Allegations of sexual harassment have cost State Sen. Peter Lucido (R-Shelby Township) his committee chairmanship.
The Senate opened an investigation in January after a reporter said Lucido made a sexist comment to her in front of a group of high school boys.
A female senator then accused him of sexually harassing her. A woman who works for a trade group made similar allegations.
The investigation found Lucido's conduct was inappropriate workplace behavior.
“The Advice and Consent committee is here to serve the purpose of evaluating appointees,” says Amber McCann, state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey’s spokeswoman, “And goingforward it would be better to have someone else in the position of leading that effort.”
In addition to losing his committee chairmanship, McCann says Lucido has been asked to repeat sexual harassment training.
Lucido will continue to chair the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.
The punishment handled down to Republican Lucido is being criticized by a liberal political group.
“Any decent workplace would fire someone for showing a pattern of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior,” says Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, “Sen. Lucido gets a slap on the wrist…Lucido has shown zero remorse or even acknowledgment that what he did was wrong”.
Lucido issued the following comment Friday morning:
“Throughout this process, I have maintained that I did not sexually harass anyone. The Senate Business Office and its outside counsel were charged with investigating whether I did. After their comprehensive and impartial investigation, they determined that the allegations made against me could not be unequivocally substantiated. Given that I have not sexually harassed anyone nor were there any citations of a violation of Senate rules determined by the investigation, I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of the people I represent. It is my honor and a privilege to serve the people of the 8th Senate District. I have always done my best for them, and I will continue to do so with the same level of hard work and service that they deserve from their public officials.”
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