GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A new pledge was signed Tuesday night to try to keep outside money out of Green Bay’s city council races.
The city’s 12 council seats will be on ballots next Tuesday. They are all nonpartisan positions, yet tens of thousands of dollars, from both sides of the aisle, have been invested in the races.
Jesse Brunnette is running for Green Bay’s city council for a fifth time. He tells FOX 11 unprecedented partisanship at city hall has led to the dramatic spike in outside money on council races.
“When you allow that partisanship in government, there are other partisan and outside interest groups that then try to wrestle control of that government.”.
Brunette is running unopposed, but he joined seven other candidates outside Green Bay City Hall for the nonpartisan pledge.
Michael Poradek organized the pledge and welcomed all council candidates to join. The pledge is to promise to not accept political or special interest money and not to engage those groups in council work if elected.
“It’s something we don’t need in the city of Green Bay,” said Poradek. “It’s confusing for people. It’s annoying for people really in the city and we’re seeing that it’s not our message.”
Poradek says he was surprised to hear the political action committee Open Democracy recently spent $30,000 on digital ads to try to get him elected. The liberal group from Washington DC spent the same amount on two other candidates, Aron Obrecht and Jim Hutchison.
“I was upset,” said Poradek.
“I don’t want any of that money spent on my campaign. I want to run my own campaign. I don’t like when people are telling my message for me.”
Restoration PAC, a conservative group from Illinois, spent about $23,676 between six candidates, including $4,300 on Poradek’s opponent, Melinda Eck. The other candidates are Jen Grant, Andy Nicholson, Robert Maccaux, Steven Campbell, and Bill Morgan.
“As great as it is to have these mailers sent out on my behalf, I feel like we can run our own campaigns,” said Eck.
While Eck would also like to see outside money stay away and has not accepted any partisan or special interest donations, she did not sign the pledge. She says there isn’t a way to stop the outside money.
“They’re doing it on their own without permission from the candidates, so by signing a pledge isn’t going to stop that,” said Eck.
According to the state ethics commission, the investments made that aren’t in coordination with candidates are independent expenditures and there is no limit on the amount that can be spent.
By FOX 11’s count, there are at least four groups that have been making independent expenditures on Green Bay’s city council races. They’ve made investments in at least seven of the 10 contested races.
The pledge was signed by Poradek, Obrecht, Hutchison, Brian Johnson, Bill Galvin, Mark Steuer, and Craig Stevens. Poradek says Tarl Knight also plans to sign it.
Brunette says he supports the pledge, but could not sign it to maintain a campaign promise that he would not sign any pledges.
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