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Peter J. Lucido (born July 31, 1960) is an American politician serving as the prosecutor of Macomb County, Michigan since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Lucido previously served in the Michigan Senate from 2019 to 2020 (as the Senate Majority Whip), and in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019.

Political career

Lucido's political career started with running to succeed the term-limited Pete Lund to represent the 36th district in the Michigan House of Representatives. Lucido's opponent for the Republican nomination was then-Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot. The race was called the most expensive race for a state House seat in Michigan history. The two candidates spent approximately $350,000 combined with Lucido investing $150,000 of his own money. There were dirty campaign tactics alleged by both sides, with both candidates falsely claiming endorsements from conservative groups. The race's tactics were called a "new low for Macomb politics." Lucido would eventual prevail over Grot by just 103 votes out of the more than 9,400 cast. Lucido would win the general election in the heavily Republican district, defeating Democratic nominee Robert Murphy, taking 70 percent of the vote.

During his 2016 re-election bid, Lucido's opponent Democratic nominee Diane Young filed a complaint with federal and state authorities alleging that Lucido failed to comply with transparency requirements for financial advisors and that he had committed possible campaign finance violations. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and the Michigan Secretary of State both confirmed separate investigations but no official actions were taken against Lucido. Despite the allegations, Lucido was re-elected with 71 percent of the vote.

Lucido decided not to seek a third term in the state House, opting instead to run for the state Senate, seeking the 8th district seat that became vacant by term-limited Republican incumbent Jack Brandenburg. Lucido's only competition for the GOP nominating was former three-term state Rep. Ken Goike. Lucido decisively defeated Goike, taking 72 percent of the vote. Lucido defeated Democratic nominee Paul Francis, taking approximately 62 percent of the vote. Following his election to the State Senate, Lucido was elected majority whip by the Republican Caucus for the 2019-20 legislative session.

Macomb County Prosecutor Election

After a year-long investigation by the Michigan State Police, FBI and the office of the Michigan Attorney General, then-Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith was charged with 10 felonies in Macomb County Circuit Court related to public corruption, including embezzlement. Smith announced his resignation on March 30, 2020, in what was later revealed to be a condition plea negotiations between Smith and federal prosecutors in a separate case.

Smith's resignation threw the race for Macomb County Prosecutor into flux as no candidate had filed to run in the race and Michigan's April 21 deadline for candidates to file to seek a partisan office was just 22 days away at the time of Smith's resignation. Lucido announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination just hours after Smith's resignation was announced. Lucido won the GOP nomination by a wide margin, defeating Richard John Goodman, who served in various roles in Macomb's prosecutor's office for almost for 30 years. His opponent was Democratic nominee Mary Chrzanowski, who had spent 24 years as a circuit court judge in Macomb County. Lucido again outraised his opponent by a massive margin, raising $377,000 to Chrzanowski's $118,000. Lucido criticized Chrzanowski for refusing to debate him with Chrzanowski saying she wouldn't agree to the debate because she said Lucido wanted to choose the debate's moderator saying "...I understood this to mean if Mr. Lucido doesn't get to make the rules, he doesn't want to debate me. In an act of desperation, Mr Lucido is again making up false accusations about me."

Lucido defeated Chrzanowski in the general election with approximately 53 percent of the vote, becoming the first Republican elected to the office since 1944.

Allegations of sexual misconduct

Lucido has been accused of sexual harassment by four different women: journalist Allison Donahue, State Senator Mallory McMorrow, lobbyist Melissa Osborn, and an unnamed employee at his Macomb County government office, where he is Macomb County Prosecutor. He has also been accused of inappropriate touching by Ingham County Judge Lisa McCormick.

In January 2020, Lucido attracted controversy for telling Allison Donahue, a 22-year-old female reporter for the Michigan Advance, that a visiting group of teenage boys from De La Salle Collegiate High School could "have a lot of fun" with her if she were to "hang around" with them. The comment was widely interpreted as an instance of sexual harassment, prompting the Senate Business Office of the State of Michigan to open a sexual harassment investigation against Lucido. The controversy was covered in national and international outlets like The New York Times, Teen Vogue, and the BBC News. Lucido initially agreed that he had made these remarks, apologizing for them but asserting that they were not intended to be disparaging, but later reversed his agreement and alleged that he had been misquoted.

McMorrow stated that Lucido touched her lower back and upper buttocks in November 2018, shortly after she was elected to the state senate, and made comments during a training session that suggested she won her election because of her appearance. Osborn said she was handing out name badges at a lunch for legislators when she felt Lucido's hand on her "lower back/upper butt." She stated that Lucido held his hand there for a long time while complimenting her on her appearance and how the plaid dress she was wearing looked on her. His hand "was placed too low and it was uncomfortable and he just talked about my appearance for an extended period of time, a couple of minutes," Osborn said on "Detroit Today" on WDET-FM. Osborn said, "He was looking me up and down and it was very uncomfortable and demeaning." Osborn stated she decided to come forward because her experience was very similar to that of McMorrow's.

The State Senate investigated the sexual harassment allegations against Lucido. The investigation concluded that Lucido's comments were inappropriate, and as a result Lucido was removed from his committee chairmanship.

Later, Lucido faced renewed controversy over a photo, posted to his own campaign's Facebook page, that shows him with his hand on a woman's behind. Musician Ralphe Armstrong's Facebook page also shared the photo, with a post that said Armstrong and his daughter appeared in the photo with Lucido. Shortly after the photo appeared on Lucido's page, the group Macomb Accountability Project, which opposed Lucido's election, wrote on its Facebook page: "You’d think someone with 4 sexual harassment complaints would watch their hands."

Personal life

Lucido is a licensed attorney and he founded the law firm Lucido & Manzella, P.C. He also founded Macomb Now Magazine. Lucido is Roman Catholic.

Lucido and his wife Ann Marie have two daughters, Briana and Nina, and a son, Peter III. All three children attended the University of Michigan. Nina graduated from Michigan State Law School.

Electoral history

References

1. ^ "Peter Lucido's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
2. Chad Selweski (August 5, 2014). "Grot vs Lucido on the issues". Politically Speaking. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
3. Chad Selweski (July 28, 2014). "Huge sums of cash fuel Lucido, Grot campaigns". Macomb Daily. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
4. Chad Selweski (August 1, 2014). "False endorsements in Grot vs. Lucido House race". Politics Central. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
5. "A New Low In Macomb Politics?". Deadline Detroit. June 1, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
6. Sarah Wojcik (August 6, 2014). "Lucido wins state rep. primary by 103 votes". C&G Newspapers. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
7. Sarah Wojcik (November 5, 2014). "Voters decide on two state representatives, commissioners". C&G Newspapers. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
8. Lena Khzouz (November 4, 2016). "Political opponent questions state representative's securities license status". Macomb Daily. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
9. Lori A. Bourbonais (September 6, 2016). "Young v Lucido Final" (PDF). Michigan Secretary of State Elections Division. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
10. Sarah Wojcik (November 14, 2016). "Voters select state reps, county commissioners". C&G Newspapers. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
11. Neal Rubin (August 3, 2018). "Battles loom for open Michigan Senate seats in Macomb County". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
12. Neal Rubin (August 8, 2018). "Lucido wins state Senate race". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
13. "Michigan Elections Results". Associated Press. November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
14. Mitch Hotts (November 18, 2018). "Two Republican state lawmakers named to leadership roles". Macomb Daily. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
15. Christina Hall (March 24, 2020). "Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith charged with embezzlement, 3 others also charged". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
16. Christina Hall (March 30, 2020). "Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith resigns amid criminal charges against him". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
17. Robert Snell (September 9, 2020). "Ex-Macomb prosecutor Smith to plead guilty to obstructing justice". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
18. "2020 MICHIGAN ELECTION DATES" (PDF). Michigan Department of State Bureau of Elections. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
19. Jameson Cook (March 30, 2020). "Eric Smith resigns as Macomb County prosecutor". Macomb Daily. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
20. Jameson Cook (October 30, 2020). "Former judge, state senator battle to become next Macomb County prosecutor". Macomb Daily. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
21. Jameson Cook (October 14, 2020). "Lucido criticizes Chrzanowski who says prosecutor foe wanted to 'make the rules'". Macomb Daily.
22. Mike Martindale (November 3, 2020). "Lucido triumphs as prosecutor in Macomb County". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
23. Oosting, Jonathan (January 21, 2020). "Senator accuses Lucido of harassment as #MeToo reckoning hits Michigan Capitol". Bridge Michigan. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
24. Laina G. Stebbins (March 28, 2022). "Lucido under investigation for alleged sexual harassment at Macomb Co. office". Detroit Metro Times.
25. KEN COLEMAN (March 22, 2022). "Judge on alleged 'inappropriate' touching by Lucido: 'If I don't speak up, how is anything going to change?'". Michigan Advance.
26. "Michigan senator to female reporter: High school boys could 'have a lot of fun' with you". January 15, 2020.
27. Gibbons, Lauren (January 16, 2020). "Michigan senator being investigated for sexual harassment now alleging report was inaccurate". MLive. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
28. ^ Hauser, Christine (January 16, 2020). "Boys Could Have 'Fun With You,' Michigan Legislator Tells Reporter". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
29. McNamara, Brittney (January 16, 2020). "Young Reporter Allison Donahue Called Out Michigan Senator Peter Lucido for Sexist Comments". Teen Vogue. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
30. "Allison Donahue: US lawmaker Peter Lucido probed for comments to reporter". BBC News. January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
31. Riga, Kate (January 16, 2020). "GOP Michigan State Senator Now Says He Was Misquoted". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
32. Egan, Paul; Gray, Kathleen (January 16, 2020). "Sen. Peter Lucido changes story on sexist remark, now says he was misquoted". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
33. Budryk, Zack (January 26, 2020). "Three women accuse Michigan state lawmaker of sexual harassment".
34. Egan, Paul (January 27, 2020). "Third sexual harassment allegation against Sen. Pete Lucido surfaces". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
35. STEVE CARMODY (March 5, 2020). "State Senate punishes lawmaker after investigation of sexual harassment allegations". michiganradio.org.
36. Mike Martindale and Mark Hicks (August 2, 2021). "Group blasts Macomb County prosecutor Lucido's photo with his hand on woman". The Detroit News.
37. "About Lucido & Manzella, P.C." Lucido Law. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
38. "Meet Senator Lucido". Michigan Senate GOP. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
39. "Peter Lucido's Wife Ann Marie Lucido". Daily Entertainment News. January 15, 2020.
40. "Michigan Legislative Biography: Peter Lucido". Library of Michigan. January 15, 2020.
41. "2014 Michigan Election Results". MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau Of Elections. August 5, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
42. "2014 Michigan Election Results". MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau Of Elections. November 4, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
43. "2016 Michigan Election Results". MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau Of Elections. November 8, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
44. "2018 Michigan Election Results". MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau Of Elections. August 7, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
45. "2018 Michigan Election Results". MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE Bureau Of Elections. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
46. "Election Results". Macomb County Clerk's Office. August 4, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
47. "2020 Election Results". Macomb County Clerk's Office. November 3, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.

• Living people
• 1960 births
• American people of Italian descent
• Macomb Community College alumni
• Oakland University alumni
• Central Michigan University alumni
• Detroit College of Law alumni
• Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives
• Michigan lawyers
• Republican Party Michigan state senators
• Catholics from Michigan
• 21st-century American lawyers
• Politicians from Detroit
• 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature