Who funds Duggan?
It can be said that if you want to know what a politician's true values and priorities really are, look at who donated to his campaign fund. Let's take a closer look at Duggan's campaign chest. He is perhaps the only city mayor in the nation to have a Super-PAC (something usually reserved for national-level candidates). Granted, thanks to the controversial “Citizens United” U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed for the creation of Super PACs in 2010, it is not possible to see all of Duggan's Super PAC donors, or how much they gave. But perhaps it is enough for us to know that he does not want us to know. Because of that ruling, a politician's Super PAC may receive unlimited donations from corporations, unions, nonprofits and individuals, without having to make their records public. Nonetheless, some of Duggan's campaign contributions are public, and **spoiler alert** they are mostly from people and corporations from outside of Detroit, with mostly conservative values.
The vast majority of Duggan’s donations come from outside the city of Detroit. By contrast, the vast majority of Coleman Young II’s donations came from inside the city. It is worth noting however that as of 2021, Coleman Young II has sold out, and aligned himself with Duggan.
"Duggan received 56 donations exceeding $1,000 from out-of-state residents, including six executives from JP Morgan Chase, which reached a $55 million settlement with the government in January 2017 over allegations that it discriminated against thousands of black and Latino mortgage borrowers. Many of the out-of-state donations came during two fundraisers in New York City. Duggan raised $31,519 on the 20th floor of 277 Park Avenue, where JP Morgan Chase’s world headquarters are. More than two dozen executives with Detroit-based Quicken Loans, which the federal government also accused of predatory lending, contributed nearly $73,000 to Duggan’s re-election campaign. In early July, a federal judge ruled that Quicken Loans officers brokered illegal loans in excess of fair market value by relying on excessive home appraisals. Another company that profits off of foreclosures, Ohio-based Safeguard Properties, also donated to Duggan’s campaign. Founder and chairman Robert Klein and his wife Ita Klein each contributed the maximum $6,800. The company clears out bank-foreclosed homes."
Duggan portrays himself in this sort of humble role as a self-effacing, working class politician, even down to his cheap suits. He is really dressing the part. But in reality he is a multi-millionaire (thanks to his DMC scam), and he has access to millions more in political funding and favors. And I have heard scuttlebutt that his son Eddie is a billionaire (why does that make way too much sense?).
Anyway, let's break down Duggan's campaign funding year by year.
In 2014,
Duggan’s official candidate committee, Mike Duggan for Detroit, reported direct and in-kind contributions totaling $2.8 million, while the pro-Duggan "Turnaround Detroit" Super PAC amassed $3.1 million. By contrast, compared to Duggan's approximately $6M, his challenger Benny Napoleon only raised/spent $460k.
Automotive magnate Roger Penske (a Republican) gave Turnaround Detroit $500,000, records show. His company, Penske Corp., also gave $500,000. Seven other people or organizations gave Turnaround Detroit $100,000 or more, including DTE Energy, Compuware cofounder Peter Karmanos Jr. (another Republican), PVS Chemicals, and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Quicken Loans PAC (aka, Dan Gilbert—another Republican) donated $34,000 to the Duggan campaign committee.
In 2016,
WDET analyzed the out-of-state contributions to Duggan’s campaign.
Here are the states, the number of contributors from them, and how much they gave:
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Seems hard to picture just what interest people in Tennessee, New York, and Nevada have in who becomes the mayor of Detroit...? As average Detroiters, you and I don't have any say in who becomes mayor in those places, so why should they have a say in ours?
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In 2017,
Many of Duggan’s biggest donors in the most recent campaign finance report hail from the East Coast, particularly the New York City area. They include: $20,000 from four people affiliated with the New York-based company Outerstuff, LLC. That’s a leading maker of licensed sports apparel for major professional and college sports teams. $10,000 from Morris and Aaron Wolfson, also out of New York City. They run the Wolfson Group, a Philadelphia-based commercial real estate and development firm. Another 9 donations of $5000 or more from New York or Philadelphia-based individuals or firms (including Comcast’s Political Action Committee). Duggan also received $18,000 from members of the Tellem family. Arn Tellem is the Vice Chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Detroit Pistons.
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Among his donors as of 2017, Duggan got $1,300 from Doug Diggs, CEO of the Diggs Group Inc., $2,000 from Gerard Anderson, DTE Energy’s board chairman, and $3,000 from John Lunsford, CEO of Rocketloans. Contributions from PACs include $25,000 from the Michigan Laborers’ Political League, $10,000 from Troy-based Flagstar Michigan, and a $2,500 donation from Dykema Gossett.
By 2017 Duggan’s campaign had raised about $4 million total since his last election in 2013, according to its campaign finance disclosure:
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| Boss Duggan, counting his loot |
Big donors continued to power Duggan's Super PAC, "Turnaround Detroit." The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters gave $150,000 over the summer. Since then, Roger Penske, of the Penske Corporation, has given $250,000. "Powering the Economy," a Super PAC connected to the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, has given $125,000. And Central Transport, one of the corporate identities of Matty Moroun (a Republican), has given $100,000. Duggan’s campaign has seen a broader number of contributors with some of the top givers being the Blue Cross Blue Shield PAC, which gave $68,000, and the Michigan Laborers Political League, which gave $43,500, according to campaign finance disclosures. Keep in mind, when you are talking about Super PACs, these numbers are just the amounts they are *reporting*...
Corporations and wealthy individuals from outside of Detroit accounted for about 90 percent of campaign contributions to Duggan's mayoral campaign...
Suspiciously enough, Duggan also received a significant amount of donations from companies in the predatory lending business. According to Motor City Muckraker,
Duggan is also tied to all the big demolition contractors operating in the city—Adamo Group, Farrow Group, Homrich, MCM Management, etc., none of which are actually based in the city. Which makes you wonder why they would be donating tens of thousands to a mayoral campaign in a city they are not constituents of. I think we can safely say it isn't mere philanthropy! I wrote extensively about Duggan's ties to the suburban demolition industry HERE.
Motor City Muckraker also learned in 2017 that Duggan "struck deals" with campaign donors Dan Gilbert and the billionaire Illitch family (more Republicans), "allowing them to skirt affordable housing requirements for big residential developments in downtown and the rapidly gentrifying Cass Corridor."
In 2018,
Dennis Kefallinos, a local slumlord notorious for his many long-abandoned buildings, was one of Duggan's biggest donors...
The Metro Times revealed that multinational corporations, insurance companies, wealthy CEOs, Republican donors, and other powerful outside interests were pouring money into State House and Senate campaigns of Detroit Democrats backed by Mayor Mike Duggan.
Metro Times examined campaign finance records filed with the Michigan Secretary of State and found donors’ cash was being funneled through the Duggan Leadership Fund, the mayor's independent PAC. Beyond that, a look at Duggan’s candidates’ campaign finance records shows that some of the state’s wealthiest and most powerful individuals and lobbies are donating directly to the candidates’ campaigns. That includes the auto insurance industry lobby, health insurance execs, charter school executives, DTE Energy, and a variety of developers and CEOs from industries across the board. Many of those are Duggan allies.
Duggan’s PAC reported raising $241,000 in 2018. Of that, only $51,760—or about 20 percent—came from companies or individuals in Detroit. The PAC reported spending $221,000 this year. Donors who gave between $2,000 and $10,000 to Duggan’s PAC include companies or executives from companies like Comcast, Flagstar Bank, DTE Energy, Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Michigan, Henry Ford Health System, Lear, Ciena Healthcare, and more. Other donors include companies like Amazon and controversial landlord Dennis Kefallinos, who was cracked down on by the city last year for his dangerous buildings.
The revelation that powerful corporations and wealthy Republican donors were partly funding Duggan’s Democrats in State House and Senate races put their campaign in contrast to those of their grassroots, progressive opponents who were taking far less—if any—corporate PAC money.
Another Metro Times article later that fall discovered that the candidates that Duggan and Gilbert were pushing for the City Charter Revision Commission were also bankrolled by Republicans:
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| "Can I get fries with that?" |
In 2021,
The Free Press reported that Duggan raised more than $1.1 million for his reelection campaign since January, compared with Anthony Adams, the next highest candidate at $160,575, according to campaign finance records submitted recently. During his previous run, over a slightly longer period, Duggan's campaign finance report showed he raised more than the current period. Between Oct. 21, 2016 and July 23, 2017, Duggan's campaign collected more than $1.6 million.
According to campaign finance reports detailing contributions from Jan. 1 to July 18, executives at companies such as JACK Entertainment, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Quicken Loans, Amtrak and more have poured about $7,000 each, or more, into his campaign.
Some of his top contributions came from various political action committees, including the autoworkers' UAW Michigan V-PAC, which donated $35,750 on June 9 and another $15,000 on June 24. The political action committee also contributed to Coleman A. Young and Councilmember Janeé Ayers' campaigns, according to campaign finance records.
General Motors PAC also spent $30,000 on Duggan's reelection efforts, joined by $25,000 from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Several employees from the health care company have also donated thousands to Duggan's campaign. Other PACs that contributed to the mayor's campaign include the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, which gave $25,000; Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters at $20,000; the law firm Honigman, Miller, Schwartz & Cohn Campaign Committee at $13,000; DTE Energy at $10,000 and Miller Canfield PAC sending $10,000 to Duggan's campaign. Duggan's campaign is reaching beyond Detroit's borders. Executives from Taubman Company, the Bloomfield Hills-based owner and manager of several malls across the country, including Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi and Great Lakes Crossing, as well as Amtrak and P&GE Corp. each provided $7,150 to the campaign.
Guess what, the Taubman family also donates to Republicans. If you are starting to notice a pattern, read my other post on why Duggan isn't actually a Democrat, HERE. Who is really the mayor of Detroit...? Is it Duggan, or is it the Republican corporate elite?
