When asked if the fate of the apartments had rested on securing an earmark, Hertel told Bridge his priority was to get the hotel demolished and “it’s not my job to know about the inner workings of the development.”
Kropp said the building has not yet been demolished as George holds out for additional funding opportunities from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority and other incentives, such as a brownfield tax credit.
She said that because the land wasn’t city-owned, they didn’t have any obligation to consider or request other plans for the development.
Donations flow
According to Kropp, George had initially approached her with an interest in the property. After she told George low-income units wouldn’t provide the city as much revenue, Kropp said George wanted assistance from the state.
“So he said, ‘let me see what I can do,’ And he actually went and hired himself a lobbyist, and he went in for the funding,” she said.
George is a prolific developer and investor, with more than 90 companies registered to his office in Shelby Township. Property records show he owns multi-million dollar homes in Michigan, Florida and Hawaii.
An active philanthropist in his community, George had never given more than $22,000 to state candidates in a campaign cycle.
Initially, lawmakers only received contributions from George directly. Lawmakers who helped draft the budget — who also oversee the opaque process by which earmarks are included — received some of the first donations.
In April 2023, as the state budget process began picking up steam, George made a series of contributions to Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate of Detroit Democratic Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids and the budget chairs in both chambers.
An initial donation to Tate exceeded the legal limit and required him to refund the excess. Tate later invited George to be one of his guests at Whitmer’s 2024 State of the State address, according to The Detroit News.
Campaign finance records show George contributed $5,000 to the budget chairs in each chamber. He also donated to the two legislators who represent Mount Clemens and later identified themselves as co-sponsors of the $5 million grant, Hertel and Rep. Denise Mentzer, D-Mount Clemens.
After the budget went into effect in October 2023, George’s donation strategy shifted. By that time, Sheppard, the former state representative who now works as a lobbyist, had changed the name of his nearly dormant leadership PAC to “Developing Michigan.” Soon after, George gave $250,000 to it.
In 10 days’ time, Developing Michigan donated nearly $240,000 to lawmakers and their affiliated leadership funds, according to the PACs campaign finance disclosures. George gave another $250,000 on April 15, and the PAC again sent the vast majority of the money to legislators’ committees within four days.
Independent PACs have an advantage over individual donors in that they can give 10 times as much to politicians and candidates. But in the case of Developing Michigan, George was the sole contributor this cycle.
