Under scrutiny from a GOP-led House committee, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson defended her department’s management of a new campaign finance tracking system. The system, which came with a hefty $9 million price tag, has faced criticism for technical glitches and poor functionality, according to Fox 2 Detroit. Benson denied mismanagement, emphasizing the challenges of transitioning 24 million records from a 25-year-old system to a modern one. “One of the things we should have done is at the outset, was make sure the people understood the challenges we were going to face,” Benson told the committee.
The friction between Benson and House Republicans appeared to intensify as GOP committee chair Jay DeBoyer accused Benson of botching the request for proposal process. “When you spend $9 million you better darn be sure that your RFP spells out everything that needs to be done,” DeBoyer stated in a House oversight committee hearing, as reported by Fox 2 Detroit. The back-and-forth set an adversarial tone during a hearing that was partly overshadowed by Benson’s gubernatorial ambitions.
Benson touted corrective measures to address the reported issues, such as a new “go live” approval process, additional project management support, and a $166,000 refund from the vendor due to system downtime. The refund amount, revealed during the hearing, was previously undisclosed, as detailed in her updates to the House committee. These updates reflect the department’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the midst of the ongoing technical challenges, as mentioned by Michigan Advance.
Amid questions about the system’s functionality, Benson noted that her department was committed to continuous improvement, even though the new system debuted with flaws, including data lag and site issues reminiscent of the old system. “Transformational change does not happen easily. It is the harder path. But just because things are hard and difficult at first doesn’t mean we run away or sit on our hands and do nothing,” Benson stated during her testimony, as noted by WCMU Radio.
The political drama also touched on a separate but related issue when GOP committee chair Jay DeBoyer grilled Benson over a campaign finance law violation concerning her gubernatorial campaign announcement. Despite not being subject to civil or criminal penalties by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, Benson acknowledged the violation and expressed a desire to be treated like any other candidate in Michigan, as per a report by Michigan Advance. The committee’s interaction with Benson is part of a broader context that includes ongoing litigation between House Republicans and the secretary of state over election materials, as stated by WCMU Radio.
