Green Bay City Hall
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Financial reports show out-of-state entities have spent tens of thousands of dollars to support candidates in Green Bay’s Common Council race.
Outside spending on local races isn’t anything new. There’s been a significant increase since a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited independent spending for labor unions and corporations on elections.
“I wish it never happened. I wish they didn’t spend any money on me. I enjoy talking with people. I think my selling point is meeting people one-on-one,” said Jim Hutchison, who is running to retain his District 2 seat.
“I’m against it. I don’t like this sort of money. This kind of money shouldn’t be used for these sorts of races. If it’s that amount of money being spent on these local races, that could be much better used for a different cause.” said Joey Prestley, who is running to retain his District 6 seat.
Over $30,000 was spent on behalf of Hutchison’s campaign.
More than $30,000 was also spent on Prestley’s campaign. The money is coming from the Democracy First PAC and the State + Local Election Alliance. Both groups identify themselves as safeguards of free and fair elections and have also supported other candidates running for Green Bay Common Council. The two entities have also spent money on campaigns on other races across the state of Wisconsin.
The money is spent through independent expenditures. According to the Federal Election Commission, “An independent expenditure is not made in coordination with any candidate or their campaign or political party.”
“The only communication between us two was today, around noon, I sent a text from their website with my name, email address, what I was running for. I said, ‘Please cease all activity regarding this campaign.’ So, I wanted it to cease,” said Hutchison.
Independent expenditures for local office elections between Jan. 1, 2026, and April 8, 2026, show 636 transactions. If you download those results, it will open a spreadsheet where you can then search for any candidate you want.
Looking at Hutchison, for example, the spreadsheet shows $3,762.37 was spent on his campaign by the State + Local Election Alliance on March 24, 2026. If you scroll over to the right, it will also indicate whether or not the money was spent for or against the candidate.
“For these local races, it should stay local. I think the max level as far as contributions should maybe come from the state level. Coming from a national PAC or any other large donor on a national level, seems like it’s getting too big for the community we’re trying to support,” said Andrew Brohnson, who is running against Prestley.
“These big corporations or these PAC money are basically buying elections, and that’s not right,” said Andy Nicholson, who is running against Hutchison. “I’m independent and everything’s coming out of my pocket. I’m trying to make ends meet, and basically, I am spending my own money. So, it’s very difficult to fight the big monster out of Washington, D.C.”
One local entity spent $712 to support Brohnson’s campaign. There is no reported independent expenditures for or against Nicholson’s campaign.
How can you tell if what you see is coming from a candidate?
“Look at the small print. All of them have to have a disclosure. If it says not authorized by a candidate or any candidate committee, that means that we didn’t play a role in it whatsoever,” said Prestley.
Brohnson said, “As long as the literature or mailer has ‘Paid for by Andrew Brohnson for Alderman’, I have personally designed or approved of it through my campaign committee. The others that are paid for by different groups are not to the knowledge of candidates. It can make for tough conversations if they don’t align with your views of representation.”
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