A group of Republican women activists have come together to defend GOP Sen. Pete Lucido of Shelby Township, who stands accused of three sexual harassment incidents in the state capital, saying that Democrats are “weaponizing women” to destroy Lucido’s reputation.
“Women for Pete Lucido” was formed on Jan. 22, shortly after the state senator faced allegations of harassing a young female reporter in the Capitol Building by telling her that a visiting group of schoolboys could “have a lot of fun with you.” Since then, two women, including a Democratic senator, have come forward to say that Lucido previously touched them inappropriately on their back side .
Tarver
Linda Lee Tarver of Lansing, who helped create the pro-Lucido group, contends that the claims of caressing are fabrications and that Lucido’s Republican colleagues in the Senate leadership quickly agreed to investigate the lawmaker’s behavior only because they need to cover their bases.
“As stupid, fake and phony as this is, they’re going to have to take a look at it given the litigious society we now have,” said Tarver, a longtime GOP activist and a former Michigan Republican Party official.
Tarver asserts that Democrats arranged for Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) to come forward with allegations against Lucido dating back to November 2018 and then used her highly publicized accusations to boost Democratic campaign fundraising.
Women for Pete Lucido believe that Lucido was targeted by Dems for inappropriate behavior because he may be the Republican Party’s best hope for a 2022 gubernatorial candidate who can defeat Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. They say Lucido is a “force to be reckoned with” who chairs two major committees in the Senate and was named 2019 Legislator of the Year by the MIRS news service in Lansing.
Women for Pete Lucido has created a Facebook page that has just 21 followers so far. But the group claims that many Republicans and Democrats, men and women, quietly stand with them.
Known as a bombastic and belligerent lawmaker by his critics in the Capitol, Lucido is seen in a different light by resolutions of support posted on Facebook.
The Michigan Republican Assembly describes the senator as a “conservative Christian leader” and a “kind and respectful public servant.” The Republican Women’s Federation of Michigan said Lucido “has the respect and support of women” across the state.
Tarver, a former member of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, maintains that the allegations made by McMorrow and the third accuser, Melissa Osborn, a lobbyist for the Michigan Credit Union League, fall short of the typical sexual harassment complaints filed with the state.
“This trivializes women who have gone through truly awful sexual harassment,” she said. “… All women have got to do in that situation is to say, ‘Get your hand off my ass.’”
