Candidates running for the Detroit City Council cumulatively raised $1.2 million for Tuesday’s general election contests.
Fourteen candidates who disclosed campaign finance reports in late October collectively spent $1 million on their races. Candidates spent an average of $73,130 and raised an average of $87,40, with a few notable outliers.
District 6 Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero raised the most of anyone running for the City Council, pulling in $180,589 for her reelection bid. She secured support from progressive and labor groups like the SEIU and Working Families Party.
District 7 candidate Denzel McCampbell trailed close behind Santiago-Romero’s fundraising, fueled by a surge of small donors who contributed under $25. The two supported each other on the campaign trail. McCampbell’s opponent, state Rep. Karen Whitsett, was boosted by donations from people affiliated with real estate development.
District 2 candidate Roy McCalister Jr. was largely self-funded and also the top spender, burning through $150,844 in his race. His opponent, incumbent Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway, received far more support from individual donors and community figures.
Several council races are seeing influence from members of the Torgow family, who own The Sterling Group, a development and investment company. They dropped roughly $37,500 on candidates in Districts 3, 5, 6 and 7.
SEIU Michigan, Michigan Laborers, and the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters were among the most active political committees that appeared in disclosures.
Campaign finance reports cover fundraising activity from Aug. 26 to Oct. 19. Read our previous reporting about fundraising during the August primary.
AT-LARGE CITY COUNCIL
Four candidates are running for two at-large seats representing the city overall.
Incumbents Coleman Young II and Mary Waters are running against former at-large Council Member Janee’ Ayers and James Harris, community relations chief for the Detroit Fire Department.
The incumbent candidates each individually raised more than the other two candidates combined. Young raised $121,927 and spent $107,611 throughout the campaign. Waters raised $108,556 and spent $107,197.
Harris raised $51,380 and spent $36,456. Ayers raised $49,835 and spent $51,292.
Dimitrios Papas, owner of The Atheneum Suite Hotel and a founder of Hollywood Casino Greektown, is Waters’ top donor ($5,000). Other major donors include Haden Holdings Owner Pierre Haden ($2,500), real estate developers Chris Jackson ($2,500) and Christos Moisides ($1,500). Jackson also gave Young $1,000.
Blaze Contracting Chairman and retired Detroit Lions guard Kerlin Blaise was Ayers’ top donor ($5,000).
Political groups that supported Waters include Michigan Laborer Political League ($15,000), SEIU Michigan ($2,000), Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants ($2,000) and the Teamsters ($1,000).
Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants also gave Young and Harris $2,000 each. Former Detroit Fire Chief Percy Warmack II gave Harris $1,000. Ayers received $500 from the Detroit Fire Fighters Association.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan gave Young $2,250 and SEIU Michigan gave $2,000.
Waters paid the Black Slate and Eastside Community Slate $1,500 each for slate card materials. Young paid the Black Slate $1,000 and Eastside Community Slate $6,500. Waters and Young paid Michigan Spanish Speaking Democrats $1,000 each for literature distribution.
Ayers reported collecting $5,850 from a fundraiser at Riverside Marina. No fundraisers were reported by Young, Waters or Harris.
Read more: Meet the at-large candidates
DISTRICT 1
Council President Pro Tem James Tate Jr. is running unopposed for another term in District 1.
He raised $4,000 throughout the race and spent $6,792. Tate has $35,809 left over from past campaigns.
Three political action committees provided all of the donations, including $2,500 from the Michigan Laborers Political League, $1,000 from SEIU Michigan and $500 from the Detroit Regional Chamber.
Read more: District 1 Meet the Candidates | What to know about City Council District 1
DISTRICT 2
Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway is running for reelection against Roy McCalister Jr.
Whitfield-Calloway raised $60,924 throughout the race and spent $19,393. McCalister raised $166,751 and spent $150,844. Whitfield-Calloway raised more from donors despite having a smaller total.
McCalister loaned his campaign $172,504 and raised just $5,354 from individuals since late August. He raised $4,070 at an Oct. 16 fundraiser at Smallz Restaurant in Bingham Farms. McCalister also collected $500 from the Detroit Regional Chamber PAC.
Whitfield-Calloway received $3,500 from the Michigan Laborer’s Political League, $2,000 from the Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association.
U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar and his wife Sashi each gave Whitfield-Calloway $1,583. Horace Sheffield, father of mayoral front-runner Mary Sheffield, gave her $1,000.
Read more: District 2 Meet the Candidates | What to know about City Council District 2
DISTRICT 3
Incumbent Council Member Scott Benson is running against Cranstana Anderson, an UAW retiree and block club leader.
Benson raised $111,300 and spent $134,917, partially relying on leftover donations from his previous campaign in 2021. Anderson did not file a campaign report.
Top donors include political committees like the Rock Holdings ($10,000), the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters ($10,000), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan ($3,500), Detroit Fire Fighters Association ($1,000), IBEW Local 58, SEIU Michigan ($1,000), Detroit Police Lieutenants and Sergeants Association ($1,000), Teamsters ($1,000), Henry Ford Health System ($750) and Advancing Detroit and Michigan Leadership ($500).
Benson received $10,000 from various members of the Torgow family. Alexis Wiley, CEO of Moment Strategies and a spokesperson for Mayor Mike Duggan’s 2026 gubernatorial campaign, gave $2,000.
Walker-Miller Engineering CEO Carla Walker-Miller gave $2,000. Ilitch Companies Vice President Michael McLauchlan gave $1,000. Bishop Edgar Vann III also gave $1,000.
Benson paid $9,240 to Original Eastside Slate, a dark money nonprofit that typically supports candidates that pay for print materials. Benson’s administrative assistant Carol Banks founded the group in 2020, according to state records.
Six fundraisers were reported, where Benson raised $20,100 total. Linda Whitaker, wife of Legislative Policy Division Director David Whitaker, hosted a fundraiser. Other locations include the address of Lakeshore Engineering and Wiley’s home.
Benson included a ferry ride to Mackinac Island as a campaign expense. It was purchased in April, a month before the annual policy conference hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber.
Read more: District 3 Meet the Candidates | What to know about City Council District 3
DISTRICT 4
Incumbent Council Member Latisha Johnson is running unopposed.
She raised $58,322 throughout the campaign and spent $18,904.
Johnson received support from several political action committees, including $6,000 from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, $4,600 from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, $2,500 from SEIU of Michigan, $1,500 from IBEW Local 58, $750 from Henry Ford Health System and $280 from Sheet Metal Workers Local 80.
Rock Vice President Jared Fleisher gave $500. District 7 candidate Denzel McCampbell gave $100.
Top donors include Walters Group Consultant Matthew Walters ($2,000) and Detroit Grounds Crew Owner Aaron Smith ($1,000). Johnson loaned herself $3,271.
Johnson reported one dinner fundraiser in September at Antidote Detroit, where she collected $9,675 from supporters.
Read more: District 4 Meet the Candidates | What to know about City Council District 4
DISTRICT 5
UAW retiree and entrepreneur Renata Miller is running against Police Commissioner Willie Burton. The District 5 seat was vacated by Council President Mary Sheffield, who is running for mayor.
Miller raised $40,359 and spent $19,215 throughout the campaign. Burton did not report his campaign fundraising activity as of Nov. 3. His previous statement showed Burton raised $3,870 as of Aug. 25.
Miller didn’t report any fundraisers. Members of the Torgow family gave $8,000 combined. Eli Halpern, who was general counsel for the Torgow’s real estate firm The Sterling Group, gave $2,000.
Max Berlin, chairman of the executive committee at Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, a Jewish school in Southfield, and his wife each gave $2,000.
Pierre Haden, Historic Boston-Edison Association president and owner of Haden Holdings, gave $2,450. Rabbi Dov Loketch and his wife Marilyn each gave $2,000.
Read more: Meet the candidates | What to know about City Council District 5
DISTRICT 6
Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero is seeking reelection against state Rep. Tyron Carter, D-Detroit.
Santiago-Romero raised $180,589 and spent $142,996 throughout the campaign. Carter raised $64,392 and spent $48,070.
Carter loaned himself $10,000 and transferred $24,000 from his state campaign committee. Central Transport CEO Matthew Moroun was Carter’s top donor, giving $2,450. Attorney Evelyn Gerald gave $1,750.
Olympian Mortgage LLC President Zack Alyasiry gave Carter $2,000. Donors who gave $1,000 include Ventures Publishing House CEO Erica Robertson, Eastside Colts President Bobby Christian, Vice President of Government Affairs for Great Lakes Beer and Wine Louis Gretch-Cumbo.
Members of the Torgow family gave Santiago-Romero $10,000 total.
Rock Vice President Jared Fleisher gave Santiago-Romero $2,450 in February, making him one of the top individual donors for Santiago-Romero along with Linh Song and The Ideal Group Chair Frank Venegas. The Ideal Group Vice President Jesse Venegas gave $1,000.
Ron Lewicki and his wife Pamela gave $2,050 each. Dean Simmer, director of engineering at Rocket Homes Real Estate, gave $1,400.
Mexicantown Bakery Owner Omar Hernandez gave $1,000, real estate developer Richard Hosey gave $1,000, so did Highland Park consultant Jockson Koeppel, Rocket Vice President of Engineering Dean Simmer, and Marian Krzyzowski, director of U-M’s Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, gave Santiago-Romero $4,250 from campaign leadership accounts, which are used by politicians to support other candidates.
Santiago-Romero had the support of several political committees, including SEIU of Michigan ($26,017), the Working Families Party ($2,450), Michigan Political Action Fund ($2,450), We The People Power ($1,500), Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan ($1,000) Teamsters Local 283 ($500) and New York Engineering Firm WSP USA ($500).
Political committees supporting Cater include Karoub Associates PAC ($1,000), the Detroit Fire Fighters Association ($500) and Henry Ford Health System ($500).
Santiago-Romero reported six fundraisers but did not disclose how much was raised from them. A joint fundraiser was held with District 7 candidate Denzel McCampbell at Monty’s Public House in Ann Arbor. Other fundraisers were held at La Terraza, Batch Brewing and El Parian.
Carter reported one fundraiser held in March at the Detroit Police Athletic League facility. He raised $5,450 from the event.
Read more: District 6 Meet the Candidates | What to know about City Council District 6
DISTRICT 7
Denzel Anton McCampbell and state Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, are competing to replace outgoing Council Member Fred Durhal III, who ran for mayor rather than seek reelection.
McCampbell raised $162,970 and spent $133,377. Whitsett raised $48,450 and spent $46,850 throughout the campaign.
McCampbell collected $20,573 from eight fundraising events. They were held at Mockery Zero Proof, Morningside Cafe, Stober’s Bar in Lansing, Soul on Ice, Browgod Detroit, and Rouge Park. McCampbell reported raising $1,587 at the joining fundraiser with Santiago-Romero.
Whitsett did not report any fundraisers. She received $8,000 from members of the Torgow family. Louay Hussein, operations manager of Nationwide Recovery, gave $2,450.
Whitsett received support from several donors who gave to other council candidates. Dov and Marilyn Loketch, Max and Elana Berlin, and Halpern, each gave $2,000 while receiving $1,000 from U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar and Walters.
McCampbell’s campaign statements stood out for having more than 100 individual donations that were under $10.
McCampbell had his share of larger donors too. Daniel Klein, community engagement representative for Oakland County, gave $2,100. Sugar Law Center Attorney John Philo and Schulz Ghannam Attorney Jack Schulz and Lakeshore Legal Aid Attorney Jacob Bolton each gave $1,000. Former state Rep. Abraham Aiyash gave $1,000.
Political committees that supported McCampbell include the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters ($5,000), Chang Future Fund ($2,000), Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michgian ($2,000) and Fems for Dems ($1,000).
Read more: Candidates who ran in the primary | What to know about City Council District 7
Editor’s note: This story has been updated since publication to reflect that Gabriela Santiago-Romero raised the most money of all candidates running for City Council.