Editor’s Note: Bill Zeiser is the editor of RealClearPolicy and a Hillsdale city councilman representing the third room. Disclosure: Zeiser is a supporter of Adam Stockford, one of the applicants discussed below.
Residents of Michigan House District 58 nearly saw social media classified ads for Republican state candidate Andrew Fink, sponsored through a communication organization called Citizens for Energizing Michigan’s Economy, or CEME.
The group, which is funded through the energy industry, is also flooding the mail district. Some citizens say they have won up to ten cards from Fink, adding five ceME cards. They also run television ads and sponsor Internet-rated ads for Fink, something new in the rural district that includes Hillsdale and Branch counties.
Ads don’t mention Fink running for a charge. Instead, they ask others to call their reps and tell them Fink’s “plan” to protect Michigan’s conservative Christian values. The plan is not explained in the classified ads or on an CEME online page about Fink, even though at least one of the classified ads encourages readers to make a stop on the site to be more informed.
CEME is what is known as a “black cash” organization. Created under segment 501(c) (4) of the federal government’s Internal Revenue Code, these teams are legal to obtain unlimited donations from companies and Americans in order to fulfill a “welfare” mission. These organizations are separated from political campaigns that have strict limits on the amount of cash they can get from donors.
On the other hand, these teams are only required to disclose very limited data about their donors, and this is how those who do not make revelations have earned the nickname “black money.” They are also allowed to spend an unlimited amount on lobbying, as long as they do so on their social coverage mission. That’s why ads classified in Fink mention a “plan” but never say what you’re running for, or even if you’re a candidate.
Despite the hard-to-understand resources of its financing, CEME has deep pockets. The Energy and Policy Institute reported that, according to documents filed with the Michigan Public Utilities Commission, Jackson-based Consumers Energy contributed $43.5 million to CEME between 2014 and 2017. An August 2018 article from the Michigan Finance Campaign Network reported that CEME had the CEME. The largest ad-tv ad client for the 2018 state legislature.
CEME has not escaped criticism. A 2018 complaint filed with the IRS alleged that, like classified ads classified in Fink, classified classified ads placed for a 2018 crusade had more to do with a candidate than a broad “social problem.” The accusation that CEME circumvented cross-financial legislation followed a January 2019 mandate from the Michigan Public Service Commission that required Consumers Energy to temporarily suspend donations to CEME and other 501 (c) (4) equipment.
Many citizens are baffled by the avalanche of advertisements. A publicly visual woman’s Facebook post noted that she had been away for a week and had returned to five letters from Fink. “Someone spends a lot for this man to be chosen, but what is his reason?” She wondered. The ads were notable enough to generate an article in the Hillsdale Daily News and the Coldwater Daily Reporter, the local newspapers of the 58th District.
While the justification for THE CEME aid demonstration for Fink is unclear, advocacy efforts beyond the group have focused on preventing deregulation of the energy industry. The group’s interest in Fink’s Christian conservatism is questionable; They sponsor almost the same publicity for several other applicants across the state, adding Democrat Ranjeev Puri, whom they describe as “an experienced leader who worked for President Barack Obama.”
Tax records show that CEME donated thousands of dollars to organizations on both sides of the aisle, such as the Progressive Advocacy Trust, the conservative faithful for Michigan, and the Democratic and Republican parties. CEME President Howard Edelson, a well-known Democratic stratist and director of former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s 2006 successful re-election campaign.
In an article published on his Cross Facebook page, Fink dismissed the hypothesis on the CEME’s motives and wrote: “Opposition to my crusade will naturally raise questions about anything that is intelligent for our crusade. Sometimes he even gets to convince a newspaper that it’s in the headlines. Arrangement… If anyone needs to say positive things about me because of my help for Michigan jobs and Michigan energy, that’s fine with me.”
During a July 24 debate with his three competitors for the Republican nomination, Fink was questioned by fellow candidate Adam Stockford about CEME’s support. Fink stressed to Stockford, Hillsdale’s mayor, that he was unaware of CEME’s reasons for supporting him, but noted that it is the company’s First Amendment right to do so. But in a dramatic turn, candidate Daren Wiseley seized on Stockford’s line of questioning to reveal that according to campaign finance disclosures, Fink received additional funding from Consumers Energy.
Wiseley asked, “Mr. Fink, if you know nothing about the advertising Consumers Energy is doing for you, why did you take $1,500 from you? Wiseley asked. Fink tried to distance consumers from CEME, saying, “I never said I didn’t know anything about classified ads that consumers were posting to me because consumers didn’t run them. They are managed by an organization called Citizens Energizing Michigan’s Economy. Fink denied knowing who CEME is on investment. “Five seconds on Google will tell you, ” replied Wiseley.
Contacted to comment, Wiseley expressed frustration with CEME’s continued involvement in political careers and highlighted the group’s relationship with Consumers Energy. “Many other people don’t know consumers’ energy spending history,” he said. “In 2018, they channeled more than $1 million through CEME to defeat Gary Glenn, a representative who sought to reform utilities to reduce energy prices.”
Wiseley speculated that CEME is a way for Consumers Energy to replace Michigan’s political tone to advance its interests. “Consumers do studies before spending a few hundred thousand dollars and are not in short supply when it comes to opting for moderate Republicans or Liberal Democrats. Of all the lobby teams that support Fink, they’re the most accurate. They are of specific interest to corporations and have the resources to fully investigate the background of candidates. Our district wants a conservative and spending sample from customers that Fink is not that.”
Stockford was not persuaded by Fink’s invocation of the First Amendment.
“Freedom of expression is essential, as is the freedom to ask who spends tens of thousands of others looking to buy influence in our small rural district,” he said.
Stockford is also under pressure that the organization deserves not directly Fink, in accordance with IRS regulations.
“Fink admitted in the debate that this organization posts classified ads”, “for him,” Stockford said, “but the only explanation for why they are allowed to spend unlimited cash on classified ads is that they’re meant to be for a “plan.” not a candidate.”
He also expressed disbelief at Fink’s statement that he was unaware of CEME’s announcements and, in fact, could do nothing about an outdoor group’s speech.
“If this had happened to me, as Fink argues, I would have turned down ads and direct mail from day one. Democrats or Republicans, the lobbyists of power have no friends in me,” Stockford said.
Stockford added that the bipartisan nature of CEME’s political spending makes the electorate even more cautious with the group.
“When an organization plays for both sides, it only means one thing: it’s not about principles, it’s about energy. CEME and Consumers Energy need electric power in Lansing,” Stockford said.
Consumers Energy spokeswoman Katelyn Carey said in an email that the company had not made a donation to CEME for the 2020 election.
“I need to be transparent that Consumers Energy didn’t donate this election cycle to CEME,” Carey said. “This is a separate, independent 501 (c) (4) organization that is not a component of Consumers Energy.”
MiBiz reports noted that Consumers Energy is prohibited from contributing to 501 (c) (4) as CEME until at least the end of this year.
Carey said Consumers Energy was “previously involved in the political process” of “pragmatic policies aimed at safe, reliable and affordable power for Michigan.”
He also noted that contributions beyond public service to CEME came here from “funds from our shareholders, other people who buy shares, not visitor bills.”
Campaign finance disclosure statements show that Fink earned $1,500, the legal donation, from an organization’s political action committee led by Consumers Energy called Employees for Better Governance.
A website that characterizes Consumers Energy as “very active in the political process” describes EBG as a way to “give workers a voice in the political process.”
The page states that political donations are made through “an employee-led guidance committee, independent of executives and company director forums.” Committee decisions on donation recipients come with points such as “representation of a state or district where the company has a facility or a high concentration of employees” and candidate voting records on consumers Energy issues.
For now, CEME’s motivations remain opaque. The only tap that appears on it is an email shared with a cross finance attorney in Okemos.
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