Ingham County’s new prosecutor says she wants to restore the public’s trust in the prosecutor’s office.
Former state senator Gretchen Whitmer doesn’t take office until next month, but she got a jump on things by being sworn in this week.
Whitmer is replacing Stuart Dunnings III, who is mired in a prostitution scandal. Whitmer says restoring credibility to the office is key.
Whitmer says it’s important that the public and the media have “trust” and “that victims have every confidence that our office is operating with integrity,” adding, “those are things the judges thought I brought to the table and that’s what I’m going to be focusing on.”
The state Republican Party is critical of the process that selected Whitmer for the temporary prosecutor job. Whitmer is a potential Democratic candidate for governor in 2018.
“If Whitmer wants to assure the public that the prosecutor’s office will be run transparently and ethically following the Dunnings scandal, she must start by voluntarily releasing all emails related to her own secret selection as prosecutor,” says Ronna Romney-McDaniel, state GOP chairwoman.
Whitmer says there are no emails. She says she applied for the post and was chosen by the judges to fill the vacancy.
Ingham County voters will elect a new prosecutor in November.
