Financial Disclosures
Financial disclosures were due last Friday for campaigns in Michigan. The idea of requiring public disclosures is so voters can see who is contributing to the causes they care about. The hope is transparency helps voters be better informed about who is working to influence their vote. The forms require identifying all those who contribute to a campaign and where they live.
The Vote "Yes" campaign's financial disclosure can be found here: https://www.votenoharborsprings.org/.../Vote-Yes...
The Vote "No" campaign's financial disclosure can be found here: https://www.votenoharborsprings.org/.../Preserve-Harbor...
VOTE "YES" SUMMARY:
The Vote "Yes" campaign reports $2,500 from an individual who lives in Weque and $20,000 from the "We Love Harbor Springs" 501c4 organization. In the state of Michigan, 501c4 organizations like "We Love Harbor Springs" are not required to disclose their donors. In fairness, I assume that several who contributed to "We Love Harbor Springs" this year live in Harbor Springs, but the Vote "Yes" folks are not disclosing those names. "We Love Harbor Springs" lists an address in Toledo, Ohio.
The expenditures disclosed by the Vote "Yes" campaign are $14,758.25 for a political consultant in Lansing and $666 to the Colonial Inn to house someone to go door-to-door for the campaign (called a "canvasser" in political terms). Please view the disclosure for yourself at the link above.
VOTE "NO" SUMMARY:
The Vote "No" campaign reports $3,470 total contributions from 14 individuals all of whom are residents. To be clear, 100 percent of the contributions to the Vote "No" campaign list Harbor Springs as their address.
The Vote "No" folks spent $1,349.94 on printing for yard signs/postcards and buying stamps. The "No" campaign gave $2,120.06 back to donors in the form of refunds.
Please take a moment to review the disclosures and share with your friends and neighbors. I have tried hard to present these documents with little commentary as they are intended to inform voters, like you, in these days before the election. Make your own assessment.
Both the website and Facebook page are entirely funded and created by a resident of Harbor Springs. I have not been paid by anyone.