Royal Oak Mayor Mike Fournier and a political slate of three allies raised almost five times as much money as their political opponents — thanks in part to large donations from political action committees and the help of campaign work by the head of the Oakland County commission.
The four raised more than $125,000 combined and spent nearly $75,000 since the start of the year, recently released campaign finance records show. That dwarfs the roughly $26,200 received by the four people trying to defeat them in next week’s election for mayor and seats on the Royal Oak City Commission.
While campaign materials for Fournier and his allies say they champion issues important to local residents, critics say the big checks are an effort to sway city commission decisions.
“Sadly, it feels like the current regime is selling out our neighbors for special interests,” said Trish Oliver, Fournier’s opponent in the mayoral race.
“We are running as the voice for the unheard in Royal Oak — who are the ‘regular’ people like ourselves who are not tied to any special interests. I am deeply concerned about the future of Royal Oak if Royal Oakers don’t regain governance of our city.”
Fournier and City Commissioner Brandon Kolo are seeking reelection. They are campaigning with Royal Oak Planning Commission member Woody Gontina and Royal Oak Zoning Board of Appeals member Paul Bastian, who are seeking two seats where current city commissioners are not running again.
Fournier, Kolo, Gontina and Bastian did not respond to Free Press emails or phone messages.
All four have ties to Pivot Point Strategies, the political consulting business operated by Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairman Dave Woodward and former Royal Oak City Commissioner Kyle Dubuc. Fournier, Gontina and Bastian paid the company a combined $8,400 so far this campaign season; while Kolo’s records do not show a recent payment to the company, he hired the firm for a previous campaign.
Woodward did not respond to a Free Press message, but in the past said his campaign work did not pose any conflict.
Fournier and Kolo previously defended working with Woodward, saying everything was aboveboard and nothing presented a conflict of interest.
“I strongly believe there has never been a conflict, and I have never been advised of one. I’m proud of the results the city commission has delivered for Royal Oak, from record park investments to stronger neighborhoods and expanded services that help residents thrive,” Kolo said in a September email.
Records released late last week show Fournier raised $38,000 and spent a hair less than $25,000. That includes receiving $7,500 from the political arm of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters union and a slew of $1,225 checks from people tied to development, construction, architecture and real estate companies.
Fournier became mayor in 2016, successfully retaining the seat many times. In 2023, he defeated Oliver by 17 percentage points — another race where he raised and spent drastically more than his challenger.
Kolo, a member of the city commission since 2020, raised $36,000 and spent $12,000. Gontina raised $26,400 and spent $18,400, while Bastian raised $25,000 and spent $19,500.
Additionally, a political action committee that supports Realtors spent nearly $28,000 on flyers endorsing all four candidates. Some of the ads offer specific messages, saying the four support affordable housing and want to protect “parks, green spaces and trees.” Another states the slate is best positioned to make Royal Oak “safer and stronger.”
Oliver is running with commission candidates David Buzynski, Carolyn Martz and Eric Smethurst. Combined, they’ve raised just over $26,000 and spent about $19,000.
“It’s almost absurd that raising and spending $25,000 or $35,000 for a single city commission seat is seen as ‘normal,’ ” said Buzynski, who has raised $4,800 and spent $3,800.
Mark Grebner, a longtime Michigan Democratic political consultant and Ingham County commissioner, agreed.
“You pretty quickly can spend 11, 12, 13 (thousand dollars) pretty well. Once you start spending more than 20 (thousand dollars), you’re really just burning money,” Grebner said.
He said that while he has seen larger amounts of money dumped into smaller races, typically that’s due to a big impending issue involving a wealthy corporation in a community. In this case, while acknowledging he does not regularly track Royal Oak politics, he said he suspects one political slate is supported by developers and the other is not.
The slate opposing Fournier and other critics say that’s exactly the case. Chuck Semchena, a lifelong Royal Oak resident who previously served on the city commission and as the city attorney, says he thinks the mayor and Woodward brought big money and politics into local races for seats previously “filled by community leaders who viewed themselves as volunteers.”
Like Oliver, he argued Fournier and allies work too closely with special interest groups.
The Free Press recently scrutinized ties between Royal Oak City Commission members and Woodward as part of a broader investigation into Woodward’s private businesses.
Records show Woodward routinely voted on issues related to Royal Oak after working for Fournier, Kolo and everyone else on the Royal Oak City Commission. Woodward also works for Sheetz, a gas station and convenience store empire looking to expand in the region. Earlier this year, the Royal Oak commission voted to approve a new Sheetz location, despite some vocal opposition. Woodward talked with Royal Oak City Commission members, his own political clients, about Sheetz before the vote.
In addition to defending his partnership with Woodward, Fournier also previously touted his work with local developers.
“When I speak with developers, I ask questions, share community concerns and ensure we get a proposal that benefits the people of Royal Oak,” Fournier said in a September email.
“I’m not a mayor that sits on the sidelines hoping good things happen. I push hard and build relationships to deliver results for my constituents. This is why Royal Oak enjoys one of the best economies in the state, ranks among the best places to live, and has the highest quality developments.”
Polls open at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X @Dave_Boucher1.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Royal Oak mayor, allies raises big bucks — critics say thanks to monied special interests
Reporting by Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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