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The vast majority of publicly reported contributions in the crowded Detroit school board race were raised by one candidate, recently filed campaign finance statements show.
Dr. Jameel Smith, a clinical psychologist running for public office for the first time, received more than 250 individual donations totaling more than $75,500 from August through Oct. 18. Most of the donations raised by Smith’s campaign were under $500 from friends, family, and others whom she said connected to her messaging. The majority of the contributions came from Michigan residents, though some came from across the country.
Smith told Chalkbeat she set out with an aggressive campaign strategy as a relatively unknown name in Detroit.
“Every dollar was raised to make voter contact and make sure everyone got to know my name,” she said.
Though the election is a consequential one for the Detroit Public Schools Community District’s board, as a new board majority will be elected, candidates did not raise much funding compared to previous races.
There will be 34 people on the ballot to join the DPSCD board in the Nov. 3 election. Four of the open seats will be for full four-year terms, with 31 candidates in the running. Another three candidates are running for a partial two-year term.
Fewer contributions and traditional advertising
The $108,360 in contributions and loans reported by 11 candidates for DPSCD’s board by Wednesday falls short of the $230,000 reported by October 2024 in that year’s DPSCD board race, which had 12 fewer names on the ballot.
Terry Whitfield, a candidate and self-employed nonprofit consultant, said he didn’t set out to run a “big money” campaign because he already has community connections and is using social media to reach voters for free.
“I spoke with some people who have run for office, and they said it’s a new day and money is not what will get you elected,” said Whitfield. “It’s the ability to get in front of as many people as possible that will get you elected.”
This election cycle, candidates did not report spending cash on big ticket items – such as billboards, digital ads, and television spots – like in previous races.
Only Smith paid for a campaign manager – giving more than $9,500 in wages and $3,500 in consulting fees to Pamela J. McClain, a board member of the Detroit Crime Commission and board liaison for the City of Detroit and the Detroit Women’s Council.
Smith paid another $3,500 in campaign staff wages and $7,000 in consulting fees to TCA Smart Strategies, a Detroit-based political consulting firm.
“It was important to me to run a professional campaign,” Smith said of the expenditures. “ I am serious about approaching this in a way for me to win, so I needed people who have done this before so I could be successful.”
Smith’s largest contributions came from Linh and Dug Song, Ann Arbor philanthropists and founders of the Song Foundation. Together, they contributed more than $16,600.
Linh Song, also vice chair of The Skillman Foundation’s board of trustees, told Chalkbeat she and her husband chose to support Smith in part due to the candidate’s background working in mental health. (The Skillman Foundation is a financial contributor to Chalkbeat.)
“Hearing her commitment to mental health and the well-being of kids who have been through so much, through pandemic and so on really spoke to us,” Song said.
Here is a breakdown of what 11 candidates reported in public campaign statements filed in Wayne County:
- Dr. Jameel Smith reported raising $75,505 and spending $56,959.
- Bobby Christian reported $10,500 in loans from himself and did not report any expenditures.
- Terry Whitfield reported raising $8,585 and spending $4,722.
- Tyshea Pope reported raising $4,050 and spending $2,790.
- Steve Bland Jr. reported raising $3,991, including loans, and spending $994.
- Shinese Johnson reported raising $1,807 and spending $1,106. She also reported spending around $2,260 of her personal funds as in-kind contributions on “goods or services” at VisionMoore Concepts, a Detroit web development company.
- Bessie Harris reported raising $1,750 and did not report any expenditures. She also reported $445 as in-kind contributions on “goods or services.”
- Vilma Escamilla-Durán reported raising $1,289.96 and spending $1,263.
- David Harris II reported raising $575 and spending $305.
- Cidney Calloway reported raising $306.74 and did not report any expenditures.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
