Few of Ward 4 Council Challenger’s Donors Live in Ward 4

by P.D. Lesko

Library Trustee Dharma Akmon has raised $15,365 for her Ward 4 City Council race, according to public campaign finance records. On April 14, 2022 Akmon Tweeted out a thank you to “***194 individuals***” who have allegedly donated to her Council campaign. An analysis of Akmon’s most recent campaign finance disclosure shows she has raised $15,365, an impressive amount for a local race. Akmon’s campaign finance data also reveal that of the donations disclosed on her most recent campaign finance form, fewer than 15 percent of the total number of donors who gave to Akmon are residents of Ward 4. Seventy-one percent of Akmon’s money ($10,100) has come from out-of-state, out-of-city and out-of-Ward donors. The majority of Dharma Akmon’s campaign funds have come from carpetbaggers, individuals who either can’t vote in Ann Arbor, or can’t vote in the Ward 4 Ann Arbor City Council race.

The majority of the donors who contributed the maximum ($1,050) to Akmon’s campaign live in Ward 3. In fact, Akmon’s campaign finance records show the challenger is being funded by a number of big money, Ann Arbor donors from around the City who are allied with Mayor Taylor.

This kind of outside influence in local elections has triggered local election campaign finance reforms in cities across the county, including Boulder, CO, Seattle, WA and Albuquerque, NM, as well as from non-partisan groups such as the Brennan Center for Justice. Why?

Like Dharma Akmon, every politician loves to talk about all the “small” donations they’ve received, but the money that really pays for elections comes from big donors, not little ones.

According to research published by the non-partisan campaign finance research group OpenSecrets.org, “If you’ve never given money to a politician in your life, join the club. Polls have shown that less than 10 percent of Americans have ever given a contribution to candidates for any office, at any level. And if you look at contributions big enough to be reported to the Federal Election Commission — those exceeding $200 — the number of Americans contributing in a typical election year is infinitesimal.”

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been outspoken about “millionaires [and billionaires] who try to buy off politicians during elections,” and “outside money that slithers its way into elections corrupting democracy and taking power away from the people,” including in local elections. When Warren ran for president in 2020, she refused donations larger than $200 from CEOs, bankers, lawyers and tech industry executives.

Had Akmon made a “Getting Big Money Out of Politics” pledge similar to Sen. Warren’s, without the outside and big money funders, the Ward 4 challenger’s campaign fund would stand at closer to $4,000 rather than $15,365.

Along with being funded by outside and big money funders, Akmon’s donor pool does not match the city’s diversity when it comes to race, gender, or age. For example, Akmon’s big money donors are overwhelmingly white, according to public records.

Laura Friedenbach works for Fair Elections New York. She says, “Such stark underrepresentation distorts who has influence in city hall and diminishes the concerns and needs of a majority of constituents.” Friedenbach added, “A growing body of evidence shows that politicians pay more attention to the policy preferences of the elite donor class, while other concerns facing communities are sidelined.”

Among Dharma Akmon’s big money donors are:

$1,050: Caitlin Klein (Ward 3) [tech/investor/landlord]

$1,050: Joe Malcoun (Ward 3) [tech exec./Klein’s husband]

$1,050: Jonathan Oberheide (Ward 3) [tech exec.]

$1,050: David Fry (Outside Ann Arbor) [tech exec.]

$1,000: Daniel Adams (Ward 1) [lawyer]

$525: Adam Goodman (Ward 5) [tech engineer]

$500: Leah Gunn (Ward 3) [retired]

$500: Poscher (Ward 3) [unknown]

$250: Kyle Lady (Ward 5) [tech exec.]

$250: Peter Baker (Outside Ann Arbor) [tech exec.]

Akmon’s campaign is funded by out-of-state and out-of-city funders in New York, Wisconsin, Florida, Lansing (MI), Jackson (MI), California, Ypsilanti (MI), Whitmore Lake (MI), Superior Twp. (MI), Virgina, Canton (MI), Tennessee, and Farmington Hills (MI).

Isaac J. de Luna Navarro works for the non-partisan Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. He explains what it means when rich, white donors control local elections through big money influence: “Every resident deserves to have a say in how their city is run, regardless of the size of their wallet. Instead, year after year, those with the most money to give play a disproportionate role in local elections, enjoying greater power to influence elected officials and policy outcomes. Updates to current campaign finance systems are needed to limit the role of big donors and give everyday constituents a bigger say in local matters.”

Ward 4 City Council candidate Dharma Akmon was asked by email and Twitter about the large number of big money donors to her campaign who live outside of her Ward, as well as the large number of out-of-state donors to her campaign. She did not answer.

Ward 4 incumbent Council member Elizabeth Nelson (D), when asked about Akmon’s lack of financial support among the Ward 4 residents she hopes to represent, said: “Our community should not let money decide our elections.”