DETROIT — Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido may have violated Michigan campaign finance laws when he distributed a newsletter from his office to county employees that contained a link to his campaign website, according to the Michigan Secretary of State, though Lucido still claims the allegations against him are false.

In a letter sent to Lucido and his attorney Andrea Hansen Oct. 17, Bureau of Elections regulatory attorney James Biehl wrote that there is sufficient evidence to show Lucido potentially violated campaign finance laws. Michigan Department of State Press Secretary Sam May confirmed the department's finding Tuesday.

"Pete Lucido sent a newsletter from his public email address that linked to his campaign website," Biehl wrote. "While the monetary cost of comingling public and campaign emails may be minimal the impact can be a significant advantage for campaign purposes. Additionally, public resources are used to maintain an email list and contact individuals that may not be on an email list for Pete Lucido's campaign."

Candidates running for office cannot use state- or county-funded resources to campaign, according to Michigan law. Lucido, a Republican, is running for a second term as Macomb County prosecutor and faces Democrat Christina Hines in November.

Lucido's attorney, Andrea Hansen, said in her response to the Department of State that the link was inadvertently included in the newsletter and has been corrected.

Lucido said in a statement Monday that a county employee accidentally sent out a newsletter several years ago with an image that had a "non-visible link" to Lucido's campaign website. Lucido said Mark Brewer, an attorney and former chair of the Michigan Democratic Party who submitted the complaint to the state in April, "falsely claimed that I violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act."

"From the beginning, this entire matter was nothing more than a desperate attempt by Mr. Brewer to weaponize the State's campaign finance regulations for generating negative media coverage about my re-election campaign," Lucido wrote in an emailed statement. "The (Department of State) found no evidence that this communication was deliberately used for campaign purposes, but apparently the department wants more information about this matter which I am glad to provide."

Biehl, meanwhile, said sufficient evidence has been presented to support a finding of a potential violation of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. He asked Lucido to contact the department to begin the informal resolution process.

If the issue cannot be resolved, the matter could go to the Attorney General's office for criminal penalty or to a hearing for a civil violation, according to the letter.

Biehl said there was no evidence that county employees were conducting campaign activities while working on county time, which is another issue Brewer brought up in his April complaint against Lucido.

Brewer said the Department of State's finding is a "great victory" for Macomb County taxpayers "who shouldn’t have to subsidize Lucido’s political campaigns."

“Lucido is finally being held accountable for his blatant and continuing violations of the Michigan Campaign Finance Act," Brewer wrote in a press release. "This decision also prevents a major loophole from being opened up in the law: If he had been allowed to do this, any elected official could include a link to her or his campaign website in every email they sent.”

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