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COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATION OF HATCH ACT BY MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL BILL SCHUETTE Summary of Complaint Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (Schuette) has violated the Hatch Act by using his official authority and influence to affect the result of his own election campaigns for Attomey General in 2014 and Governor in 2018 by using public funds to hire and contract with his political campaign workers. 1 Governing Law Schuette is head of the Michigan Department of Attomey General which receives federal funds and he performs duties in connection with those funds. As such, Schuette is subject to the restrictions of the Hatch Act (a) A State or local officer or employee may not — (1) use his official authority to influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or a nomination for office; I Facts {As detailed in the attached investigative report by the Detroit Free Press on December 15, 2017 which was based on state and political campaign records, Schuette has used millions of dollars in public funds to hire and contract with persons who worked on his 2014 reelection campaign as Attomey General and who are working on his current campaign for election as, Governor in 2018. I, Claimed Violations of Hatch Act by Schuette Schuette has clearly used and is using his official authority and influence as Attomey General to affect the result of his own nomination and election efforts by hiring and contracting with his own paid political campaign staff, providing them with public jobs from which they are able to assist his nomination and election efforts. This is political patronage at its worst which the Hatch Act is intended to prevent. IV. Certification, Consent and Signature I certify that all the statements made in this complaint (including any continuation pages) are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that a false statement or concealment of a material fact is a criminal offense punishable by a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both. 18 U.S.C. § 1001 I consent to OSC’s communication with the pertinent individuals involved in my complaint. I agree to allow OSC to disclose my identity as the complainant, and information from or about me, if OSC decides that such disclosure is needed to investigate the allegation(s) in my complaint. I understand that regardless of the Consent Statement I choose, OSC may disclose information from my complaint file when permitted by the Privacy Act. AS Sat is[z0'8 Complainant’s Signature Date Signed Lonnie Scott Progress Michigan 215 Washington Square S, #135 Lansing, MI 48933 517-999-3646 Lonnie@progressmichigan.org Bill Schuette stocks AG staff withGOP — operatives as he launches campaign for governor Phat Egan, Detroit Free PressPublishe 6:44 aan. FF Dec. 15,2017 | Updated $217 pum. ET Dee. 16.2017 LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has loaded his taxpayer-funded office payroll with Republican campaign activists in the run-up to his 2018 campaign for governor, a Free Press investigation has found. ‘Schuette also has used no-bid state contracts te pay more than $130,000 to two influential Republicans — one of whom has been active in the tea party movement that is important in winning @ Republican primary, records show. ‘The state constitution and civil service rules prohibit hiring or firing employees based on partisan considerations, enshrining the idea that a professional state workforce based solely on merit should remain in place, regardless of what party or leader is in power. : But this year, in advance of his September announcement that he is running for governor, ‘Schuette hired as civil servants four "constituent relations representatives," also known as “executive office representatives," who are all Republican activists or experienced GOP campaign operatives, records obtained under Michigan's Freedom of information Act show. ‘They joined other highly politicized appointees and civil servants on Schuette’s executive staff, all paid for by taxpayers. They include Schuette's driver, a political appointee who is paid more than $82,000 a year as a “special assistant” but doubles as Schuette's ‘campaign treasurer, and two others with civil servant posts — a self-described "tea party organizer’ and another constituent relations representative who was polltical director for Schuette's 2014 attorney general campaign and recently took a leave of absence to work fulltime on his campaign for governor. ‘Schuette's executive office representatives are responsible for public outreach, giving speeches to service clubs and community groups, educating people about the department's programs and trouble-shooting issues ralsed by constituents, according to ‘Schuette spokeswoman Andrea Bitely.and department records. ‘Schuette's two predecessors — Republican Attorney General Mike Cox and Democratic Attorney General Jennifer Granholm — did not have these positions, though Coxhada director of constituent relations near the end of his eight years in office, state records. show. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette of Midland announcos his gubernatorial eampalgn Tuesday, Sopt. 12, 2017, atthe Midland County Fairgrounds in Midland. (Photo: Katy Kidee, Midland Dally News via AP) "That's a Bill Schuette thing ... making sure we have people out there who are listening,” ‘Schuette spokeswoman Andrea Bitely sald “"Recaive rather than broadcast," she said. “These people aren't hired because of their partisan politics. They're hired because they're the best and brightest." ‘Schuette's recently hired constituent relations representatives, positioned in attomey general ofices around the state, are: + Judi Schwalbach: Hired in May as a constituent relations representative at about $50,000 a year, the former Escanaba mayor is an influential Republican in the Upper Peninsula who was a delegate to last year’s Republican National Convention and attended President Donald Trump's inauguration, A member of the Republican State Committee, she works out of the attomey general's Marquette office. + Luke Londo: Also hired in May, Londo, a $52,000-a-year constituent relations representative, ‘was digital director for the 2014 campaign of U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls, and a former regional press secretary for the Michigan Republican Parly. He works in the attorney general's Detfoit office. + Michael Sullivan: Hired in May as a $45,000-2-year constituent relations representative, Sullivan was coordinator of the 2014 state House campaign of Rep. Lee Chatfield, R- Levering, and has worked for a poltical consulting firm owned by Scott Greenlee, a former Schustte alde and campaign worker. He works in Lansing, + Brandon Sinclair: Hired in March as a $35,000-a-year constituent relations representative, Sinclair is a former political coordinator for the Kent County Republican Party who managed the 2016 campaign of state Rep. Tommy Brann, R-Wyoming. He works in Grand Rapids. A report filed in October shows Schwalbach, Sullivan and Sinclair were all paid expense reimbursements this year by Bill Schuette for Governor, meaning each has been working on his campaign. Schuette was unapologetic Dec. 6, when a reporter pointed out that his executive office representatives were Republican activists and Schuette supporters. “They/d better be, or they're not going to be working for me," he said. Schuette, who took office in 2011, softened his answer when asked whether that wouldn't violate civil service rules. "You don't have to be a Republican, but you'd better have a relationship with Bill Schuette, ‘or | wouldn't hire those people," he said. "I need to trust them, and | do." Bitely said nobody does campaign work on state time, which would violate state law. "L can't speak to what people are doing in their spare time," Bitely said. Carter Bundy, a former field director for Michigan native Mitt Romney's presidential bid, illustrates the sometimes fluid relationship between Schuette's campaign and his state- funded office. lauy Photo Andrea Bitely (Photo: Poul Egen/Detrlt Foe Press) Bundy served as political director for Schuette's 2044 attomey general campaign ~ receiving close to $62,000 in wages and expense reimbursements from Schuette's campaign fund — while taking unpaid leave from his then $40,000-2-year civil service job as a constituent relations representative fo" the attorney general's office. Bundy, who returned to his fulltime job after the campeign, recently took a leave of absence from his now $74,000-a-year job so he can work ful-time on Schuette's gubernatorial campaign. J. Edward Kellough, a professor of public edministration at the University of Georgia and an expert on civil service reform, said the situation in Schuette's office sounds unusual. “There has been a trend in recent years to inoreasingly politicize the civil service,” Kellough said in an e-mail Thursday. "find that a very troubling trend that can undermine the integrity of the civil service.” Bitely said the job openings were posted on the state website and a committee of departmental officials followed civil service rules by not asking candidates about political affillations during interviews. While the vast majority of attorney general employees are supposed to be hired based solely on merit, without considering their partisan politics, Schuette is allowed up to five appointees who are not subject to civil service rules and serve at his pleasure. Duties of those officials also overlap with Schuette campaigns. Dennis Stamer, Schuette's driver and longtime friend and sounding board, Is pald more than $82,000 a year as a “special assistant,” but has another role that Is arguably of equal ‘of greater importance. Stamer, a former chairman of the Midland County Republican Party, handles the accounting of millions in campaign donations and expenditures as Schuette's campaign treasurer, © Buy Photo Rusty Hills, left, senior advisor to Bill Schuette and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette during an interview at the Froe Press office in Detrolt in June 2017. (Photo: Juntu Han, Detroit Free Press) Schuette's other appointees include Rusty Hills, and John Sellek. Hills, who eams more than $157,000 a year as Schuette's director of public afairs, was pald about $83,000 for his work on the 2010 campaign and has received more than $1,300 in campaign expense reimbursements since Schuette took office. Sellek, who is paid more than $183,000 as ‘Schuette's director of public relations, took an unpaid leave during the 2014 campaign and has received about $95,000 in campaign consutting fees and expense reimbursements since 2013. ‘The four new constituent relations representatives joined civil servants already serving in Schuette's executive office in Lansing, who records show have worked on his attomey general or gubernatorial campaigns, including: + Wendy Anderson: The supervisor of Schuette's constituent relations representatives, Anderson, a frequent donor to Republican candidates and causes who fas also listed her ‘occupation as owner of a GOP campaign consulting firm called Election Resources, has worked for Sthuette since he took office ard is paid about $95,000 a year. + Sharon Lollio: Paid about $81,000 as Schuette's deputy director of legislative relations, Lolio's Facebook page describes her as a "tea party organizer." She joined Schuette's office in 2014, In rejecting suggestions that Schuette's work is driven by partisan interests, Bitely noted Schuette has worked closely with Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton —a Demoerat who ran against Schuette in 2019 — in prosecuting alleged crimes arising from the Flint water crisis. ‘Though having four constituent relations representatives in the attorney general's office is unique to Schuette, and the recently hired employees are new, the positions themselves are not, At least four GOP activists who worked for Schuette during his 2014 campaign for attomey general have since left their constituent relations positions, They are: + Scott Greenlee: The president of Greenlee Consulting and the Michigan director of Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, Greenlee, who left Schuette's office in 2016, ‘was an $89,000-2-year constituent relations representative who received close to $7,400 In consulting fees and expense reimbursements from Schuette's campaign fund between 2010 and 2015. Greenlee stood out among Schuette insiders as an early supporter of Gov. Rick Snyder, who has frequently been at odds with Schuette and is not expected to ‘endorse him for governor. + Matt Hall: Schuette's former constituent relations representative in Grand Rapids was paid about $77,000 a year when he left in 2016, He is a Republican State Committee member and was 3rd Congressional District chairman of the Trump presidential campaign, Records show he worked on Schuette's 2014 campaign. + Shannon Price: A former Republican Wayne County commissioner and Plymouth Township supervisor, Price was paid about $87,000 ¢ year as a Schuette constituency relations representative in Lansing and Detroit until he left the office in 2015. He earlier served as a political appointee to both Schuette and his predecessor, Cox, before moving to the civil service late in 2011. + Stanley Grot: Now a Republican candidate for Secretary of State, Grot was an attorney ‘general éxecutive office representative under Schuette until February 2012, when he launched his successful campaign for Shelby Township clerk, records show. Grot, a GOP istrict chair, is a former Sterling Heights city councilman and Macomb County commissioner. Records obtained under FOIA show that since 2011, Schuette has awarded a series of contracts to Glenn Clark, a former president of the Michigan Faith and Freedom Coalition, @ former Michigan GOP district chair who was an Oakland County tea parly activist. The contracts, each worth between $25,000 and $50,000, are for making presentations related to Schuette's programs on internet safety, protections for seniors, and the OK2SAY student safety initiative, records show. Bitely said the total amount paid to Clark under the contracts was just under $117,000. ‘Though the contracts weren't awarded through competitive bidding, which Bitely said was not required, interested vendors had to submit a résumé andior cover letter and be interviewed by Schuette's consumer protection team. "We ara interested In candidates who are comfortable with technology and speaking in front of an audience," as well as "diversity in terms of geographic location, race, and, gender," she said. Most of the 36 current contractors are former educators, she said. Clark, who is supporting Schuette for governor, sald Schuette's office felt his experience organizing schoo! fund-raising projects with Nestlé was a benefit in arranging appointments for presentations in schools, Clark said Wednesday he left the Faith and Freedom Coalition in 2013 and doesn't currently have time for tea party activities because he is caring for his 99-year-old grandmother, Schwalbach, the former Escanaba mayor, received just under $14,000 through similar Contracts before Schuette hired her as a civil servant this year, Bitely sai Contact Paul Egan: 617-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulogana,

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