It is very disappointing that the Governor has signed Senate Bill 661. This very bad amendment to the Michigan Campaign Finance Act will extend the era of dark money campaigns in our state, and probably lead to even less transparency and accountability in Michigan politics than we have seen over the... read more

posted on 12/27/2013

This commentary first appeared in the Detroit Free Press By Rich Robinson This week brings a defining moment for the administration of Gov. Rick Snyder. We'll see whether he will govern in accordance with the platform of ethics in government on which he ran as a candidate. The question come... read more

posted on 12/12/2013

LANSING - A very bad bill passed the Senate Committee on Local Government and Elections and the full Michigan Senate today, on a very fast track. Senate Bill 661 originally had the purpose of doubling limits on campaign finance contributions to state and local candidates for office. After an hour-lo... read more

posted on 11/14/2013

LANSING - Michigan's top 150 state PACS raised $16,739,990 from January 1 through October 20, 2013, according to data compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network from reports filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections and the Wayne County Clerk's office. That figure is up by 32.3 percent comp... read more

posted on 10/26/2013

LANSING - Michigan's U.S. representatives raised $3.6 million in the third quarter of 2013, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. That figure is down by 20 percent compared with the second quarter of 2013. Rep. Gary Peters, an announced Democratic candidate for the U.S.... read more

posted on 10/23/2013

LANSING - The Michigan Campaign Finance Network submitted a comment to Secretary of State Ruth Johnson on Friday, September 27, 2013 supporting the request of the State Bar of Michigan for a declaratory ruling to require payments for all communications about Michigan judicial candidates to be report... read more

posted on 09/30/2013

LANSING -Michigan lobbyists reported spending $20,327,273 in the first seven months of 2013, according to reports filed with the Michigan Department of State and compiled by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network. That figure is down by 1.7 percent compared to the same period in 2012, which was a ... read more

posted on 09/18/2013

LANSING - Michigan's top 150 state political action committees (PACs) raised $9,509,565 between January 1 and July 20, 2013. That amount represents a 10.7 percent increase compared to the $8.6 million raised by the top 150 state PACs through the same period last election cycle. The data were comp... read more

posted on 07/29/2013

LANSING - Michigan's U.S. representatives raised $4.5 million in the second quarter of 2013, according to reports filed this week with the Federal Election Commission. Rep. Gary Peters raised $1,049,563 in the second quarter to lead the Michigan delegation. He has announced his candidacy for the ... read more

posted on 07/17/2013

LANSING - Record spending and a continuing trend of diminishing accountability for that spending were the major features of Michigan's 2012 state election campaigns. Details are contained in the 2012 Citizen's Guide to Michigan Campaign Finance, released today by the Michigan Campaign Finance Networ... read more

posted on 06/25/2013

LANSING - Michigan's delegates to the United States House of Representatives raised $2,170,989 in net contributions during the first quarter of 2013 according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. A recap of the members' fundraising follows: • Rep. Dan Benishek (R-1st) raised ... read more

posted on 04/17/2013

LANSING - Lansing lobbyists reported record spending in 2012 of $37.14 million. That amount is up by 4.8 percent compared to $35.44 million reported in 2011. "The greatest value of these reports is that they tell us just how much we don't know about lobbying activity in Lansing," said Rich Robins... read more

posted on 03/01/2013

LANSING - Michigan's 2012 Supreme Court election campaign was the costliest and least transparent in state history, according to records compiled by the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network (MCFN). Just $4.7 million out of the $18.6 million in spending documented by MCFN - 25.4 percent - wa... read more

posted on 02/21/2013