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Detroit school board elections: 22 candidates raised nearly $230,000

Detroit school board elections: 22 candidates raised nearly 0,000

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Nearly $230,000 in campaign contributions went to the Detroit school board race this year, with almost all of the contributions going to the four candidates.

Donations reported by the Oct. 25 election filing deadline show there were 22 candidates running for president. three seats on the Detroit Public School District board are on track to exceed the amount raised in the last election cycle.

Most candidates have not yet reported any contributions or expenses. The deadline for reporting late contributions is Election Day, November 5.

The new members will be tasked with addressing pressing issues, including: district persistently high rate of chronic student absenteeismschool climate and culture, low teacher salaries, declining enrollment, and low academic achievements. The new composition of the board could create a division that could hamper Superintendent Nikolai Vitti’s current approach to these issues or allow him to continue to grow.

Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, the only incumbent, is seeking re-election now as she approaches her first term on the board. Board members Sonya Mays and Misha Stallworth, whose terms are also expiring, will not seek re-election.

The most money raised in the race through October 25 was Boyd White III, who is running for office for the first time. Wayne County records show White, an attorney and pastor, has raised more than $86,000. White said Thursday he expected total contributions to be about $100,000 by Election Day.

White said he realizes his name isn’t recognized in the DPSCD community, which means he has to fundraise aggressively. His strategy was to reach out to people in his network, such as friends and family, for support.

For example, White’s second-biggest contribution came from his mother.

If we win, it will be a victory for the whole team,” he said.

Gay-Dagnogo raised the second-largest amount of more than $65,000, as reported to her by the state political action committee through the secretary of state.

The board member said her county-level PAC has raised $1,000 and expects to raise a total of $75,000 by the end of the campaign.

Gay-Dagnogo said she almost didn’t run, but decided to run for reelection when she heard rumors that Vice President Kamala Harris would be the Democratic presidential nominee.

“I knew there was a lot of catching up to do.” she said about her late entry into the race. “But I wanted to help raise everyone’s awareness of the possibility of having a Black woman as president. That’s been my focus ever since.”

Gay-Dagnogo organized rallies and voting events and campaigned with other Democrats to fight for Harris.

Toson Knight, founder of the Caught Up mentoring program and now director of Wayne County’s Prevention and Diversion Division, reported donations totaling more than $41,000.

Sherisse Butler, senior vice president and executive director of City Year Detroit, raised more than $30,000.

The campaign of Monique Bryant, parent parent and district nonprofit director, raised more than $4,000. Of this amount, almost half was donated by Bryant herself.

“This is my second run and I knew I would have to invest in myself to achieve what I was trying to achieve,” she said.

Gay-Dagnogo also invested in her own campaign, donating $6,000.

4 candidates gained significant support in the Detroit area

Bryant is the only candidate who did not receive major support and reported raising more than $1,000 for the county.

White has received endorsements from the Detroit Free Press, the Michigan Chronicle, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO.

Gay-Dagnogo has also been endorsed by the Free Press, Chronicle and AFL. Knight has been endorsed by the Free Press and the Chamber of Commerce. Butler won the endorsement of the Chamber, the Chronicle and the AFL.

Early reports do not indicate much money is flowing into the race from political action committees.

White received a total of several thousand dollars from the Michigan Workers Political League, the Michigan Political Action Fund, the Iron Workers Local 25 PAC and the Friends of Janice Winfrey, who is currently a Detroit city clerk.

Gay-Dagnogo received $15,000 from the Committee for President-elect Andrea Bradley, who is running to become the 36th District Court judge.

The Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee has also made campaign contributions to candidates it supports, said its vice president of political affairs, Brad Williams. As of Thursday, the reports had not yet been made public in the district’s reporting system.

“We view DPSCD as an integral part of our broader talent strategy,” said Greg Handel, the chamber’s vice president of education and talent.

Much of the money used in the race came from individual contributions from wealthy Michigan business leaders who live outside Detroit.

For example, Bloomfield Hills resident Bill Emerson, president of Rocket Companies, gave $5,000 to White and $3,500 to Knight. David Provost, a former vice president of TCF Financial who lives in Birmingham, donated $5,000 each to White and Knight’s campaigns.

All candidates largely spent their donations on the same things: yard signs, printing and online advertising.

White said his campaign spent about $50,000 on two mailers sent to Detroit residents. The campaign also invested more than $2,200 in robocalls, more than $31,000 in street signs and more than $11,000 in graphic design.

Gay-Danogo spent more than $30,000 on printing literature, more than $1,400 on food for volunteers, more than $3,300 on graphic design and more than $2,800 on voter outreach.

This isn’t the first year the DPSCD board race has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign support.

In 2022 18 candidates for four seats he earned over $235,000 on board. Meanwhile, LaTrice McClendon won the most financial support in the race. As a political novice, she won a seat on the board.

In 2020 candidates received over $289,000 in campaign donations in elections for three seats on the management board. Most of the money went to the three main participants in the race, including Gay-Dagnogo.

The amount officials raised in 2020 was significantly more than the $47,000 that candidates contributed to two open seats in 2018.

In the first election year after state control of the district ended in 2016, candidates running for seven open seats raised more than $290,000.

Hannah Dellinger covers K-12 and state education policy for Chalkbeat Detroit. She can be contacted at [email protected].