021, then-Mayor Jessy Gregg gave $250 to Bacon’s campaign and $400 to Watson. Both candidates had previously been appointed to Council after the abrupt resignations of Meadows and Mayor Ruth Bier 

While all Council members extended support to Garcia, he was not the only candidate they made donations to. 

Singh received $500 from Brookover and $200 from Gregg. Likewise, Bollman received $500 from Brookover and $200 from Gregg. Kasen, meanwhile, received $25 from Gregg, $250 from Watson, $50 from Garcia and $100 from Bacon. Wardell received $50 from Garcia. 

Full financial reports are available online. 

While the above article is a summary of what can be found in financial reports, those interested can access the full reports here: 

Additionally, voters can access all public candidate paperwork submitted to the Ingham County Clerk by searching their name with this tool at the the Ingham County Clerk website.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct how money was raised and spent by City Council candidate Aaron Stephens in his 2017 campaign. (Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, 11:37)

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