Ex-Lawmaker Whitmer Named Interim Ingham County Prosecutor
LANSING, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A former high-ranking state lawmaker will serve as Ingham County prosecutor for six months once the current prosecutor resigns over charges that he hired prostitutes.
Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat from East Lansing, was appointed by the county's circuit judges Wednesday. She will succeed Stuart Dunnings III, who's resigning effective July 2 after being charged in March with paying for sex, including with a woman who wanted help in a child custody dispute.
Attorney General Bill Schuette said Dunnings is facing felony charges related to prostitution — something that allegedly went on for nearly five years
The 63-year-old has been prosecutor in Ingham County, the home of Michigan's state capital, for nearly 20 years.
Voters will elect a permanent prosecutor in November. Whitmer, who isn't running, says she's honored to help restore people's trust in the prosecutor's office.
Whitmer served in the Legislature for 14 years, including as Senate minority leader from 2011 through 2014. The 44-year-old lawyer has been mentioned as a potential future gubernatorial or attorney general candidate.
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