Nov. 15—TRAVERSE CITY — City Commissioner Mitchell Treadwell paid a $125 fine for a late campaign finance filing just before his re-election to the Traverse City City Commission.
Treadwell won re-election to a four-year term in last week's city elections, when Commissioners Jackie Anderson and Heather Shaw were newly elected to four-year terms. Mayor Amy Shamroe was elected to a two-year term.
All were sworn in to office at Monday night's City Commission organizational meeting.
Treadwell missed the Oct. 27 deadline for the pre-election campaign finance statements which covered contributions received through October 20. Late filings are subject to daily fines of $25 up to $1,000, after which they are referred to the state Attorney's General Office.
Treadwell filed the necessary paperwork on Nov. 6, the day before the election, according to Grand Traverse County Chief Deputy Clerk and Election Manager Samuel Gedman.
"He paid the fine that day," Gedman said. "No issue; no complaints."
Treadwell said his civic and professional obligations were behind the tardy filings. He said he attended a professional conference and also was busy with his city responsibilities. Along with serving on the City Commission, he's also a member of the city's Planning Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission and the city Housing Commission.
"It's just because I was very busy ... it took a little longer to get all my paperwork in order," Treadwell said Tuesday. "It didn't leave as much time as I would like to deal with some of the more mundane things of the campaign."
Treadwell's campaign finance statement reported a total of $2,678 in donations.
That amount pushed the total raised by all the commission candidates to more than $30,000 through the Oct. 20 reporting deadline.
Anderson led all candidates in fundraising with $7,260, followed by Shamroe with $6,000, and candidate Shea O'Brien raising $4,428.
Treadwell's total was fifth-highest among the nine city commission candidates, trailing Mary Mills ($4,158) and Caroline Kennedy ($3,055). Shaw raised $2,050 for her successful campaign.
Candidates Chris Minkin and Kenneth Funk filed waivers for spending less than $1,000 on their campaigns, as did mayoral candidate Tom Mair.
The Realtors Political Action Committee of Michigan, based in Lansing, contributed Treadwell's largest donation of $750. He also received $500 from Terry Beia of Grand Traverse Properties, and $250 from Downtown Development Authority board member Ed Slosky.