Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero turned down thousands of dollars for her re-election campaign from a political committee funded by Dan Gilbert and his employees.
State campaign finance disclosures show Santiago-Romero voided a total of $5,000 that Rocket State Political Action Committee (PAC) attempted to give her through two donations in February and March. Santiago-Romero confirmed that she declined to cash the checks offered to her.
She didn’t elaborate on why, but the first-term council member who represents Southwest Detroit previously touted her commitment to reject corporate donations during a District 6 candidate forum hosted by BridgeDetroit. The event was held a few days after the donations were declined, records show.
“I have been offered PAC money I will not accept,” Santiago-Romero said in June. “I can continue to work with Rocket Mortgage without taking their money. I meet with DTE consistently without taking their money. You don’t need to take money to have a working relationship with people.”
BridgeDetroit unsuccessfully attempted to contact the treasurer of Rocket State PAC on Tuesday.
State Rep. Tyrone Carter is challenging Santiago-Romero for the District 6 seat in November. During the June forum, Carter said it’s “an insult” to suggest politicians are beholden to the interests of their donors. He said donations from DTE Energy haven’t prevented him from making sure the company follows through on things like tree trimming efforts.
“I love this stuff about ‘I’m not taking corporate money,’” Carter said. “It’s not about somebody taking money and a quid pro quo, because at the end of the day, I don’t need this job to pay my bills. My job is to make sure that the people I represent get what they need.”
State disclosures show Gilbert put $125,000 into Rock Holdings PAC in May. The committee had $131,408 left to spend as of the latest July filing. The group supported several other council candidates.
Santiago-Romero was notably among four council members who voted against a $60 million tax break for Gilbert’s downtown Hudson’s Detroit project. At the time, she said Gilbert should use his vast resources to lobby legal changes that would allow Detroit to reform its tax system.
Santiago-Romero said she won’t accept donations from PACs because officials should be accountable to residents, and there are plenty of people who live in the district that can fund her campaign.
“It is incredibly hard to fundraise, but I do the hard work,” Santiago-Romero said. “I ask people over and over and over again, can you please give me $5? Can you please give me $20? Do you know someone who can give me $100? … I just do not agree with taking PAC money.”
Michigan law doesn’t require candidates who aren’t on the August primary ballot to file disclosures before that election. Candidates for the November general election are required to file disclosures by Oct. 24.
The most recent disclosures available for Santiago-Romero’s campaign show totals as of the end of 2024. At the time, she had $13,381 in available cash to spend. Most of the donations were raised during a December 2024 fundraiser at The Brooke on Bagley.
Carter filed to run for the District 6 seat in February, so he has not been required to disclose fundraising activity yet this year. Carter said he’s been a self-funder in past campaigns, and records show he’s loaned himself $21,000 total.
Carter previously ran for the District 6 seat in 2017 but lost to then-incumbent Council Member Raquel Castaneda-Lopez by 413 votes. Carter went on to win a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in 2018, was reelected in 2020, secured a third term representing a redrawn version of the district in 2022 and was re-elected again in 2024.
His top donors included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Building Bridges PAC and committees representing Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, DTE, Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers, Rock Holdings and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.