View Samantha Chatfield's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. Minard and her husband, Rob, have been in the news since January, when their roles as key aides to Chatfield emerged in the wake of accusations that Chatfield had sexually assaulted his sister-in-law. "My whole world was the Chatfield family," said Rebekah, who also attended the school-affiliated Northern Michigan Baptist Bible Church where Rusty Chatfield, her father-in-law, is a pastor. Owen did not return my messages seeking comment. He went on to become the youngest speaker of the House in more than 100 years, according to his biography on the . Racial incident not representative. . "He did not assault this woman in any manner during their years-long adult relationship," the attorney, Mary Chartier, said. Join to apply for the Sales Representative - Earn Over $100k role at SitePro Rentals. LaPorte's firm, Capitol Advocacy Services Group LLC, is a registered lobbyist for other tribal casino operators, including the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, which runs the Odawa casinos in Petoskey and Mackinaw City in Chatfield's district in Emmet and Cheboygan counties. 2023 Representative Information. His current term ends on December 31, 2024. Lee Chatfield. Hauck did not provide additional details about his discussion with Chatfield. More:Ex-House Speaker Lee Chatfield's ties to marijuana industry getting scrutiny from investigators. He was speaker pro tempore from 2017 to 2019, and speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Chatfield's financial activities, while he was a top lawmaker, are now under criminal investigation by Attorney General Dana Nessel's office. Burns also said that Chatfield sometimes used a not-for-profit social welfare organization to pay his monthly rent, which an expert said may run afoul of federal tax laws. Paul Bryan (Newcastle Knights) Xavier Chatfield-Mooka (Sydney Roosters) However, proposed road infrastructure improvements became mired in deadlock, with Chatfield rejecting a proposal by Whitmer to fund road repairs by raising the gas tax by 45 cents. Johnson is a testament to either a fundamental misunderstanding, or a willful and intentional misapplication of appropriate action. That money was used to support Republican candidates with donations of up to $10,000 and, no doubt, generate the kind of goodwill and support that helped Wentworth become speaker in 2021. I don't want to get ahead of myself again so far everyone connected to the Chatfield matter accused of wrongdoing has professed their innocence but I love trials. Chatfield ran to the right of then-Rep. Frank Foster in a Republican primary in 2014 to win his seat in the Michigan House. SOLD JUN 10, 2022. In addition to billing itself as "Michigan's premier bipartisan lobbying firm," GCSI's CEO is married to Orlene Hawks, who Democratic Gov. Plea deals typically only reveal a portion of what law enforcement has learned during an investigation. "When GCSI became available, they approached the tribe, and tribal leadership decided to add additionalhelp to the lobbying efforts," said Tom Shields, a spokesman for the Little River Band. Stephen Mayne sat down with him for this week's Chairman interview - the first of 2018 . Michigan State Police are investigating former state House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) after a woman filed a criminal complaint accusing him of sexually assaulting her over 12 years, beginning when she was 14 or 15 years old, according to police and the complainant's attorney. Rebekah would allegedly stay at Lees home often, and she said the touching began as unwanted gropes in the basement stairwell, eventually progressing to sexual intercourse, she told Bridge. We all have an important role to play in the success of our company. As long-time CFO of Toll Holdings he helped create a transport, logistics and infrastructure powerhouse, but since 2005 he's also been sitting on public company boards which have largely been a great success for shareholders. With trouble at home, she became more dependent on the Chatfield family, who ran that whole church and school that had become essential to her social life, she said. The congressional report on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack lays out how Trump and his allies targeted Michigan in an effort to overturn the election. Explosive allegations about excessive political spending were revealed this week in the ongoing investigation into former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield. Gretchen Whitmer named to lead Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), which is one of the state's largest and most far-reaching government agencies. What's your enquiry about? He was first elected to serve the 107th state House District in 2014. "The bigger issue is the disclosure of all of this spending," state Rep. Gary Howell, R-North Branch, said of Chatfield's travel habits. Trials yield truths like contractor Tony Soave's confession: "It's good to be friends with the mayorof the city where you are working.". Her lawyer, Jamie White, confirmed the nature of the allegations first reported by Lansing City Pulse, including that Chatfield began molesting her more than a decade ago and the sexual contact continued until last year. In 2018, Orlene Hawks, wife of GCSI leader Mike Hawks, was on the arts center's board of directors. Lee, now 33, has not been charged and has vowed to "vigorously fight these false claims." Rebekah tells a much different story. His attorney acknowledged he had a relationship with Rebekah while he was married but said she was mischaracterizing a consensual affair between adults. Chatfield deeply regrets the decisions he has made. My dad was a recovering alcoholic, and so I believe that Lee used those (circumstances) against me and helped take advantage of me. Rebekah and Aaron were engaged in June 2014 and married two months later, according to Bridge. According to the Bridge Michigan report, state law generally sets the age of consent for sex at 16 but it's illegal for a teacher to sexually penetrate a student under the age of 18, though there is a statute of limitations on bringing some charges. MACKINAC ISLAND Investigators have searched the northern Michigan home of former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel confirmed to Bridge Michigan on Wednesday. Thanks for contacting us. The 2017-18 version of the bill passed the Senate but stalled in the House despite Chatfield's advocacy behind the scenes for its passage. Skilled in Cold Calling, Heavy Equipment, Metal Fabrication, Behaviour Based Safety, and Business Relationship Management. "I dont know if we ran out of time or what the real reason was," said Hauck, whose district includes the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe's Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant. Paquette said he privately clashed with Chatfield about his approach to leadership and cozy interactions with lobbyists. If the attorney general's affidavit is accurate, Chatfield also funded his lavish lifestyle with money from people who wanted to make friends with one of the most powerful elected officials in Michigan. Mary Chartier, Chatfield's attorney, said the claims of rape are false and he is innocent. I dont remember how I asked, I just remember saying, Is something going on between you and Lee?. [3] Chatfield and the Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey both repeatedly clashed with Whitmer over issues such as the state budget, road funding, auto insurance legislation, and criminal justice legislation. The salary range is from $54,001 to $81,085. The lobbying firm that now represents the center is Public Strategies Group, which Chatfield's former chief of staff, Minard, launched after leaving the Legislature at the end of 2020. In a joint statement, Hawks and GCSI lobbyists and co-owners Kirk Profit and Barb Farrah said their firm prides itself on "the highest level of professionalism and ethical conduct when it comes to advocating" for its clients. LANSING State Rep. Jason Wentworth of Clare will be the new speaker of the House, Republican lawmakers announced Thursday. GCSI and LaPorte didn't list the Little River Band among its clients on state reports, but did disclose Scofes and Associates as a client in 2020. Hawks and his wife, Orlene Hawks, the director of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, hosted Chatfield on at least two occasions at their summer home in the upscale resort community of Bay Harbor, according to a source familiar with the Chatfield-Hawks relationship who was not authorized to speak because of an ongoing criminal investigation. Hauck said he urged the speaker not to go forward with the resolution. That's unfortunate, because elected officials have an obligation to speak out on important matters, such as whether we can trust them and their staff unless the official thinks there's a chance he someday will have to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Representative Chatfield and other House Republican supporters believe the bill would increase economic development by keeping money in family's pockets. Soave testified that Hizzoner didn't pay a dime for the flights, which added up to about $400,000. In exploring the links between Chatfield and GCSI, The News also learned Chatfield won a $1 million appropriation for a Petoskey-area performing arts center whose board members at the time included the wife of GCSI CEO and co-owner Mike Hawks. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy discovered that after 10 years or a 3% reduction rate Representative Chatfield's legislation would save families who earn $0-$21k only 56 dollars a year and families that make $39k to $62k . "Lee and I probably work more closely together than any other legislator and I know from working with him on tribal issues in the past he is very responsive to the tribal values and sovereignty," LaPorte wrote. In 2018, Chatfield attempted to bring a loaded, unregistered handgun onto a commercial flight at Pellston Regional Airport. [20] During his tenure in the Michigan House, Chatfield had opposed such an expansion, which he viewed as an infringement on religious freedom. Rebekah claimed the assaults began when she was 15 or 16 years old at Northern Michigan Christian Academy, a private school in Burt Lake where Lee taught and coached soccer before he launched his political career. He destroyed me, and has controlled my life since I was 15-16, the past 10-11 years, she said. Become a subscriber. If they follow the trail where it appears to be leading, investigators could expose the incestuous relationship between the deep-pocketed individuals, industries and special interests who provide the money that gets candidates elected, that helps ambitious politicians rise to power, that shapes regulations and legislation, and that pays for the expensive suits and hairdos of the lobbyists who practice the alchemy that passes for public policy in one of the most ethically challenged states in the nation. (Photo by Michigan House Republicans) While police launched an investigation, reporters began digging into Chatfield's campaign accounts. Chatfield was term limited from office in 2020. Paul Chatfield, another younger brother who also worked with Lee in politics, said he believes Lee engaged in inappropriate behavior with Rebekah but questions her timeline. So he would manipulate me, he would mess with my emotions.". Right now, we have more questions than answers. The woman who accused former Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield of multiple sexual assaults since she was a teenager was revealed to be his own sister-in-law. Since no one has accused Wentworth of wrongdoing, it would seem there's no good reason for him to clam up when one of his employees has given us reason to wonder whether state government is corrupt. The psychological abuse wore her down, she said, and she stopped resisting. Opinion: I'm a Michigan lawmaker. And he walked out., After Rebekah and Aaron were married, the affair allegedly continued while the two went off to separate colleges. His father is pastor of the church, the school superintendent and a teacher. But it's a bit more understandable since they appear to be in the crosshairs of an epic investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing. Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said at some point Chatfield changed his position. Chatfield won the primary and the general election . Getting to the bottom of Chatfield's relationship with GCSI has the potential to get messy. Nearby homes similar to 1370 Chatfield Pl have recently sold between $252K to $362K at an average of $235 per square foot. But on Feb. 25, 2021, about two months after Chatfield left office, the House approved a symbolic resolution in opposition to off-reservation gaming. It's important to note that search warrant affidavits contain what investigators think they can prove if a judge authorizes a search warrant. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. 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