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Hostile, hiding, and paranoid: Macomb Co. clerk's first days in office

Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger
Macomb Daily

It's been a bumpy first few months in office for new Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds Karen Spranger and her staff.

Last night, the county ethics board met to discuss ethics complaints filed by a former top aide, someone Spranger fired shortly after taking office.

The meeting ended with a $100 fine against Spranger for an ethics violations, a fine she intends to appeal.

But that is just scratching the surface of what's happened since Spranger was elected last November.
Long-time Macomb County reporter Chad Selweski joined Stateside to try to make sense of everything that has happened in Spranger's first three months in office. 

According to Selweski, in addition to the ethics violations, and the firing of two of her top aides, the laundry list of drama with Spranger is lengthy. It started with Spranger getting elected despite her lack of political experience, followed by reports of her creating a "hostile work environment," and the belief that other politicians are out to "ruin" her.

The incident that got the most attention recently was when she hid inside a bathroom to avoid a reporter trying to interview her. After retreating down six flights of stairs, she still refused to answer questions. One of her aides then called 911 because she was being "harassed" by a flock of reporters.

In reality it was one reporter. (She was in a public building at the time, and since she is a public official, a reporter has the right to ask for comments)

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