LANSING — When are Michigan Republicans going to start condemning the horrific behavior among members of their party who serve in public office?
Macomb County hired an attorney to investigate a sexual harassment claim against County Prosecutor Pete Lucido after a woman working in his office made a credible report of such behavior, according to a report in MIRS this week. This comes after three women reported that Lucido repeatedly behaved inappropriately with them during his tenure in the state Senate, where he served until 2020.
“It’s time Michigan Republicans finally addressed the abhorrent and chronic behavior of their elected members,” said Lavora Barnes, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. “If Republicans in this state aren’t denouncing this behavior, they’re condoning it. Plain and simple. Republicans’ silence is deafening and downright disturbing.”
New accusations against Lucido came to light in the days following Republican state Sen. John Bizon’s guilty plea to criminally touching a nurse practitioner during an exam. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey has said Bizon, who will be sentenced later, won’t face legislative discipline citing the court’s role in addressing the crime and Bizon’s apology.
The Bizon plea and the new allegations against Lucido come on top of the state investigation of another prominent Republican in Michigan: former state House speaker Lee Chatfield, who is accused of sexually abusing his former sister-in-law over years – including a period of time when she was a minor.
“Republican leaders across Michigan should be asked, ‘Do you condone this behavior?’ Without providing an answer, they are saying ‘Yes,’” Barnes said. “Every Republican in office, every Republican seeking office and every Republican in a leadership position should go on record regarding this consistent pattern of illegal and inappropriate conduct by elected leaders.”
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