[UPDATE] Lansing City Council candidates may have taken illegal contributions

Campaign finance reports filed last week in Ingham county show that at least two Lansing City Council candidates accepted donations from businesses that may be in violation of Michigan campaign finance law.

In the city’s first ward race, former State Rep. Lynne Martinez is battling it out with political newcomer Jody Washington. Washington has endorsements from the city’s unions, while Martinez has been endorsed by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero.

Martinez’s campaign filing on Oct. 27, show she took a donation of $100 from the Sam Eyde Construction Company. A search for incorporation documents for the Sam Eyde Construction Company comes up empty on state websites. A company known as Sam Eyde Construction, Inc. was listed, but dissolved in 1984.

Calls to the Eyde Company to identify which class of company the construction company is were not immediately returned.

Rich Robinson of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network says that the rules vary depending on the type of corporation one is talking about. Companies that filed as limited liability corporations (LLC) are allowed to write checks to candidates. However, the check is to be accompanied by a list of LLC staff the donation is coming from. The same goes for legal offices filed under LLC or PLLC filings. On the other hand, C Corporations are not allowed to donate at all. The Eyde donation in Martinez’s filing does not list who the check covered for the donation.

“It was a totally human error. I totally own it,” Martinez said, also saying that she returned the donation Friday.

In the city’s Third Ward, current City Council President A’Lynne Robinson is being challenged by openly gay resident Jason Wilkes. Wilkes has racked up union endorsements, while Robinson has received the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce endorsement.

Robinson also has questionable donations in her reports.

She reported a donation of $25 from a group called Mid-Michigan’s Patients’ Group. That group is a not-for-profit corporation and a medical marijuana business helping people to get certified for medical marijuana patient cards. Donations from not-for-profits are illegal under Michigan law.

The fact that the money came from a medical marijuana business is a curious aside to the raging battle in the city’s at-large council race. There, current at-large Councilmember Derrick Quinney is battling with current Councilmember Carol Wood and political newcomers Rory Neuner and Tom Stewart. The top two vote getters will win the seats in November. But the Lansing Regional Chamber, which has endorsed Neuner and Stewart, has been attacking Quinney for accepting money from medical marijuana businesses.

In another instance, Robinson accepted a check for $100 from Predencia LLC of Owosso. The filing contained no listing of which person at the company was represented by the donation.

The Robinson campaign did not immediately return calls seeking comment about the donations.

UPDATE: Robinson campaign committee treasurer Diedra Boles responded to Michigan Messenger’s inquiries about the donations in question.

“I haven’t been notified by the Department of State about that, so at this point I have no comment,” Boles said.