LANSING, Mich. – For the second time state Sen. Pete Lucido has been hit with a claim of sexual harassment.
This time, it’s a fellow state senator making that claim. Royal Oak Democrat Sen. Mallory McMorrow said Lucido made the comments during orientation over a year ago. Lucido vehemently denies the claim.
Lucido faced scrutiny last week for a comment he allegedly made to Michigan Advance reporter Alison Donahue. Donahue said Lucido made comments to her in front of a group of students from the all boys’ Warren De La Salle High School. She said she was asked to "hang around. You could have fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you.”
READ: Michigan lawmaker tells female reporter teenage boys ‘could have a lot of fun with you’
McMorrow delivered a complaint to the Senate Business Office, claiming Lucido sexually harassed her right after they attended Senate sexual harassment training in November 2018.
“I walked over to introduce myself to Pete Lucido who put his hand on my lower back and held it there and made a comment and asked who I had run against. I said, ‘I beat my opponent.’ He looked me up and down and said, ‘I can see why,’" she said.
In her complaint she said the senator’s fingers were grazing her “hip and upper rear.”
“It was degrading and deflating and surprising to be the first interaction with somebody," she said.
“I categorically deny this claim. It is politically motivated,” Lucido said. “I am a person of optimism, a 60-year-old sent to Lansing to do the people’s work. It’s getting more difficult to do.”
McMorrow said she didn’t say anything about the incident because she was new to Lansing. She said Donahue’s encounter with Lucido gave her courage to come forward.
“I was shocked and disgusted and I called my husband as soon as I got into the car to go home and said, ‘You will not believe what happened today.' And I think he was more upset than I was,” she said.
I work with and know some truly wonderful and supportive people. To everyone who reached out today, thank you. And to those who reached out to share your own stories, I hear you and am with you.
— Sen. Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) January 21, 2020