The author is a Detroit freelancer and former Metro Times staff writer.
By Tom Perkins
When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration in late 2024 approved a controversial permit that allowed trucks to carry hazardous materials across the Ambassador Bridge, it in part justified the decision by highlighting strong support for the proposal among state politicians, community members, and businesses.
Ambassador Bridge
But what few realized is that most of the supporters had financial ties to billionaire bridge owner Matthew Moroun that were never disclosed. Among them were Moroun employees or elected officials who received political donations from the Moroun family, a Deadline Detroit analysis of campaign finance documents and Michigan Department of Transportation filings shows.
Elected officials who supported the permit collectively have received at least $658,000 in campaign funds from the Morouns, state records show. Meanwhile, at least 45 community members – or over half – who submitted public comments in support were employed by or had business connections to the Moroun family, corporate documents and social media accounts show.
The revelation has led to allegations that the Morouns manipulated the process that ultimately led to the Michigan Department of Transportation approving the permit for trucks to haul hazardous materials across the Ambassador Bridge. Some permit opponents are now calling on the state to begin disclosing financial ties during permit review, a little-known administrative process function that can have profound impacts on people’s lives and safety.
The failure to do so highlights the need for campaign finance reform, said Craig Holman, a lobbyist with the Public Citizen government transparency advocacy nonprofit, which was not involved in the permitting fight.
“Transparency is the first guardrail against corruption,” Holman said. “If you don't have disclosure of the expenditures by billionaires, and the connections and associations between the companies and politicians testifying in favor [of the permit] aren’t disclosed, it allows a billionaire to buy a government favor.”
PACS and businesses connected to the Morouns gave the $658,000 in campaign funds to 33 out of 42 elected officials who supported the permit. Among them are 2026 gubernatorial candidates, including Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Republican Senate Leader Aric Nesbitt.
MDOT spokesperson Jocelyn Garza said the agency followed federal law for the “public involvement process to encourage feedback as we reviewed the study and came to a final determination.”
In a statement, Kenneth Dobson, vice president of the Moroun-owned Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC), said there was nothing improper about the process.
“We categorically reject any notion that the public comment process was unfair, or not transparent, or that any public official went on record in support of the petition for any reason other than the merits of the petition,” Dobson said.
The bridge company’s permit went into effect late last year, lifting restrictions on the transportation of some hazardous substances in both directions including gasoline, ethanol, paints, some pesticides, sulfuric acid, batteries, and sodium hydroxides. The materials had previously been sent to cross at a bridge with stronger fire suppression systems in Port Huron, or across the river on a now-closed ferry operation.
Critics say transporting hazardous waste across the aging, narrow Ambassador Bridge puts motorists and nearby neighborhood residents at risk of a disaster.A grassroots group of local residents opposed the permit. The Gordie Howe Bridge will offer a safer option with state of the art fire suppression system and wider lanes. Plus, it does not empty out near a dense neighborhood, opponents argued.
But the Morouns and its supporters have maintained that the Ambassador is currently safer because it reduces the distance the waste must travel.
Long-Term Relationships
The Morouns submitted their most recent hazardous waste permit request in September 2020, and MDOT opened the public comment request in 2023. But even before 2023, letters of support were submitted to the state or sent to the Morouns. The Deadline Detroit analysis looked at campaign donations made to each politician over their career, as far back as 2010, highlighting longer term relationships from the Moroun family.
Most politicians supporting the permit received donations within the same campaign cycle, while about half of the donations were made within several months of a politician submitting a letter in support.
Duggan has received at least $108,000 from the Morouns since he became mayor, and Nesbitt received over $29,000 during his legislative tenure. Both received the donations prior to their gubernatorial campaigns, and neither responded to a request for comment. Among the 33 elected officials who supported the project were state legislators, mayors, council members, and law enforcement officials.
Among other donations:
-
State Sen. Kevin Hertel submitted a letter in support of the permit on April 20, 2023, MDOT records show. He received a $1,000 donation on June 28, 2023, state campaign finance records show. Throughout his career, Hertel has received $4,300 from the Moroun family. He did not respond to a request for comment.
-
State Rep. Joe Aragona received a $500 donation 12 days before he submitted a letter, records show.
-
Democratic State Rep. Karen Whitsett, the controversial state representative who quit caucusing with Democrats while becoming an ally of Republican House Speaker Matt Hall, received $3,000.
-
Former Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate received $28,600, including one donation several months before submitting a letter in support.
Among elected law enforcement officials who received donations and wrote letters in support were Raphael Washington and Benny Napoleon. The latter received about $80,000.
Non-disclosure of the financial ties is “shameful,” said Andrew Bashi, a Great Lakes Environmental Law Center attorney who in 2024 submitted comments to MDOT in opposition to the permit. He accused permit supporters of prioritizing money from powerful companies over constituent safety.
“It’s sad that the system is so co-opted by the ultra-wealthy, particularly when it basically buys off politicians that make decisions that impact the health of their own residents and go against the interest of their residents,” Bashi said.
MDOT’s support is a change of course for the Whitmer administration. In 2020, she vetoed language in a state funding bill to allow hazardous waste to be carried across the Ambassador Bridge, but MDOT granted the permit just a few years later. She has received at least $7,225 from the Morouns since 2018, records show. A Whitmer spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In its statement, MDOT pointed to its study that determined a small risk increase of an explosion, fire or accident, but ultimately found “the difference is not significant enough to make a compelling case for or against any changes.”
“While the public engagement component is essential, MDOT decisions are made based on science and data,” a spokesperson added.
Among those who opposed the permit in formal comments were US Rep. Debbie Dingell, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, state Rep. Darrin Camilleri and state Rep. Abe Aiyash. They have not received Moroun contributions.
Including Moroun Employees
MDOT wrote that it received at least 80 formal public comments from politicians, community members, and businesses, though some letters had multiple signees. Separately, the agency received 55 letters in support from community members that were emailed to the agency, and were not part of the formal public comment process. Of the latter, at least 32 were submitted by people who had been Moroun employees.
Many of the letters sent by the permit’s supporters seem to be form letters with almost identical wording, a tactic often used by large corporations in regulatory battles.
“The facts of this case are indisputable,” many of the letters read.
“Allowing these trucks with escort vehicles to cross the Ambassador Bridge rather than drive hundreds of miles out of their way on heavily trafficked Southeast Michigan roads to cross at the Blue Water Bridge enhances public safety,” the letters continue.
Also among the supporters were community leaders who had previously received donations from powerful local corporations, then supported controversial proposals in regulatory battles. That includes Detroit mayoral candidate Mary Sheffield’s father, Horace Sheffield III, who runs the Detroit Association of Black Businesses (DABO).
Mary Sheffield has received around $25,000 from the Morouns, while Horace Sheffield previously received advertising support from the Morouns for his radio show. Recent IRS nonprofit records do not show a donation to DABO from the Moroun foundation, though it is unclear if the company donated directly. Horace Sheffiled initially agreed to an interview, then cancelled.
Jane Garcia, chairperson of the board for La Sed, a Southwest Detroit social services nonprofit, sent a formal comment in which she characterized herself as a “community member.” La Sed received considerable funding from the Morouns, she told the Detroit News in 2018.
The Moroun Family Foundation had in 2010 given to local nonprofits while attempting to block legislation for the Gordie Howe Bridge. Critics at the time alleged the giving was a public relations move to shore up support for the proposals, which the Morouns denied.
Resident Jessica Trevino, who can see the trucks entering the bridge from her home, said she is “incredibly disappointed in MDOT’s approval.”
“MDOT should have realized that many of those making comments in favor worked for trucking companies owned by the Morouns,” Trevino said. “As far as campaign donations go, that is nothing new. Until there are new laws set in place to prevent such actions it will be business as usual.”
