The state Attorney General is under fire for his hiring practices. The liberal group Progress Michigan filed a complaint with the Secretary of State Tuesday. It wants the office to investigate multiple hires made by Attorney General Bill Schuette.
The complaint accuses Schuette of using millions of public dollars to hire employees or contractors that have worked or are working on his AG and governor campaigns.
Sam Inglot is with Progress Michigan. He says the hires show a trend of Schuette looking out for himself – at taxpayer expense.
“Really what we’re talking about is accountability in office,” he said. “We can’t have elected officials using public funds – misusing public funds I should say – for their own political benefit.”
The complaint comes after a Detroit Free Press investigation. It found Schuette hired multiple Republican activists and people with political backgrounds for taxpayer funded jobs in his office.
In the Free Press’s article, an Attorney General spokesperson defended the hires. She said Schuette hired the people because they are best and brightest, not because of their politics. Schuette himself said in the article that his hires don’t violate civil service rules. He said he hires people he can trust.
But Inglot says the timing of some of these hires is concerning.
“It’s no secret that he’s running for governor and it would appear based on the Freep’s investigation that he’s decided to stack his office with GOP political operatives and allies,” he said.
The Secretary of State’s Office will now review the complaint and decide if it will investigate.
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—Cheyna Roth is a reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
