updated: Ned Staebler raises nearly $90K to Jeff Irwin's $45K in 53rd District state House race

Jeff Irwin

Campaign finance records filed today show Staebler has spent $75,513 of the amount he has raised so far, while Irwin has spent just $16,405. Stabler also received $2,684 in in-kind contributions, while Irwin received $3,634.

Staebler and Irwin, both Democrats from Ann Arbor, will face off in the Aug. 3 primary for a chance to replace Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, in the state House. Warren is running for state Senate.

Staebler, a vice president of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. with a background in banking, pulled most of his largest donations from outside of Michigan, many of them investors and venture capitalists in New York.

"My wife and her family are from New York and we have a considerable amount of family and friends out there," Staebler explained, adding that he did not accept money from people who work at companies that have received incentives from MEDC.

Irwin, a member of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners for the last 11 years, found most of his support within the state of Michigan. Staebler argues that he still out-raised Irwin inside the 53rd District, though.

By far the largest donation was the $2,500 Staebler received from the Michigan Bankers Association, a group that opposes legislation Irwin supports that would help citizens finance energy efficiency improvements in their homes.

Staebler also received $500 from the Realtors PAC in Lansing, $500 from the Auto Dealers of Michigan PAC in Lansing, and $250 from the Pharmacy PAC in Lansing. Irwin called it interesting that Staebler accepted PAC money after he criticized Irwin for doing the same in January and made a point at that time to state he had not taken PAC money. But Staebler never vowed he wouldn't accept donations from PACs.

"I was not saying I would never take PAC money," he reiterated. "I was simply saying I had more support from individuals, whereas he had support from PACs. That's it."

Some of Staebler's top contributors include:

Ned Staebler

Peter Hamp, student — $500 John Greden, director of University of Michigan Depression Center — $500 David Canter, director of U-M's North Campus Research Complex — $500 Prudence Rosenthal, retiree — $500 AT&T Michigan PAC — $500 Nidhi Pathak, homemaker from Farmington Hills — $500 Amit Pathak, underwriter for PrimeOne Services LLC — $500 Kari Marcus, Bloomfield Hills attorney — $500 H. Alan Gocha, Living Essentials employee — $500 John White, venture capitalist with Founders Equity Inc. in New York — $500 Richard Sicoli, venture capitalist with Westbury Partners in New York — $500 Deepa Ramsinghani, partner with Issue Media Group — $500 Eleanor Schultz, CEO of Naturally Nora Inc. in New Jersey — $500 Fred Mayerson, venture capitalist with Walnut Group in Ohio — $500 Madeline Linksman, homemaker in New York — $500 Lawrence Linksman, Fundex Asset Management in New York — $500 Elizabeth Kramer, banker with Westminster Capital in New York — $500 Arjun Gupta, venture capitalist with Telesoft Partners in Michigan — $500 James Gould, venture capitalist with the Walnut Group in Ohio — $500 John Friedman, venture capitalist with Easton Hunt Capital Partners in New York — $500 Marilyn Adler, venture capitalist with Sunrise Corp. in New York — $500 Gregory Adler, consultant with Adler Advisors in New York — $500 Bentley Meeker, lighting designer in New York — $500 Kyle Kimball, vice president of New York City Economic Development Corp. — $500 James Kirby, investor with Deerpath Capital Management in New York — $500 Heather Kirby, homemaker in Bronxville, Mich. — $500 Bela Schwartz, CFO of Riverside Partners LLC in New Jersey — $500 Susan Rosener, New York resident — $500 James Rosener, attorney in New York — $500 Kevin McCarthy, investor with Scorpion Capital Partners in Connecticut — $500 Arthur Duquette, securities trader with Bluefin Trading in Illinois — $500 Jeffrey Possick, investor with Mission Point Capital Partners in Connecticut — $500 Gregory Main, president of the MEDC — $500 Leigh Greden, director of governmental relations for EMU — $500

Some of Irwin's top contributors include:

Andrew Irwin, self-employed musician in East Lansing — $500 Adrian Hemond, associate with Governmental Consultant Services Inc. — $500 Maury Irwin, State Farm agent in Clare — $500 Operating Engineers Local 324 — $500 Michigan Farm Bureau — $500 Roy Saper, East Lansing gallery owner — $500 Gary Fralick, director of governmental relations for MESSA — $500 Peter Heydon, retired professor in Ann Arbor — $500 Henrietta Heydon, retiree — $500 Maureen Moody, student — $500 Lloyd Powell, Washtenaw County attorney — $600 Patrick Egan, retiree — $500 Penelope Hommel, co-director for the Center for Social Gerontology — $500 James Bergman, co-director for the Center for Social Gerontology — $500 ActBlue Michigan — $720

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.