Michigan Senate hopeful Terri Lynn Land (R.) is calling on Democrat Gary Peters to donate to charity profits he made from investments in the Detroit Water System as the utility resumes cutting off service to needy residents.
"While thousands of families in and around Congressman Peters’ district continue to struggle under the broken Peters-Obama economy, Gary Peters is profiting off his thousands of dollars in investments in the very utility that is shutting off water to these families," she said in a statement. "I urge Congressman Peters to donate his thousands of dollars in profits to organizations in Detroit that help families in his district cope with water shutoffs."
The Washington Free Beacon broke the story about Peters’ lucrative investments on Tuesday. The three-term Democratic congressman holds up to $50,000 in Detroit water bonds in a trust fund, according to his 2014 financial disclosure. Those bonds netted him up to $2,500 in profit in 2013. The bonds will fully mature in 2029.
The Peters campaign did not return request for comment.
Land said that Peters should focus on generating good-paying jobs for Michigan residents, rather than the investment portfolio that has made him a millionaire.
"The people of Detroit need good paying jobs, and while Gov. Snyder, Kevyn Orr, and Mayor Duggan are helping make Detroit the Comeback City, the policies of Congressman Peters and President Obama have made it more difficult for Detroit families to earn a living and build a brighter future for their children," Land said in a release.
This is not the first time Peters’ investments have caused controversy.
The Detroit News revealed that Peters, who is campaigning on an environmentalist platform, invested heavily in a French oil company. A July Washington Free Beacon report found that he had also invested in a healthcare company that outsourced to Ireland to dodge American tax rates in a tax inversion scheme.
The Detroit water system began shutting off service to residents behind on their bills as the city went through bankruptcy in the spring. After public outcry, the city placed a moratorium on shutoffs. The moratorium expired on Monday and an extension granted to some residents will expire on Thursday.
Land’s campaign says that she donated money to a charity to aid Detroit’s citizens, though the campaign did not disclose the name of the organization.