Kalamazoo and Portage vote today on healthcare charter proposals bankrolled by $2.8 million from three out-of-state groups

KALAMAZOO — Voters in Kalamazoo and Portage are deciding today whether to add a healthcare committee to their city charters, and nearly all the money behind the push came from outside Michigan.

City Action Michigan, the group that paid for the petition drives, raised about $2.8 million this election cycle from three out-of-state nonprofits, NowKalamazoo reported Tuesday from state campaign finance filings: $1.125 million from CityScope, $950,000 from American Opportunity Action and $725,000 from the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund. Those groups are based in Missouri, Washington, D.C., and Delaware, and as nonprofits they generally do not have to name their own donors.

The money was spread across the same proposal in six cities: Kalamazoo, Portage, Lansing, East Lansing, Battle Creek and Benton Harbor. The group reported spending about $2.7 million, including more than $1 million with Change Media Group, a Chicago ad agency, and about $466,000 with K2K Consulting of Grand Rapids for petition circulating, according to NowKalamazoo.

What the proposals would do

Each charter amendment would require the city to appoint a resident advisory committee, called a board in Portage, that gathers public testimony and data, reviews how federal, state and local policies affect healthcare costs and access, and writes a Healthcare Action Plan every two years. The city must adopt and publish the plan. We covered Kalamazoo’s version of the healthcare proposal in October, and Lansing voters face the same charter amendment.

The objections

Kalamazoo and Portage officials have questioned who is behind the campaign. Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson has said voters got little information about the groups paying for it, and local officials have argued that healthcare is the county health department’s job, not the city’s, NowKalamazoo reported. Critics quoted by MLive in October called the measure an “unfunded mandate” and a “scam,” and political experts quoted by MLive argued it was part of a campaign to help Democrats flip the 4th and 7th Congressional Districts. MLive also reported that flyers paid for by the group said U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Republican, “is failing us.”

The group’s registered agent, Heather Ricketts, is treasurer of the Kalamazoo County Democratic Party, according to NowKalamazoo. American Opportunity Action, one of the three funders, has given millions to Democratic-aligned federal committees, including House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC, the outlet reported with research help from MuckRock.

What backers say

City Action Michigan spokesperson Ryan Cohn said the effort was started by local advocates and groups including the Michigan Nurses Association and Kalamazoo Forward, and drew outside money as it grew. “Each city has dozens of advisory boards on a wide variety of issues from housing to transportation to public safety,” he told NowKalamazoo. “We believe that healthcare belongs on that list.”

The group was incorporated in April as Community Action Michigan and changed its name in September. Polls are open until 8 p.m.

Sources:
NowKalamazoo, “Out-of-state funding for local healthcare ballot proposals” (Nov. 3, 2026; contributions, spending, ballot language, Anderson, Cohn quote, Ricketts, funders), https://nowkalamazoo.org/2026/11/who-funded-healthcare-ballot-proposals/
MLive, “$1.4M campaign pushes healthcare proposal to voters. Critics call it a ‘scam’” (October 2026; six cities, critics, congressional districts, Huizenga flyers), https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/10/14m-campaign-pushes-healthcare-proposal-to-voters-critics-call-it-a-scam.html
Photo: Chris Rycroft, “Kalamazoo City Hall in 2022.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalamazoo_City_Hall_in_2022.jpg

Kalamazoo · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Election 2026 · Kalamazoo · Portage · Healthcare action plan · Campaign finance · City charter