This is an excerpt of a column I wrote for Deadline Detroit on Sept. 24. It takes a look at Andy “Rocky” Raczkowski of Troy, the early Republican frontrunner for the 11th Congressional District (parts of Wayne and Oakland counties) which is being vacated by GOP Rep. Dave Trott.
When Rocky first took a swing at the redrawn 11th District seat in 2012, he collected nearly $750,000 in contributions before deciding not to run. He spent practically all the money on mail solicitations across the country seeking more campaign cash.
A Fox2 news broadcast at the time reported that most of the donations received were sent by retirees wooed by Raczkowski’s sales pitch that he would bring conservative Republican principles to Washington. Federal election records show that he used some of the funds to pay himself back for $55,500 in previous personal loans to his campaign committee.
Early in the next election cycle, in 2013, Rocky apparently meandered through the early stages of another 11thDistrict run, with his congressional committee collecting a little over $1,000, before he decided that state Senate was the place to be. He ran for a central Oakland County Senate seat and lost the August ’14 GOP primary election by a narrow margin. But what happened during and after that Senate campaign is what’s so telling.
Raczkowski racked up $7,030 in fines from the Secretary of State’s Bureau of Elections for repeatedly failing to file required finance reports that publicly disclose which individuals and political action committees (PACs) have contributed to his campaign committee, which is still on file. From April 2014 to August of this year, Rocky has not filed eight reports required on a periodic basis by state election law.
Several of his scofflaw incidents have been referred to the state Attorney General’s Office for possible action under civil law. For the past two years, Rocky has ended up on the state’s list of deadbeats who have thumbed their nose at the system.
Continue reading here.
Photo: Fox2 News screenshot
