Excerpt from summary report of a dataset of campaign contributions made to Ann Arbor local campaigns during the pre-primary reporting period for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary election.

The dataset was compiled by The Chronicle after the Friday, July 25 deadline for filing campaign finance reports. It includes contributions to the 2014 mayoral Democratic primary campaigns for the four candidates – Sabra Briere, Sally Petersen, Christopher Taylor and Stephen Kunselman – as well as contributions to Democratic city council primary campaigns of seven candidates in three wards: Don Adams and Sumi Kailasapathy in Ward 1; Nancy Kaplan and Kirk Westphal in Ward 2; and Julie Grand, Bob Dascola and Samuel McMullen in Ward 3.

Contributors to those 11 campaigns appear to perceive city council candidates Don Adams, Kirk Westphal and Julie Grand as aligned with mayoral candidate Christopher Taylor – as well as with each other. And judged by their donations, contributors appear to perceive city council candidates Sumi Kailasapathy, Nancy Kaplan and Bob Dascola as politically similar to each other – and to some extent politically similar to mayoral candidates Sabra Briere and Stephen Kunselman.

Those conclusions are based on the 1,278 individual contributions totaled across all the campaigns (517 for city council races and 761 for the mayoral race). The Chronicle counted at least 312 contributions that were made by people who gave to more than one of the campaigns. Those 312 contributions came from 99 different people. Not typical of the contributions were those of 22nd circuit court candidate Veronique Liem, who gave money to seven of the 11 campaigns, including all four mayoral candidates.

The Chronicle also tagged donors in the dataset as current or past members of public bodies – like the city council, the city planning commission and the Ann Arbor District Library board. That exercise revealed that every current member of the library board made at least one contribution to mayoral or council campaigns. Taylor received contributions from five of seven library board members and Briere from one. Westphal received contributions from three library board members.

Stephen Kunselman has campaigned in part based on his endorsements from four current city councilmembers – all of whom contributed money to his campaign. Ward 2 council candidate Nancy Kaplan received contributions from the same four, plus a former councilmember.

When former councilmembers are included in the count, Taylor received contributions from a total of seven. Briere received contributions from four former councilmembers. Among council candidates, Westphal received the most contributions from current and former councilmembers – a total of seven.

The Chronicle initially compiled the set of data – for three city council races and the mayor’s race – in order to generate analyses of geographic trends and distribution of amounts that have been contributed to each campaign. Those analyses are presented in previous coverage: “Council Election Finance 2014: Charts, Maps” and “Mayoral Election Finance 2014: Charts, Maps.”

The dataset should be viewed with the caveat that data entry was done manually from scanned documents generated by the campaigns, so they include a range of spelling variants and other minor inconsistencies. In addition, The Chronicle’s institutional knowledge about donors’ background, even when combined with online research, is imperfect. Some donors in various categories might have been missed.

Below we present some of the patterns of contributions made by donors to the campaigns. 

Which Campaigns Shared Donors?

The clearest grouping of mayoral and city council candidates evident from the campaign finance data is the same as the group endorsed by Michigan Talent Agenda, which sent out a mailing funded by Ned Staebler’s Inspire Michigan political action committee: Christopher Taylor, Don Adams, Kirk Westphal and Julie Grand in the mayor’s race and Wards 1 through 3, respectively.

That grouping can be seen in the contributions of individual donors like Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board member Roger Hewitt, DDA board member and former city councilmember Joan Lowenstein, former DDA board member and former Washtenaw County commissioner Leah Gunn, and DDA outside legal counsel Jerry Lax – who all gave money to that set of four candidates. Lax also provides outside legal counsel to the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority and the Local Development Finance Authority. Gunn is also treasurer for Taylor’s campaign, as she’s been for other councilmembers in the past – including outgoing councilmember Margie Teall and former councilmember Marcia Higgins, both representing Ward 4.

The overall numbers bear out the Taylor-Adams-Westphal-Grand grouping. Ward 1 candidate Don Adams reported 31 contributions. Of 11 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Adams’ Ward 1 campaign, 10 of them also gave to Westphal’s Ward 2 campaign and 8 of them also gave to Taylor’s mayoral campaign.

Ward 2 candidate Kirk Westphal reported 95 contributions. Of 35 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Westphal’s Ward 2 campaign, 29 of them also gave to Taylor’s campaign and 12 of them also gave to Grand’s Ward 3 campaign.

Ward 3 candidate Julie Grand reported 45 contributions. Of 16 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Grand’s Ward 3 campaign, 15 also gave to Taylor’s mayoral campaign and 12 also gave to Westphal’s campaign.

Opponents of the Taylor-Adams-Westphal-Grand grouping form a discernible group of their own, even if it’s somewhat less clear, particularly in the mayoral slot. Based on contributions to council campaigns, supporters of the Kailasapathy-Kaplan-Dascola group show an intersection of support for Kunselman and Briere as mayor.

The numerical breakdown is as follows. Ward 1 incumbent Sumi Kailasapathy reported 51 contributions. Of 35 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Kailasapathy’s Ward 1 campaign, 27 also gave to Kaplan’s Ward 2 campaign, 18 gave to Dascola’s Ward 3 campaign, 13 gave to Briere’s mayoral campaign and 13 gave to Kunselman’s campaign.

Ward 2 candidate Nancy Kaplan reported 132 contributions. Of 42 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Kaplan’s Ward 2 campaign, 27 also gave to Kailasapathy’s campaign, 18 gave to Kunselman’s mayoral campaign and 14 gave to Briere’s mayoral campaign.

Ward 3 candidate Bob Dascola reported 75 contributions. Of 28 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Dascola’s Ward 3 campaign, 22 also gave to Kaplan’s campaign; and 18 also gave to Sumi Kailasapathy’s Ward 1 campaign. The Chronicle counted only two multiple-candidate donors among McMullen’s Ward 3 campaign contributions.

Even if the council campaign contributions indicated indirectly that there could be an intersection of support for Kunselman and Briere, the mayoral contributions don’t provide much direct support for that in the form of shared donors by the two.

Mayoral candidate Stephen Kunselman reported 59 contributions. Of the 23 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Kunselman’s mayoral campaign, just 4 gave to Briere’s mayoral campaign.

Christopher Taylor and Sabra Briere reported 365 and 204 contributions for their respective mayoral campaigns. Of the 42 multiple-candidate donors to Taylor’s mayoral campaign and the 30 multiple donors to Briere’s campaign, they shared 9 donors in common. Those common donors included executive director of the Main Street Area Association Maura Thompson, park advisory commissioner David Santacroce, local developer Peter Allen, and planning commissioner Ken Clein.

Mayoral candidate Sally Petersen reported 133 contributions. Of 8 multiple-candidate donors who gave to Petersen’s mayoral campaign, 4 also gave to Kaplan’s Ward 2 campaign, and 4 also gave to Taylor’s mayoral campaign.

Embedded below is a shared Google spreadsheet with a comprehensive breakdown of multiple-candidate donors, including the amounts donated to each candidate.

Public Officials Past and Present

In the dataset of multiple-candidate donors, many of the names are recognizable as present or past public officials. The embedded spreadsheet above includes tabs with breakdowns of contributions by several different public bodies, including the Ann Arbor District Library board and the city council. For readers who’d like to review the data on their own, here’s a link to the full-sized spreadsheet.

Ann Arbor District Library Board

All of the Ann Arbor District Library board’s seven members made contributions to at least one of the city campaigns. That includes AADL board member Nancy Kaplan, who gave money to Sumi Kailasapathy’s Ward 1 city council campaign in addition to Kaplan’s own Ward 2 campaign.

Mayoral candidate Christopher Taylor received contributions from five of the seven board members: Ed Surovell, Jan Barney Newman, Margaret Leary, Prudence Rosenthal and Rebecca Head. Briere received a contribution from Barbara Murphy. Among council candidates, Westphal received contributions to his Ward 2 campaign from three AADL board members: Jan Barney Newman, Margaret Leary, Rebecca Head.

Bob Dascola received contributions from Kaplan and from former AADL board member David Cahill, who is Briere’s spouse and campaign treasurer.

Ann Arbor City Council

Stephen Kunselman has campaigned in part based on his endorsements from four of the seven current city councilmembers who are not running for mayor: Sumi Kailasapathy, Jane Lumm, Jack Eaton and Mike Anglin. All four also contributed money to his campaign: a total of $675. Ward 2 council candidate Nancy Kaplan received contributions from the same four, as well as from Leslie Morris, who served on the council in the late 1970s and early 1980s – for a total of $925.

When former councilmembers are included in the count, mayoral candidate Christopher Taylor received contributions from a total of seven: Carsten Hohnke, Jean Carlberg, Joan Lowenstein, Marcia Higgins, Margie Teall, Stephen Rapundalo and Tony Derezinski. Their contributions totaled $1,300.

Briere received contributions from four former councilmembers: David DeVarti, Leslie Morris, Robert Faber, and Susan Greenberg. Their contributions totaled $725.

Among council candidates, Westphal received the most contributions from current and former councilmembers – a total of seven: Christopher Taylor, Jean Carlberg, Joan Lowenstein, John Hieftje, Leigh Greden, Stephen Rapundalo and Tony Derezinski. Those contributions came to $1,050.

For his Ward 1 campaign, Adams received contributions from mayor John Hieftje and Christopher Taylor, as well as former city councilmember Joan Lowenstein.

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Contributions made to candidates in Ward 1, Ward 2 and Ward 3 council races are plotted based on the address of the contributor. (Image links to sets of dynamic maps by broken down by candidate.)

That’s about $100,000 less than the amount raised by four candidates in the mayoral primary. The filing deadline for pre-primary reports was July 25.

In Ward 4, incumbent Democrat Margie Teall is not seeking re-election and only one candidate is running – Graydon Krapohl. So he did not need to file campaign finance reports. In Ward 5, Leon Bryson announced several weeks ago that he was withdrawing from his challenge of first-term incumbent Chuck Warpehoski. Even though both Ward 5 candidates filed campaign finance reports, this article does not analyze them.

Accounting for more than half of the total amount raised in the other three wards were the two candidates in Ward 2: Kirk Westphal and Nancy Kaplan. Kaplan’s $16,314 was easily more than any other candidate. By way of comparison to recent Ward 2 races, for the pre-primary campaign period in 2011 and 2013 Jane Lumm raised about $19,000 and $20,000 in those respective years. Westphal raised $12,420 this year, which is about $2,000 more than he raised during the comparable period in his unsuccessful 2013 campaign against Lumm. Westphal and Kaplan are competing for the Ward 2 seat currently held by Sally Petersen. She decided to run for mayor instead of seeking re-election to the Ward 2 seat.

This year’s Ward 3 contest features Julie Grand, Bob Dascola and Samuel McMullen, who are all competing for the seat that Christopher Taylor is leaving in order to run for mayor. Among the three, Dascola raised the most money with $7,385 in contributions compared to $6,595 for Grand and $5,248 for McMullen. (McMullen’s campaign reported a total of $5,315 in itemized contributions, but The Chronicle’s calculation was for $67 less than that, based on the documents.) Grand’s total this year is significantly less than the $10,825 she raised in the comparable period in 2013 for her unsuccessful campaign against Stephen Kunselman.

The Ward 1 race features one-term incumbent Sumi Kailasapathy and Don Adams. Kailasapathy raised $5,345 compared to $4,570 for Adams. Kailasapathy’s amount this year is about $1,000 more than what she raised during the pre-primary period for the 2012 primary, which she won against Eric Sturgis.

While the raw totals provide some insight into how the campaigns are being financed, there’s more to it than that.

Here’s a read-only link to the Google spreadsheet used by The Chronicle to generate charts and maps: [2014 Council Campaign Finance: Ann Arbor] For readers who’d like full-sized versions of the maps embedded below, here’s a link to the Google Fusion tables: [2014 Council Campaign Finance Maps]

Below we present charts and maps to illustrate the distribution of donations by amount and geography.

Charts

Below are frequency distributions of donations grouped by size of the donation. In the last few years, winning campaigns for city council races have been characterized by distributions that skewed toward smaller donations.

Charts: Ward 3

McMullen raised a total of $5,248 from 88 contributions for a mean contribution of $59. The median contribution was $25.

Grand raised a total of $6,595 from 45 contributions for a mean contribution of $146. The median contribution was $100.

Dascola raised a total of $7,385 from 75 contributions for a mean contribution of $98. The median contribution was $50.

Charts: Ward 2

Westphal raised a total of $12,420 from 95 contributions for a mean contribution of $130. The median contribution was $100.

Kaplan raised a total of $16,314 from 132 contributions for a mean contribution of $123. The median contribution was $50.

Charts: Ward 1

Kailasapathy raised a total of $5,345 from 51 contributions for a mean contribution of $104. The median contribution was $50

Adams raised a total of $4,570 from 31 contributions for a mean contribution of $147. The median contribution was $100.

Maps

Maps are plotted by location of the person making the contribution.

Ward 3 Maps: McMullen

Contributions to Samuel McMullen’s campaign are plotted in red. Several contributions came from the area south of Washtenaw Avenue in Ward 3 – from the ward’s tip in the pie-shaped wedge to the farther reaches of the ward. But those Ward 3 contributions do not form an obvious concentration in Ward 3. Several of McMullen’s contributions – 35 of 88 contributions –were made by residents outside the city, in other parts of the country. Many of those appear to have been made by family members.

Ward 3 Maps: Grand

Contributions to Julie Grand’s campaign are plotted in yellow. They show a clear clustering toward the tip of Ward 3′s pie-shaped wedge near the center of the city.

Ward 3 Maps: Dascola

Contributions to Bob Dascola’s campaign are plotted in green. Many of Dascola’s contributions come from south of Washtenaw Avenue in Ward 3. But he’s received many contributions from across the city. He received several contributions from north of Washtenaw Avenue, in Ward 2. He also received several contributions from the central western part of the city in Ward 5 as well as the northwest corner of Ward 4.

Ward 2 Maps: Westphal

Contributions to Kirk Westphal’s campaign are plotted in green. The majority of Westphal’s contributions come from Ward 2 – north of Washtenaw Avenue and in the Glazier Way area in the central eastern part of the city. There’s a sprinkling of contributions from other parts of the city as well.

Ward 2 Maps: Kaplan

Contributions to Nancy Kaplan’s campaign are plotted in yellow. Kaplan’s contributions show a heavy concentration in the southern part of Ward 2 – in the Huron Hills area north of Washtenaw Avenue. The central western part of the city (Ward 5) shows a fairly high concentration of contributions as well.

Ward 1 Maps: Kailasapathy

Contributions to Sumi Kailasapathy’s campaign are plotted in blue. Kailasapathy’s contributions are mostly from Ward 1 in the northern part of the city. But she’s also received contributions from the central western part of town (Ward 5).

Ward 1 Maps: Adams

Contributions to Don Adams’ campaign are plotted in purple. Adams received contributions from the Northside area along Pontiac Trail. He also received a sprinkling of contributions from the Burns Park area.

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Based on Ann Arbor’s population of about 114,000, that works out to about $1.35 per resident.

Plots of campaign contributions for four candidates in the Ann Arbor mayoral primary.

All four mayoral candidates currently serve on the Ann Arbor city council: Sabra Briere (Ward 1), Sally Petersen (Ward 2), Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) and Christopher Taylor (Ward 3).

Raising by far the most of any candidate was Christopher Taylor with $75,198. (The campaign reported a total of $75,698 in its filings, but that amount was $500 more than the contributions calculated by The Chronicle, based on the campaign finance itemized list.) [link to WC clerk filing by Christopher Taylor] Taylor’s total came from 365 contributions, with an average contribution of $206.

Next was Sally Petersen with $44,495 from 133 contributions for an average contribution of $334 per donation. Petersen’s total was boosted with a $10,000 contribution of her own and $15,000 from her husband. The $2,000 limit does not apply to candidates themselves or members of their immediate family. [link to WC clerk filing by Sally Petersen] That total does not include a $5,000 late contribution filed by Petersen, bringing the total she and her husband contributed to $30,000.

Raising $26,680 was Sabra Briere. That total came from 204 contributions, for an average contribution of $130. [link to WC clerk filing by Sabra Briere]

Raising $7,474 from 59 contributions for an average donation of $126 was Stephen Kunselman. He had been the first to announce his candidacy for mayor – before current mayor John Hieftje decided that he would not be seeking an eighth two-year term. [link to WC clerk filing by Stephen Kunselman]

By way of comparison, when Jane Lumm raised roughly $18,000 for her pre-general election race for Ward 2 council in 2011 and then raised $20,000 for the same period in 2013, those totals were considered remarkable.

Here’s a read-only link to the shared Google Spreadsheet used by The Chronicle to generate charts and maps: [2014 Mayoral Campaign Finance: Ann Arbor]

Below we present charts and maps to illustrate the distribution of donations by amount and geography.

Charts

Below are frequency distributions of donations grouped by size of the donation. In the last few years, winning campaigns for city council races have been characterized by distributions that skewed toward smaller donations.

Taylor raised $75,198, which came from 365 contributions. The mean contribution to Taylor’s campaign was $206. The median contribution was $100.

Sally Petersen raised $44,495 from 133 contributions for a mean contribution of $334 per donation. The median contribution was $100.

Sabra Briere raised $26,680. That total came from 204 contributions, for mean contribution of $130. The median contribution was $50.

Stephen Kunselman raised $7,474 from 59 contributions for a mean donation of $126. The median contribution was $75.

Maps

The first map below, using red dots, plots all mayoral campaign contributions from the pre-primary filing data.

Maps: Taylor

Christopher Taylor’s contributions are plotted in purple. They show a clear cluster in and around the Burns Park neighborhood where he lives (Ward 3). An additional high-concentration area of contributions is the central western part of town (Ward 5).

Maps: Petersen

Sally Petersen’s contributions are plotted with yellow dots. They show a clear concentration north of Washtenaw Avenue in the general vicinity of the Huron Hills golf course, where Petersen lives.

Maps: Briere

Sabra Briere’s contributions are plotted with green dots. The pattern is not dominated by clusters so much as stronger distributions in some parts of the city – the west (Ward 5), the north (Ward 1) and the southeast (Ward 3). Missing from that distribution are the southwest (Ward 4) and northeast (Ward 2) – areas that have historically had the strongest Republican support citywide.

Maps: Kunselman

Stephen Kunselman’s contributions are plotted with blue dots. The distribution is sparse, with no discernible clusters, but relatively even citywide, with the exception of the northeast (Ward 2).

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Dots correspond to addresses that made contributions to Ann Arbor city council candidates for the Nov. 5, 2013 election.

Lumm’s fundraising effort during the pre-election phase exceeded her total from 2011 when she contested the general election with incumbent Democrat Stephen Rapundalo. That year she raised $18,950 from 193 donors.

The third Ward 2 candidate, Conrad Brown, filed a reporting waiver, which is allowed if a candidate does not expect to raise more than $1,000.

Ward 1 incumbent Democrat Sabra Briere raised $11,800 in a race where she’s challenged by independent Jeff Hayner, who has raised $2,680 so far.

In Ward 3, incumbent Democrat Stephen Kunselman, who survived a tough primary race with Julie Grand, did not raise any additional money during this most recent filing period. Kunselman’s independent challenger Sam DeVarti raised $945.

In Ward 5, Mike Anglin does not have an opponent on the ballot, but raised $4,299 in this most recent period. He’s spent $1,340 of that. In addition to Thomas Partridge, who declared his write-in candidacy much earlier in the year, Charles “Chip” Smith has just recently filed his paperwork to declare a write-in candidacy for the Ward 5 seat that’s up for election this year. Responding to an emailed query, Smith said he will try to keep his expenditures under the reporting-waiver limit of $1,000.

In Ward 4, Jack Eaton does not face any opponents on Nov. 5 on the ballot or as write-ins, but does have a write-in opponent in William Lockwood. Eaton won the Democratic primary against incumbent Democrat Marcia Higgins.

The Ann Arbor city council includes a total of 11 members – two from each of the city’s five wards and the mayor. All city council positions are elected for two-year terms, with one of the wards’s seats up for election every year. The position of mayor is elected in even years, so not this year.

The filings, which were due on Oct. 25, are available through the Washtenaw County clerk’s searchable campaign finance database. Charts and maps by The Chronicle are presented after the jump.

Charts

A pattern for winning city council campaigns over the last few election cycles has been a skew toward more numerous but lower dollar amount contributions. For this pre-election period, Mike Anglin in Ward 5 had the lowest average at $64 per donor, with Kirk Westphal in Ward 2 coming in at $133 – or more than double Anglin’s average.

Jeff Hayner: Contributions to 2013 Ward 1 city council campaign. Hayner has raised $2,680, averaging $96 per donor, with a median of $50 for 28 donors. He’s spent $841 so far.

Sabra Briere: Contributions to 2013 Ward 1 city council campaign. Briere raised a total of $11,800, averaging $118 per donor and a median of $100 among 100 donors. So far she’s spent $6,864 including $1,000 for Brad O’Connor as a campaign manager. O’Connor managed Carol Kuhnke’s successful 22nd circuit court judge campaign as well as Adam Zemke’s 55th District state representative campaign.

Jane Lumm: Contributions to 2013 Ward 2 city council campaign. Lumm raised $20,875, averaging $102 per donor, with a median of $100 for 204 donors. She has spent $11,664 so far.

Kirk Westphal: Contributions to 2013 Ward 2 city council campaign. Westphal raised $10,103, averaging $133 per donor with a median of $100 among 76 donors. He has spent $4,614 so far.

Mike Anglin: Contributions to 2013 Ward 2 city council campaign. Anglin has raised $4,299, averaging $64 per donor with a median of $50 among 67 donors. He has spent $1,340 so far.

Maps

The 2013 general election filings continue the trend of Ann Arbor city council candidates showing considerable citywide support, in addition to having support in their own wards.

Jeff Hayner: Yellow dots correspond to addresses making contributions to his 2013 Ward 1 campaign.

Sabra Briere: Black dots correspond to addresses making contributions to her 2013 Ward 1 campaign.

Jane Lumm: Green dots correspond to addresses making contributions to her 2013 Ward 2 campaign.

Kirk Westphal: Purple dots correspond to addresses making contributions to his 2013 Ward 2 campaign.

Mike Anglin: Red dots correspond to addresses making contributions to his 2013 Ward 5 campaign.

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor city council. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

Shaded areas indicate Ann Arbor’s five wards. Colored dots denote the address of a donor to a campaign – brown for one candidate and orange for the other candidate. Which ward’s race does this map show? Details below.

The two candidates in Ward 5 raised a combined total greater than any other ward – with Chuck Warpehoski raising $9,558 and Vivienne Armentrout receiving about $2,000 more, at $11,350. Warpehoski’s total came from a significantly greater number of donors than Armentrout’s contributions, but were on average much smaller. Armentrout and Warpehoski are competing for the Democratic nomination and will face Republican Stuart Berry in November. Sitting Ward 5 Democrat Carsten Hohnke decided not to seek re-election.

Raising slightly less than Ward 5 candidates were incumbent Ward 2 councilmember Tony Derezinski ($8,475) and challenger Sally Petersen ($7,947). The distribution of donation sizes was similar for the Ward 2 candidates, and both showed a much higher per-donor average than the citywide figure – $163 for Derezinski and $139 for Petersen.

In Ward 4, Democratic primary voters will have the same choice they had in 2010 – between incumbent Margie Teall and challenger Jack Eaton. This year, they have raised roughly the same amount of money – Teall with $4,685 and Eaton with $4,305.

Ward 1 showed the greatest difference in the amounts raised by the two candidates, as Sumi Kailasapathy raised about 70% more than Eric Sturgis – $4,220 compared to $2,510 for Sturgis. The seat will be open because Sandi Smith is not seeking re-election.

A common theme across all the campaign finance reports is the significant support candidates receive from outside the ward they’re seeking to represent. That’s a trend visible in the maps we present after the jump.

Part of that trend can be explained by the number of city residents who donate money to more than one campaign. Out of the nearly 500 different donors across the eight campaigns, 58 donated to two or more campaigns, and 23 donated to three or more. The Chronicle counted nine donors who contributed to four different city council campaigns.

Many observers perceive a grouping of candidates based on shared basic philosophies – Kailasapathy, Petersen, Eaton and Armentrout on the one hand, contrasted with Sturgis, Derezinski, Teall and Warpehoski. While there’s likely considerable room for disagreement about what the common thread is that ties those candidates together, the multiple-campaign donors bear out a perception of some commonality: Of the 58 multiple-campaign donors, all but three squared up with that candidate grouping.

The three donors identified by The Chronicle as flouting that grouping included 22nd circuit court judge candidate Carol Kuhnke, who gave money to both Ward 2 candidates (Derezinski and Petersen) as well as Sturgis and Teall. Past Ward 2 candidate Stew Nelson gave money to Petersen and to Sturgis. And former Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board member Ed Shaffran donated to Teall and to Armentrout.

Which group had more multiple-campaign donors? There the nod goes to the group with no incumbents – Kailasapathy, Petersen, Eaton and Armentrout – with 39 of the 58 multiple-campaign donors.

Vignette from the County Clerk’s Office

On Friday, July 27, with the filing deadline for pre-primary campaign finance reports about 15 minutes away, folks in the waiting area at the Washtenaw County clerk’s office got a reminder that the county clerk holds an elected position.

Washtenaw County clerk Larry Kestenbaum emerged from behind the counter, took a seat in the waiting area and chatted with The Chronicle a bit before handing in his pre-primary campaign finance filing. He noted that he always hands in his election paperwork from that side of the counter.

Kestenbaum’s staff then took his paperwork, disappeared into a back office, and a few minutes later, the documents were scanned and uploaded to the clerk’s campaign finance database, available for perusal by the public.

One topic of conversation with The Chronicle was speculation about whether all the candidates for Ann Arbor city council would submit their paperwork before the deadline. Only one of the eight candidates in the contested primary races had not filed by then – Vivienne Armentrout. Armentrout wrote to The Chronicle later to report that she’d emailed the clerk’s office to let them know she wouldn’t be filing that day. When she files on Monday, she’ll need to pay a relatively minor fine – $25. Failure to file for a longer period could get expensive – because the fine is $25 per day.

Even though she did not make the Friday deadline, Armentrout forwarded her data to The Chronicle later that evening, which was used in the analysis for this article.

Distribution of Donations

For all bar graphs with donation distributions, the images are linked to a higher resolution file. The vertical axis is scaled identically for all eight races, to allow for sensible visual comparisons across wards.

Ward 1 Sumi Kailasapathy. The Chronicle counted 58 donors, who contributed a total of $4,220 – an average of $73 per donor, and a median of $50.

Ward 1 Eric Sturgis. The Chronicle counted 29 donors who contributed $2,510 for an average of $86.55 per donor, and a median of $75.

Ward 2 Tony Derezinski. The Chronicle counted 52 donors who contributed a total of $8,475 for an average of $163 per donor and a median of $100.

Ward 2 Sally Petersen. The Chronicle counted 57 donors who contributed a total of $7,947 for an average of $139 per donor and a median of $100.

Ward 4 Margie Teall. The Chronicle counted 48 donors who contributed a total of $4,685 for an average of $97 per donor and a median of $100.

Ward 4 Jack Eaton. The Chronicle counted 39 donors who contributed a total of $4,305 for an average of $110 per donor and a median of $100.

Ward 5 Vivienne Armentrout. The Chronicle counted 83 donors who contributed a total of $11,350 for an average of $137 per donor and a median of $100.

Ward 5 Chuck Warpehoski. The Chronicle counted 127 donors who contributed a total of $9,558 for an average of $75 per donor and a median of $50.

Mapping the Donation Distributions

Maps below are available in dynamic form at geocommons.com: “Ann Arbor City Council Primary 2012 Campaign Finance.” Layers corresponding to each candidate’s contributions can be toggled on and off. The geocoding for the maps (that is, the matching of longitude and latitude to street addresses) is not guaranteed to be accurate for every colored dot depicting a campaign contribution. However, The Chronicle is confident that the accuracy is adequate for claims about overall trends.

Ward 1 Sumi Kailasapathy. Ward 1 is the red shaded area. Colored dots denote the location of campaign donations. Kailasapathy enjoys a lot of support in Ward 5 (blue) as well as in the ward she’s seeking to represent.

Ward 1 Eric Sturgis. Ward 1 is the red shaded area. Colored dots denote the location of campaign donations. The map shows that most of his financial support is in Ward 1, but citywide it’s sparse compared to Kailasapathy’s.

Ward 2 Tony Derezinski. Ward 2 is the light orange shaded area. Colored dots denote the location of campaign donations. Both Derezinski and Petersen draw a lot of support from the southern part of Ward 2. 

Ward 2 Sally Petersen. Ward 2 is the light orange shaded area. Colored dots denote the location of campaign donations. The northern two precincts, where former Ward 2 councilmember Stephen Rapundalo was always strongest in terms of votes, offers little financial support for either candidate this time around.

Ward 4 Jack Eaton and Margie Teall. Ward 4 is the light green shaded area. Colored dots (Teall, brown; Eaton, orange) denote the location of campaign donations. Teall and Eaton’s contributions are combined onto one map. Without additional background information, it would be difficult to guess that the map shows contributions for a Ward 4 race – as the majority of contributions come from outside the ward. The visual perception is accounted for partly by the fact that the middle swath of Ward 4 offers has no residential  areas – because it’s University of Michigan property.

Ward 5 Chuck Warpehoski. Ward 5 is the blue shaded area. Colored dots denote the location of campaign donations. Warpehoski enjoys a lot of support within the ward, but also outside Ward 5 within the city. Outside the city, in Ypsilanti, he’s also received several contributions.

Ward 5 Vivienne Armentrout. Ward 5 is the light blue shaded area. Colored dots denote the location of campaign donations. Armentrout enjoys strong support within the ward, as well as in Ward 2 (orange). That could be explained in part by the fact that Ward 2 councilmember Jane Lumm sent out a fundraising letter to her own supporters on Armentrout’s behalf. Lumm contributed to Armentrout’s campaign as well as to the campaigns of Kailasapathy, Petersen, and Eaton.

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Magenta dots indicate addresses of donors to the campaign of Ward 2 independent Jane Lumm. Overridge Drive is Lumm's home street, located near Huron Hills golf course, visible to the north in this image.

In an uncontested Ward 1 race, documents filed with the Washtenaw county clerk’s office show Democratic incumbent Sabra Briere raised $3,640 from 48 donors since the primary election (which for her was also uncontested).

In the contested Ward 3 race, Democratic incumbent Stephen Kunselman raised an additional $20 from one donor, bringing his total to $4,045 for this year’s election cycle. Kunselman prevailed in a three-way primary in August. Kunselman’s Republican challenger David Parker filed a waiver request – which is allowed if a candidate expects to spend less than $1,000.

In Ward 4, Democratic incumbent Marcia Higgins raised $1,075 from seven donors, compared with no contributions raised by her Republican opponent Eric Scheie. Scheie filed a negative balance (–$1,173.73), which earned him a notice of error from the county clerk’s office – the source of funds used to pay for expenditures must be given, even if it is a loan by the candidate to the campaign.

In Ward 5, Democratic incumbent Mike Anglin, who also had a contested primary, raised an additional $185 from three donors to bring his total this year to $7,405. Anglin’s Republican challenger Stuart Berry filed a waiver request.

In Ward 2, filing documents for Stephen Rapundalo show he raised an additional $4,420 since the primary, which was a contested race for him, bringing the total indicated on his paperwork for this year’s campaign to $8,505. [The Chronicle's arithmetic calculates $4,380, not $4,420, for this filing period.]

Independent challenger Jane Lumm, who of course did not participate in a partisan primary, outpaced all other candidates’ combined totals since the primaries by raising $18,950 from 193 donors.

After the jump we break down the Ward 2 contributions with charts and maps.

Ward 2: Who and How Much?

For Rapundalo, the pattern of contribution size was similar to the trend shown for his primary campaign – most contributions fell in the $50-$100 range.

About a third of contributions to Rapundalo’s campaign came from current or former elected or appointed officials, including Janis Bobrin (Washtenaw County water resources commissioner), Jean Carlberg (former planning commissioner and former city councilmember), Eunice Burns (former DDA board member), Christopher Taylor (Ann Arbor city councilmember), John Hieftje (mayor), Jan Barney Newman (Ann Arbor District Library board), John Splitt (DDA board member), Margie Teall (city councilmember), Brian Mackie (Washtenaw County prosecutor), and Joan Lowenstein (former city councilmember and current DDA board member).

Inspire Michigan also contributed to Rapundalo’s campaign, listing its address as that of Ned Staebler, who was appointed to the Local Development Finance Authority at the city council’s last meeting. The resolution appointing Staebler was sponsored by Rapundalo.

Former city of Ann Arbor community services area administrator Jayne Miller is also listed among Rapundalo’s contributors. [Miller took a job as superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation board a year ago, but the campaign contribution filing lists her Ann Arbor address.]

Chart A: Count of contributions for Rapundalo by category. Total of 33 donors, averaging $133 per contribution and a median of $100. Largest donation was $500.

The distribution of size among donations to Lumm’s campaign was skewed slightly lower than for Rapundalo – the highest frequency category was the $26-50 range.

Lumm’s contributors also include former city officials and past council candidates: Ingrid Sheldon (former mayor), Leslie Morris (former city councilmember), Peter Fink (former city councilmember), Stew Nelson (former Ward 2 candidate), Edwin Amonsen (former Ward 2 candidate), Emily Salvette (former Ward 2 candidate), Debra Bourque (spouse of Tom Bourque, a former Ward 2 candidate), John Floyd (former Ward 5 candidate), Vivienne Armentrout (former Ward 5 candidate), Ethel Potts (former council candidate and former planning commissioner) and Ed Shaffran (former DDA board member).

Chart A: Count of contributions for Lumm by category. Total of 193 donors averaging $98 per contribution and a median of $100. Largest donation was $1,000 (from Lumm and her husband).

Ward 2: Where?

In the maps we’ve created below, the light blue shaded area is Ward 2, with the city boundary shown in yellow. The magenta dots locate addresses of people who made donations. The size of the dots is uniform – they’re not sized to depict the amount of a donation. [link to dynamic Google Map with .kml file for Rapundalo's contributions] [link to dynamic Google Map with .kml file for Lumm's contributions]

For Rapundalo, no real patterns are evident. His support comes from inside and outside the ward.

Contributions to Stehen Rapundalo's campaign for the general election filing period. (Links to larger image.)

For Lumm, there’s a clear pattern of strong support in the southern part of the ward, Lumm’s home neighborhood, inside the loop formed by Washtenaw Avenue to the south, Huron Parkway to the east, and Geddes to the north. Another cluster of support inside the ward is evident in the middle of the ward, in the Glazier Way neighborhood.

Outside the ward, there’s a cluster of support in the Lawton neighborhood in the southwestern part of the city, as well as in the downtown area.

Contributions to Jane Lumm's campaign for the general election filing period. (Links to larger image.)

Historically, Ward 2 candidates running against Rapundalo have had relatively stronger showings at the polls in the same areas where Lumm is drawing financial support. [See Chronicle coverage: "Ann Arbor Elections: Past Voting Patterns" and "Incumbents Win Ann Arbor Dem Primaries"] However, he’s managed to prevail based on his popularity in his own neighborhood in the northern tier of the ward.

This year, the general election falls on Nov. 8. Readers who are unsure where to vote can type their address into the My Property page of the city of Ann Arbor’s website to get that information. A map of city ward boundaries is also online.

Additional Chronicle coverage of the local 2011 general election races includes reports from the League of Women Voters candidate forums for city council and Ann Arbor Public Schools board.

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor city council. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting us, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

David Rutledge – a Washtenaw Community College trustee and a county road commissioner – is joining a crowded field of Democrats in the 54th District state House primary. That seat, representing eastern Washtenaw County, is now held by veteran lawmaker Alma Wheeler Smith, a Democrat running for governor. For the Republican primary in the 54th, Rodney Nanney of Ypsilanti, who has previously campaigned for other candidates, is making his first bid for office.

On the county’s west side, only one Democratic candidate in the 52nd District – Scio Township trustee Christine Green – is firmly in the race, while Republican Mark Ouimet, a current county commissioner, is raising a sizable war chest for his primary campaign in that district. The seat is now held by Democrat Pam Byrnes, who is running for state Senate.

Districts that may be up for grabs are particularly important this election cycle: Following the completion of the 2010 U.S. Census, the legislature will redraw state legislative and congressional districts. Although that every-10-years exercise is meant to account for population changes, it typically creates political advantage and disadvantage. The most recent redistricting, for example, led to the creation of a congressional district map that in 2002 put former U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor) is the same district as fellow Democrat U.S. Rep. John Dingell, ensuring that one of the Michigan Democrats would be knocked out of Congress.

Though providing updates on all districts, this report focuses on the 52nd and 54th District House races, where the fields of candidates have recently expanded or contracted. We’ll introduce candidates entering the contests – as well as some notable politicians who’ve decided not to run – and report on how candidates are faring in their fundraising efforts. Future reports will focus on candidates’ backgrounds and issues, in addition to looking at any new local candidates in the House and Senate races.

54th District: A Crowded Field

This district, on the county’s east side, typically favors Democrats in November, causing intense competition in the primary. Democrats in the race so far include Lonnie Scott – an aide to Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith – who faces a well-known candidate in David Rutledge. Additional competition comes from newcomer Dave Franklin, a 2006 Milan High School grad who works as a library clerk; activist Bill Riney of Ypsilanti Township, who runs a landscaping business; and another first-time candidate, Michael Mashif White of Ypsilanti, a training manager for AT&T.

There’s also a new name on the Republican ballot – Rodney Nanney is making his first run for public office.

A city of Ypsilanti resident, Rodney has been involved in city issues, including the campaign against a city income tax. “I’ve campaigned for other people,” says Nanney, citing Ypsilanti city council member Peter Murdoch’s campaign among others.

A consultant who provides planning, zoning and economic development services for local government, Nanney says he sees the effect of state budget decisions up close. “They’re starving local government and our schools to save the state bureaucracy,” he says. “I think this year people are ready for something different than usual in eastern Washtenaw County. It’s the year to get involved.”

While Nanney is a first-time candidate, Democrat David Rutledge has a long history as an elected official. He’s serving his fourth term as a member of the board of trustees at Washtenaw Community College, where the board is selected in nonpartisan, countywide elections. Rutledge also is a member of the Washtenaw County Road Commission, an appointed position.

Rutledge served as Superior Township supervisor in the 1980s. However, state office has been elusive. He’s previously run unsuccessful primary campaigns for the 54th. But after assessing the failures and talking to prospective supporters, he says he’s ready to capitalize on those experiences.

“Tough economic times have stirred the fire in the belly again,” Rutledge says. “I have passion and an unrealized dream.”

Rutledge says he’ll run on his experience in public service.

He’s currently co-chair of the county’s Success by 6 early childhood education program and served some 30 years on the county parks and recreation commission. During his tenure as Superior Township supervisor, the township officials created a technology center district on Geddes, he says. An effort to diversify a tax base heavily dependent on residential property taxes, the move didn’t pay dividends right away but is now home to the Hyundai America Technical Center.

Tax policy also emerges in the campaign of Dave Franklin, who offers non-traditional points of view for a candidate running as a Democrat.

He blames taxes and state regulations for the state’s economic and employment woes, and argues that lost revenue will be offset by new industries and jobs. He holds that property taxes are “immoral” and income taxes “unjust.”

“I’m a populist Democrat, if anything,” Franklin says. “More Jackson than a modern-day Democrat.” While Franklin says he finds that certain aspects of the Libertarian party philosophy are interesting, he says he doesn’t identify with that party. “I think diversity is a good thing for the Democratic party. I can be a Democrat without necessarily following a party platform.”

Bill Riney has previously been a candidate for the county board of commissioners, WCC board of trustees, and the 54th District seat. He has not yet filed a petition with the Michigan Secretary of State Washtenaw County clerk’s office to run in the 54th District race, but he’s been running a grassroots campaign since last fall. The campaign in part entails traveling through district neighborhoods with a trailer loaded with hotdogs and soft drinks that he gives away. “I’m out there every weekend,” he says.

Candidates have until May 11 to file the petitions required to be on the ballot.

Michael Mashif White, a resident of Washtenaw County for eight-plus years, has filed his petition, a process that requires collecting 200 voters’ signatures. He recently launched a campaign website, and has gotten involved in the county Democratic Party. He’s also been meeting local school and government officials and has pulled together volunteers to work on phone banks, develop e-mail lists and get ready to start canvassing neighborhoods.

Others in the Race?

The five-candidate Democratic field could grow further if Ypsilanti Township trustee Mike Martin and county commissioner Rolland Sizemore Jr. decide to mount campaigns. Both have said they were considering runs.

Martin said recently it was still possible that he’d run, but he was concerned about constituent reaction should he seek another office before completing a single term on the township board. Sizemore, now serving as chairman of the county board, says he’ll wait until a contract is finalized with the incoming county administrator, Verna McDaniel, and then announce his plans.

In addition to the Democrats, Ypsilanti resident Dave Palmer says he plans to run as an Independent. In that case, he will have until the middle of July to collect 600 signatures and file a petition with the Secretary of State Washtenaw County clerk to get on the ballot.

Palmer is a business manager for LaVision, a software and systems integration company. He’s a Washtenaw County native and has worked on Democratic and Green party campaigns. He also runs a consulting firm after hours. That company, ugconsulting.net, offers political consulting for independent and third-party candidates, as well as development advice for nonprofits and small business.

Since 2000, Republican and sometimes minor candidates have, at most, won 32% of the vote in the district that includes the city of Ypsilanti, and Augusta, Salem, Superior and Ypsilanti townships. [.pdf file of 54th District map] Palmer knows the numbers and the vote count he’d need to win. He thinks it’s doable and that an independent could help bridge the deep divide between Democrats and Republicans in Lansing or, failing that, hold their feet to the fire.

Following the Money: 54th District

Though fundraising has been robust in other parts of the county, that isn’t the case in the 54th District race. The threshold for reporting campaign spending is $1,000.

Democrat Lonnie Scott had raised less than $2,000 by Dec. 31, the close of a campaign-finance reporting period. He was the only candidate in the five-man primary field to report any contribution to his campaign.

With a goal of having $40,000 to pay for printing, mailing and other campaign expenses for an Aug. 3 primary, the 2005 Central Michigan grad has a long way to go.

“I think we’ll get there,” said Scott, buoyed by response to his first “phone bank.” That calling blitz reached several thousand 54h District residents who’ve previously voted in primary elections, he says. “I hope it will make them go to the website to learn more about me and the issues.” Information about a March 13 campaign event in Depot Town is also on the site.

“I’m in no position to self fund,” says Scott. “If the dollars don’t come, we have to hit the door-to-door work harder.”

52nd District: In, Out, On the Fence

On the county’s west side, two Democrats who’ve been considering the 52nd District state House race aren’t in it yet. In fact, one of them has officially decided not to run.

Saline Mayor Gretchen Driskell had given serious consideration to a run, but now says she’s decided against it. With local government suffering the impact of the state’s economic troubles, it would be the worst possible time to leave the city, she says. “Stability is better when you have to do some reorganizing and we need to make some changes to absorb cuts from the state. It was a hard decision.”

Still on the fence is Washtenaw County commissioner Ken Schwartz. In November, the Scio Township Democrat said he hadn’t made a decision, but that it would be a surprise if he wasn’t running for the 52nd District seat.

Three months later, Schwartz is much less certain.

One reason, he says, is the transition under way in county government. Several factors point to a broad shakeup: The retirement of long-time administrator Bob Guenzel, announced in December; the pending departure of at least two commissioners, Mark Ouimet and Jeff Irwin; and a retrenching brought on by falling revenue. A two-term commissioner, Schwartz says he’s in a position to help reshape county government.

In addition, Schwartz says he’s discouraged by gridlock and partisanship at the state level.

If he does run, Schwartz says it’s the message – and whether the Democratic base is energized – that will lead to a win in November, more so than money. But getting a message out takes some resources.

“Because of the economy, the average person can’t give a candidate $100 like they might have in the past,” Schwartz says. “Maybe they can give $10 or $20. … I’m evaluating where I can be most effective. I’ll make a decision by April 15.”

If Schwartz does stay on the sidelines, the one Democrat so far who’s definitely running – Scio Township trustee Christine Green – will avoid a primary. A lawyer elected to the township board in 2008, Green hopes to succeed current state Rep. Pam Byrnes and retain the seat for the Democrats, who’ve held it since 2004. Byrnes is term-limited in the House and is running for state Senate in District 18.

The district stretches from western Washtenaw County into a northwestern corner of the city of Ann Arbor and includes the city of Saline and the townships of Webster, Dexter and Lodi. [.pdf file of 52nd District map]

It’s generally considered a swing district.

Byrnes unsuccessfully tried to unseat Republican Gene DeRossett in 2002. The Republican incumbent won about 53% of the vote that year. Byrnes then prevailed over Republican Joe Yekulis when term limits created a race without an incumbent in 2004. She won with 55% of the vote that year and has twice been re-elected. Republican challengers got a little less than a third of the vote in 2006 and 2008.

Following the Money: 52th District

On the Republican side, Mark Ouimet is the only candidate in the race so far.

Now serving on the 11-member county board, Ouimet raised almost $74,000 for his campaign before the first of the year. That topped the combined total of the next two richest local state House campaigns – between the 53rd District Democratic candidates Ned Staebler and Jeff Irwin, who’s also a county commissioner. The most recent campaign-finance reports cover contributions and spending through Dec. 31, 2009.

“It appears Republicans are trying to buy the seat,” fellow county commissioner Ken Schwartz says, referring to campaign funds that the Scio Township Republican is amassing.

Ouimet’s donor list through Dec. 31 includes some 60 county residents ready and able to donate the maximum allowable $500 per person. Ouimet has loaned his campaign about $16,000. Excluding that loan, the average gift to Ouimet’s campaign has been about $280 per person. [Link to the Michigan Secretary of State's searchable campaign finance database. All campaign finance reports for these races are filed with the Secretary of State.]

The single political-action committee contribution to Ouimet in his most recent campaign-finance report was $1,000 from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce PAC.

In fundraising for the Democratic primary, Green – a lawyer elected to Scio board in 2008 – had raised $13,550 through Dec. 31. Contributions to her campaign have averaged about $300 per person.

There’s precedent for a high-priced race in the 52th District. When term limits last led to an open seat, the Byrnes-Yekulis campaigns combined to spend almost $400,000.

Other State Race Updates

For more coverage on all state races, see previous Chronicle articles: “More Candidates Vie for State House, Senate“;  “State Races in Districts 54, 55 Take Shape” and “State Legislative Candidates Lining Up.”

53rd District House

The 53rd House district covers most of the city of Ann Arbor, and is being contested in the Democratic primary by county commissioner Jeff Irwin and Ned Staebler, vice president of program administration at the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

First-time candidate Staebler says he continues to introduce himself to voters at regular Saturday coffees and at gatherings in private homes. He’ll begin a leave of absence from his job at the MEDC two months before the Aug. 3 primary.

Irwin’s campaign is also using house parties to connect with voters. He’s completing work on a website, which hasn’t yet been launched. He does have a page on the Facebook social networking site, as does Staebler.

As of Dec. 31, Staebler and Irwin had raised $40,850 and $24,300 respectively.

55th District House

The 55th, considered a swing district, includes Pittsfield, Saline and York townships in Washtenaw County, along with communities in Monroe County. Democrats and Republican have fought hard over the seat, represented by Democrat Kathy Angerer since 2004.

But fundraising has been relatively slow among the candidates hoping to take the term-limited lawmaker’s job. (Enacted in 1992, the state’s term-limits law set a cap of three two-year terms for state representatives and two four-year terms for the senate. Also limited to two four-year terms are the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general.)

By Dec. 31, Republican Joe Zurawski, York Township supervisor, reported contributions of more than $11,000 – including about $8,000 of his own money.

His opponents in the Republican primary in the 55th – Rick Olson of Saline Township and Mary Kay Thayer, a former Monroe County commissioner – trailed. Olson had loaned his campaign more than $6,000 and had only one other contribution. Thayer raised about $1,200.

Democrat Mike Smith, a Bedford school board member who’s worked as the AFL-CIO community services liaison to the United Way of Monroe County, had raised about $3,900 by Dec. 31.

It’s expected that Angerer will work to help her party hold the seat.

18th District Senate

The current 53rd District rep, Rebekah Warren, started the year with more than $62,500 toward her campaign for the state Senate’s 18th District. That campaign fund included $10,000 rolled over from Warren’s state representative campaign fund.

She faces fellow Democrat Pam Byrnes of Lyndon Township, who entered the Senate race several months later than Warren. Byrnes’s Senate campaign had just $7,100 as of Dec. 31. But she had yet to tap her state representative campaign fund, which held $104,000.

Now represented by state Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor), the district includes Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and the townships of Ann Arbor, Augusta, Dexter, Freedom, Lima, Lyndon, Northfield, Salem, Scio, Sharon, Superior, Sylvan, Webster and Ypsilanti. Brater is term-limited from further service in the legislature.

Democrat Ruth Ann Jamnick, a former state rep and former Ypsilanti Township supervisor, had considered joining the primary field but says she won’t enter the race.

On the Republican side, Salem Township treasurer David Trent says he will soon decide whether to seek his party’s nomination for the Senate seat.

There’s another wrinkle in this race: Byrnes is thought to be a potential candidate for lieutenant governor with Redford Township Democrat Andy Dillon, now Speaker of the House of Representatives, who officially announced his candidacy for governor on Sunday.

Byrnes and Dillon have worked closely as leaders of the Democratic-controlled House. Byrnes’ support of abortion rights would presumably help Dillon with voters at odds with him on that issue. He’s among the Michigan Democrats who oppose abortion.

Despite the persistent speculation, Byrnes says she’s never discussed the lieutenant governor’s post with Dillon.

“Even if I had, I’m not sure I’d accept,” she says. “I’m running for state Senate.”