LANSING — Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth announced his 2020 re-election bid using an Ingham County-funded email system, a move that could run afoul of Michigan campaign finance laws.

Wriggelsworth kicked off the email touting his successes as sheriff. He signed off with a wish:

"My hope is our residents approve of the job WE at the Sheriff’s Office are doing, and will allow me to continue as Sheriff in 2021 and beyond," Wriggelsworth wrote.

The email was sent through an alert system paid for, in part, by Ingham County. In 2017, commissioners agreed to pay up to $28,500 for a year of participation in the Everbridge Mass Communications System, according to a board resolution. The county subcontracted with the city of Lansing for use of the program, the resolution states.

That makes the email system a public resource, said Craig Mauger, executive director of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a nonprofit that studies and provides educational resources about money in politics. Michigan campaign finance law prohibits the use of public funds or resources for campaign activities.

"In general, public resources should not be used for campaign activities," Mauger said. "Sending out a press release about your run for office is a campaign activity."

Wriggelsworth said his re-election announcement was sent only to media outlets and sheriff’s department employees. He defended his use of the alert system, describing his message as an announcement and not as campaign literature.

"I'm the sheriff, and I’m letting the media, the public and my employees know that I intend to remain the sheriff," he said.

"I don’t know how else I would get that message out."

Wriggelsworth said he directed his secretary to write and send the email.

The department does not have a written policy about using the alert system, he said.

“If somebody deems or determines that this was an inappropriate use of county funds or a county system or whatever they say, then I’ll deal with the consequences of that,” he said.

Using county resources in a campaign is a “strict violation” of campaign finance laws, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum said. She defined campaigning as a message that encourages people to support or oppose either a candidate or a ballot measure.

Byrum said candidates often tread close to violating campaign finance law by conflating informational messages with campaign activities. The Michigan Department of State Bureau of Elections investigates complaints of campaign finance violations.

“What I have told candidates is that if there is ever a question, just don’t do it,” she said.

Byrum said she tells candidates not to use county resources, such as email accounts or copy machines, to fundraise or campaign.

“I would presume the sheriff has heard me say something to that effect,” she said.

Wriggelsworth, a Democrat, won the 2016 election for sheriff with more than 57 percent of the vote over Republican contender Eric Trojanowicz.

His campaign kicked off when his father – former Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth – announced he would not seek re-election, and that Scott Wriggelsworth, then a lieutenant with the East Lansing Police Department, would be running for sheriff.

Contact Carol Thompson at (517) 377-1018 or ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.