City commission candidates file finance reports

State and local candidates on Friday, October 25, were required to file their campaign finance statements with election officials, revealing the amount of money raised and spent during the third quarter of the campaign cycle, which ended on October 20. Pre-election campaign statements filed by candidates seeking office to the Birmingham City Commission show incumbent Pierre Boutros spent more than any other candidate to mount a write-in campaign for the upcoming November 5 general election. Boutros, whose name won't appear on the ballot due to a failure to properly file election statements from a previous election, put in $23,500 of his own funds for the campaign, spending $15,008 in the third quarter, with a remaining balance of $8,491. All money raised came in the form of loans from Boutros to his own campaign. Commission incumbents Patty Bordman, who is currently serving as mayor, raised $5,100 in the third quarter and spent $4,346, ending with a balance of $753, while commissioner Carroll Deweese didn't file a third-quarter finance report under a qualifying waiver. Bordman's contributions include $3,000 in loans from herself, with remaining contributions, all from Birmingham residents, averaging about $100, including a $500 contribution from Joel Adelman. Those seeking a first term to the Birmingham City Commission include residents Clinton Baller, Jake German, Brad Host, Theresa Longe and Matt Wilde. Baller raised $9,744, $6,510 of which came from loans or contributions from himself, and spent $6,688, ending with a balance of $3,234. Baller received contributions from 19 individuals, including a total of $150 from two non-Birmingham residents. Residents Bill Wetsman, Andrew DeAngelis and Scott Anschuetz each contributed $500 to the campaign. German received $4,450 in contributions from individuals and $5,313 of contributions from himself, and had a total of $4,450 in expenditures, with an ending balance of $1,979. German received a total of 26 contributions, including 21 from non-Birmingham residents that totaled $4,000, including $500 from Ronet Kashat, Kenneth Roberts and Richard Bloomberg. Host raised a total of $10,690, $1,000 of which was a donation from himself, and spent $5,561 during the pre-election period, ending with a balance of $5,118. Host received 67 individual donations, including seven from non-Birmingham residents that totaled $1,200. Resident Bill Wetsman also contributed $500 to Host's campaign, as did Robert Donahue, Christine Provost, Dave Provost and Patricia Edwards. Longe raised a total of $3,300, including $1,125 from herself, and spent $2,666 during the pre-election period, ending the period with a balance of $633. Longe received 15 individual contributions, including four contributions from non-Birmingham residents that totaled $525. Wilde raised $1,145 in contributions and the same amount in expenditures for an ending balance of zero. Wilde also spent $1,168 on in-kind contributions to his campaign. Wilde received one $500 contribution from GMAR PAC, a Southfield-based Realtor political action committee, as well as 10 additional contributions, including five from non-Birmingham residents that totaled $320.