FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
February 8, 2018
Schuette also took $1,200 in donations from Cecil St. Pierre
MICHIGAN — Bill Schuette touted the endorsement of MIGOP official Cecil St. Pierre despite allegations St. Pierre financially wronged families in Oakland and Macomb counties. Schuette bragged about the endorsement even after he suspended St. Pierre from an AG-appointed position.
According to WXYZ, Schuette “suspended Public Administrator Cecil St. Pierre from Warren as part of this probe into the probate practice” in May 2017. Recently, St. Pierre’s actions prompted a legislative fix “to reform a system that allows Probate Court ‘public administrators’ to take control of an unclaimed estate and profit from the acquisition if no heirs are found.”
Despite the May 2017 suspension over the allegations, Schuette still touted the embattled Macomb County GOP official’s endorsement six months later on his gubernatorial campaign website.
Additionally, campaign finance records show Schuette also took $1,200 in donations from St. Pierre when he ran for AG in 2010.
In a report about the legislation being signed by Gov. Rick Snyder, Schuette said, “What has happened in the system is unacceptable and these changes to an almost 40-year-old law will help ensure this never happens again. By creating a clear, current and direct path for public administrators to follow in the probate process we can better protect Michigan citizens and weed out any bad actors.”
“Schuette needs to return the campaign donation and denounce this endorsement if he’s serious about weeding out ‘bad actors.’ He can’t lambast someone in one breath and then celebrate their endorsement in the next,” said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan. “Schuette is so blinded by his own political ambitions that he’s accepted the endorsement of someone who allegedly ripped off families in Oakland and Macomb.”
This isn’t the first controversy surrounding Bill Schuette’s run for governor and his endorsements and donors. Former governor and current MSU Interim President John Engler recently asked to be pulled from Schuette’s endorsement page and Progress Michigan has called on Schuette to return Engler’s campaign donations. There have been numerous questions raised about the authenticity of Schuette’s investigation into MSU considering his deep ties to MSU-linked GOP mega donors and Engler.
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