LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Some state legislators are calling upon the passage of bills that would require heightened fiscal transparency for the Legislature as the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee has several potential conflicts of interest regarding her position and lobbying groups in the state. 

The Detroit News broke a story revealing that Chairwoman and Representative Angela Witwer (D-Delta Township), has maintained recent affiliation with the firm Edge Partnerships, which works for some of the state’s largest trade associations, and has demonstrated at least once using her legislative position to help a firm client access policymakers. 

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Michigan News Source independently discovered and confirmed with a source at the State Capitol that one of Rep. Witwer’s  Legislative Staffers is the daughter of Edge Partnership co-founder & current CEO Lorri Rishar.  Social media also corroborates that they are mother and daughter. 

According to Facebook, Rep. Witwer’s Legislative Aide, Sophia Rishar, is the daughter of Edge Partnerships CEO Lorri Rishar.  Sophia Rishar also listed her job title on Facebook as beginning in 2019, when in January Rep. Witwer began her first term in the House. 

Rep. Witwer listed herself as a “member” and the “resident agent” of Edge Partnerships in a filing with the state as recently as February 2022, later citing she was an “owner” of the public relations business in her own campaign finance disclosures in October.  She still has familial ties connected to the company as her daughter, Danielle Lenz, is presently the Vice President of Edge Partnerships, serves as a “project manager as well as assist Lorri with public relations strategy implementation,” according to Edge Partnerships.  

Lenz was listed as the contractor for an agreement between the firm and the Michigan Department of Education which initially approved the contract in 2020 to have the public relations firm help put on events for the department’s Office of Career and Technical Education. The deal was extended this past May through June 2024, and increased its value by $101,400- making the total contract worth $435,561 according to the Detroit News. 

Edge Partnerships CEO Rishar and David Haddad, chairman of the Michigan Film Industry Association, were guests of Rep. Witwer for the Governor’s State of the State Address and joined her in a separate House Floor speech, granting the Film Association – a client of Edge – access to state legislators as it was pushing for taxpayer incentives for the film industry according to the Detroit News. 

Representative Witwer responded to the Detroit News in a statement ahead of the weekend stating that she was no longer an owner of the company but did not address whether she had severed financial ties with it. 

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“I want to make clear that since running for office, I removed myself from the operations and management of the business,” Witwer wrote. “There are multiple business people in the state Legislature, in addition to many other careers represented on both sides of the aisle.” 

Several members of the Michigan Legislature, including Rep. Mike Harris (R-Clarkston) weighed in on the controversy. 

“Public servants have a duty to serve the people of our state and keep any personal interests from interfering with the people’s work, but House Democrats won’t even hold a hearing on the Republican plan to require financial disclosure and fulfill the will of Michigan voters enshrined in our state constitution,” Rep. Harris said. “Michiganders deserve a more open and accountable government. We laid out a plan to make our state government more transparent and hold officials accountable to ethics rules. Democrats should stop stonewalling reform and help clean up our government for the people of Michigan.”

Vice Chairman of the House Ethics and Oversight Committee and Representative Tom Kunse (R-Clare) commented on the conflicts of interest involving Rep. Witwer. 

“The tangled web woven by Rep. Witwer is unethical and wrong,” he said. “Legislators are elected to make decisions that help the people they serve – not to boost their own personal business interests.” 

Rep. Kunse also acknowledged this may have been avoided if his previous legislation had passed. 

“This is the exact type of situation I wanted to prevent through the financial disclosure plan my Republican colleagues and I introduced earlier this year,” he added. “Sadly, the Democrat majority has refused to hold a hearing on our bills, despite the constitutional amendment adopted by voters last year to require financial disclosure forms for legislators.” 

The House Ethics Committee has not taken up any of the new legislation this session. 

“If the ethics committee we proposed were already in place it could provide important clarity,” Rep. Kunse said. “The revelations surrounding Rep. Witwer prove this is an issue that warrants immediate attention. I urge the Democrats in control to take swift action and bring our plan up for a vote.”