Committee Looking Into Lawmakers Fates–Gamrat Staying Put

A special House committee formed to determine if State Representatives Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat are fit to stay in office wrapped up its first hearing Tuesday.

It was a short one too, only lasting five minutes.

State Representative Ed McBroom chairs the committee and says they’re tasked with determining if the two can still serve their constituents and if the public trust is intact.

He says the state constitution doesn’t lay out a threshold for either so it will be up to committee members to make that determination.

McBroom says more hearings will be scheduled over the next week or two, although he doesn’t expect any more hearings to happen this week.

According to a report released Monday by the Michigan House, Courser and Gamrat had their staffers cover up their affair and do political work on state time.

Courser, in a 4,000 plus word email sent Monday night, questioned whether the hearings would be fair.

McBroom pledged the committee will operate in the utmost fairness.

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Embattled State Representative Cindy Gamrat, who faces possible expulsion from the Michigan House for allegedly misusing taxpayer resources, says voters should decide her fate – not a House panel.

Gamrat made the statement after the panel’s first hearing Tuesday.
Gamrat, who sat in the back of the House Appropriations Committee hearing room, says she attended the hearing to let lawmakers know she wants to be part of the solution moving forward.

Asked by reporters after the hearing if she feels betrayed by State Representative Todd Courser, Gamrat says she won’t comment on his actions.  The two had an affair.

According to a report released Monday by the House, Courser and Gamrat had staffers cover up their affair and do political work on state time.