ICYMI: The Detroit News Slams Jocelyn Benson’s Lack of Transparency

Lansing, MI – Yesterday, Kaitlyn Buss of The Detroit News released an editorial detailing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s transparency problems. Benson, who is running for governor on a platform of transparency and efficiency, has had a history of being less than upfront with the public on key issues, as Buss points out:

“There’s a rich irony at the center of Jocelyn Benson’s campaign for governor.

The Democratic frontrunner promising to clean up Lansing’s gray areas has a record of operating squarely within them herself.”

Buss went on to mention Benson’s ties to controversial data center projects through her husband, Ryan Friederichs: 

“As Michigan debates a wave of massive data center projects — developments that carry enormous implications for land use, energy consumption and taxpayer-backed incentives — Benson has positioned herself as a voice for stricter safeguards and public accountability.

Yet her husband, Ryan Friedrichs, is a vice president at Related Companies, whose affiliate has been involved in the controversial Washtenaw County project.”

Buss also mentioned Benson’s colossal failure with the state’s transparency website, which cost taxpayers $9 million:

“Benson's $9 million online transparency portal has been widely criticized for making campaign finance and disclosure data harder, not easier, for the public to use. Upon its rollout, Neil Thenadar of the Campaign Finance Network called it: ‘a failure at every level.’”

You can read the whole piece here.

“Jocelyn Benson is now campaigning on transparency, but for seven years she’s been anything but transparent,” said Gabe Butzke, a spokesperson for Michigan Forward Network. “From her family’s ties to state projects to campaigning in government buildings, Benson has repeatedly shown that she has no interest in playing fair.”