St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

Forward Together PAC spent the most out of all the political committees based in cities associated with Berrien County during the second quarter of 2021, according to the Michigan Department of State.

The committee paid $5,156 to four vendors.

The largest expense was $900 paid to Kalamazoo-based Emily Boyer for salary.

The second largest political spend from a committee operating in a city within Berrien County during the quarter came from Paquette Leadership Fund. It spent $3,875 during the time period on eight different vendors.

What’s known as “dark money,” which comes from political non-profits and shell corporations, has greatly increased expenditures and donations in recent elections to record-breaking highs.

Total political expenditures in the 2022 elections amounted to more than $444 million.

Political campaign financial data is often updated, leading to a sometimes incomplete picture of a committee or candidate's finances.

Committee	Expenditures	Paid Vendors
Forward Together PAC	$5,156	4
Paquette Leadership Fund	$3,875	8
Brad Paquette for State Representation	$3,235	4
Committee to Elect Pauline Wendzel	$2,079	7
Committee to Elect Dan Vanden Heede	$159	1