Nassar scandal drives interest in Michigan State University board election

EAST LANSING – The Larry Nassar scandal at Michigan State University and the university's much-maligned response to victims' concerns is driving up interest in two MSU board seats up for election this fall, political party officials said. 

This year's election is the first since MSU and its board came under broad public criticism and multiple state and federal investigations for the way officials responded to years of sex assault allegations against Nassar, a former university doctor.  

The university is being sued by nearly 300 women and girls — many of whom are current and former MSU students and most of whom were MSU patients — who say Nassar assaulted them and the university failed to protect them.  

More:Michigan State Faculty Senate calls on entire Board of Trustees to resign

The ensuing scandal led to the resignation of MSU's president, Lou Anna Simon, and many Nassar victims, MSU students and MSU employees have called for all of the trustees to resign. Many criticized the board's decision to replace Simon with former Republican Michigan governor John Engler. 

Against that backdrop, interest in the MSU board race has increased "exponentially," Brandon Dillon, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, said last week. While the party has typically heard from no more than a handful of politically connected potential candidates at this time of year, Dillon said his office has fielded inquiries from "well over a dozen" people interested in the seats.  

And "this is really much more organic" than past elections, he said. "People are coming forward from all walks of life, some with a lot of political experience, some with a little, all with a desire to make some real changes at Michigan State." 

The eight-member university board is currently split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. Voters this fall will replace two Republican trustees, Brian Breslin and Mitch Lyons, both whom will see their terms end this year and have said they will not seek reelection. 

Nassar was first publicly accused in 2016, but the scandal erupted in January, when when international news outlets broadcast the tearful and impassioned victim impact statements of more than 150 women and girls during Nassar's sentencing in Ingham County. 

Since then, 10 people — nine Democrats and one Republican — have formed fundraising committees to campaign for the MSU board, according to Secretary of State records.  

But that number could grow — or shrink — before ballots are finalized. Unlike most other partisan positions, MSU board candidates are chosen not in primaries but at party conventions. Most of those conventions won't happen for weeks, and candidates can throw their hat in the ring as late as the day of the convention.  

"People are interested in running because they care about MSU and feel like they can help right the ship and restore the reputation, but haven't pulled the trigger yet to file for the convention race," Sarah Anderson, spokeswoman for the Michigan Republican Party, said in an email to the State Journal. 

The Green Party of Michigan is seeing "greatly increased interest" in the MSU election, party Chairman Paul Homeniuk said in an emailed statement.  

That's not only because of Nassar himself, "but also a sense that the board and administration equates looking out for the college with strictly financial stability and doesn't seem to understand that students are actually the foundation of the university," he said.  

Perhaps emblematic of that sentiment is the fact that Amanda Thomashow, a former MSU student whose story has become a rallying cry for the university's critics, is among those to have publicly expressed interest in the board race. 

More:She reported Nassar in 2014. Now she might run for Michigan State trustee.

Thomashow reported Nassar to MSU officials in 2014. The university cleared Nassar after an internal investigation and told Thomashow she misunderstood a legitimate medical procedure. But in a separate, secret report to university administrators, investigators warned that Nassar's actions put MSU at risk of being sued. Nassar remained at MSU until Rachael Denhollander made the first public accusations against him in 2016. 

More:2014 Title IX report on Larry Nassar was MSU's only report in 3 years with 2 versions

Teri Lyn Bernero, a public school teacher and principal who is now director of the Lansing Schools' Pathway Promise and its HOPE/Promise Scholarship Programs, also has announced her candidacy as a Democrat. She is married to former Lansing mayor Virg Bernero, who ran as a Democrat for governor in 2010 and lost to Republican Rick Snyder.

Scandal infused with politics  

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The MSU scandal has been infused with politics since the cable news crews visited Nassar's sentencing hearing early this year.  

Last summer, many lawmakers told the State Journal they may be unable to address MSU's failings because the university is granted separate powers through the state constitution. After the January sentencing hearing, however, the state House launched an investigation and a large package of bills is now under consideration.  

From the archives:Lawmakers watching Nassar case, but their hands may be tied

More:Nassar victims want sex abuse laws adopted. Lawmakers have concerns.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette — whose office is investigating MSU and recently charged Nassar's boss with sex crimes — is running for governor this year. He also has past political ties to Engler. Both Schuette and Engler have said that relationship won't affect the investigation and Engler has publicly criticized Schuette for making a TV spectacle of the investigation.  

Related:Will the Larry Nassar, Stuart Dunnings cases affect the race for Michigan governor?

More:Shri Thanedar says AG should investigate how Whitmer handled Nassar allegations

From the archives:Conflicts in Michigan State investigation lead Lt. Gov. Brian Calley to call for new law

Still, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, one of Schuette's opponents in the Republican primary, said the potential conflicts of interest showed a need for a change in state law. 

In the Democratic primary for governor, former state senator Gretchen Whitmer has been criticized by her opponents for not doing more against Nassar when she served a six-month stint as Ingham County prosecutor in 2016. Whitmer said her office was mostly uninvolved in the case, which was prosecuted by Schuette's office because it crossed county lines. 

The leaders of third parties — whose candidates gained record votes in the 2016 race — are hoping those conflicts will help their candidates stand out in the MSU race. 

"This is a scandal that occurred over many years, under the oversight of a board populated by both Democrats and Republicans ... They know they will have very little credibility when speaking to voters about addressing the scandal," Bill Hall, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Michigan, said in an email to the State Journal. "Libertarian Party candidates won't have that problem." 

Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHinkley. Sign up for his email newsletter, SoM Weekly, at on.lsj.com/somsignup.