LANSING, MI (WHTC) – The state House General Counsel has recommended that Representative Todd Courser be expelled and to censure Representative Cindy Gamrat “with severe conditions.”
Brock Swartzle didn’t say what those conditions should be as he testified before a Select Committee to Examine the Qualifications of Representatives Cindy Gamrat and Todd Courser. An adulterous affair between the two freshmen Republicans was exposed last month with allegations that they were involved in a scheme to cover it up that violated chamber rules.
Swartzle’s recommendation about Courser’s expulsion was in keeping with the sentiment made by House Speaker Kevin Cotter following a House Business Office probe into the matter. Swartzle is also Cotter’s chief of staff.
Both lawmakers have admitted the affair but have resisted calls from both sides of the political aisle for their resignations. Gamrat, from Plainwell, addressed the committee before Swartzle’s testimony, apologized for her actions and asked for censure, an action that she said she would accept.
The panel, chaired by Vulcan Republican Ed McBroom, was scheduled to hold three meetings this week with the reported intention of making its recommendation to Cotter and the House floor by the middle of September.
Gamrat is holding office hours in Fennville today from 6:15 until 7 p.m. at Fennville City Hall before speaking before the Fennville City Council. It will be her first public meeting with constitutes since the scandal broke.
