If political irony were an Olympic sport, Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson would be bringing home the gold. While basking in the glow of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference, Michigan’s Secretary of State – and aspiring governor – said during an interview last week at the conference that she voluntarily plans to comply with FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) laws if she becomes governor.
That’s right, folks. She will comply – not because she legally has to (Michigan’s governor’s office is exempt from FOIA rules) but because she just feels like it. Yep, she’ll be turning over any documents that you want at a rapid pace (insert sarcasm here).
This promise might be believable if Benson wasn’t currently under contempt of the House for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Michigan Legislature’s House Oversight Committee as Secretary of State – a role where she is legally required to comply with – a job where transparency isn’t optional.
So the lady who can’t be bothered to follow the law in her current job now wants a gold star for promising to follow a law that wouldn’t even apply in her next job. Right.
Benson’s exact quote during an interview with the Detroit News at the conference (try not to laugh) was: “FOIA is an important thing for us to be able to comply with. Again, I, as governor, will voluntarily comply with it and will call on the Legislature to do the same.”
The House voted to hold Benson in contempt back in May after she stonewalled lawmakers who requested information about her department’s handling of voter rolls and election-related materials.
And on Tuesday, June 3, State Rep. Neil DeSana (R-Carleton) introduced articles of impeachment against Benson, accusing her of repeated violations of state law and ignoring court rulings. DeSana pointed to multiple legal defeats as evidence, saying, “We are dealing with the most lawless secretary of state in Michigan history,”
DeSana told the media Tuesday morning. “Not only has she flouted numerous Michigan laws, but Michigan courts have ruled against her in seven difference instances.”
He further criticized Benson’s legal stance in court, adding, “Even Secretary Benson’s lawyer has stated, when questioned in open court, that the secretary will obey only the laws that she deems constitutional or that she agrees with.”
The articles of impeachment are supported by several Republican lawmakers who allege that Benson has unconstitutionally overstepped her authority on election procedures and campaign finance disclosures.
Instead of handing over the docs, Benson decided to play a rousing game of government hide-and- seek. And yet, here she is months later, smiling for the cameras and promising that she’ll be more open someday. And the Detroit News doesn’t even mention the hilarity of it all. Tsk, tsk…
This isn’t the first time Benson’s relationship with public records has been un-transparent. But what’s new is the audacity of pledging future compliance when her current record is buried in redacted PDFs and “no comment” emails.
Benson is calling the whole thing a “clown show” – which is ironic, considering that’s exactly what her hyper-partisan Secretary of State office has turned into under her so-called leadership.
So what’s the real message of Benson’s promise? Apparently, if voters just hand her the keys to the governor’s mansion, she’ll finally start doing the job the public expected her to do in the first place.
However, anyone buying her recent promise is probably also still waiting for her to update the voter rolls, stop illegal aliens from voting, and finally admit dead people shouldn’t be getting ballots. Until then, Michigan voters might want to keep their BS detectors on high.
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