October 28, 2009 • From Lansing State Journal

By Kathryn Prater

A local group of electrical workers filed a lawsuit Monday against Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and is demanding he refund $5,000 it paid to his political action committee three years ago.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 665 filed the lawsuit in 54A District Court against Bernero, who is running for another term Tuesday against longtime Councilwoman Carol Wood and write-in candidate John Boise. The lawsuit says the union - which is endorsing Wood - in 2006 paid $5,000 to the PAC for membership in the Lansing Booster Club, which supports public- private initiatives.

Membership was supposed to include such benefits as participation in round-table discussions, briefings and the opportunity to be the mayor's guest at special events, according to the lawsuit.

The group claims Bernero never delivered on those promises, and it is requesting a $5,000 reimbursement. It also seeks compensation for additional damages incurred and court costs.

The union also claims Bernero never made it clear the club was a 527 political action committee or that membership dues were political contributions.

In an e-mailed statement, Patrick McAlvey, Bernero's campaign manager, called the suit a "political prank."

"It is frivolous at best and a desperate, eleventh-hour ploy for media attention by a failing campaign. Needless to say, we don't take it seriously," he said.

The union will donate the $5,000 to charity if it is refunded, said Ray Michaels, president of Local 665.

"We were given the impression that our contribution was of a charitable nature," he said. "This is money that was intended to help people in Lansing and help Lansing, and the mayor used it for his own personal enrichment and political advancement."

The IBEW donated $8,500 to Wood's campaign this summer. The union has not given any money to Bernero's re-election campaign, but when he ran for mayor in 2005, the group donated close to $10,000, Michaels said.

Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is Charles Moore, who is the resident agent of the PAC account.