BENSON COMPLAINT

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson got hit with a formal complaint by the state Republican party for her alleged violation of the Campaign Finance Act for her gubernatorial campaign announcement in the lobby of the Richard H. Austin Building in Lansing. The act specifically prohibits use of public resources in a campaign, which the GOP complaint says is exactly what took place when the SOS used a public building to make her announcement of the run for governor next year. Violation of the law is considered a misdemeanor, with a possible fine of $1,000 or incarceration for up to one year. Normally such a complaint would be the purview of the Bureau of Elections but due to the obvious conflict with Benson as SOS, it has been transferred to the office of attorney general.