Sen. Lucido doesn't discuss reporter exchange, cites fact-finding process

State Sen. Peter Lucido returned to Macomb County on Friday for a coffee hour to face constituents and others for the first time since a female Capitol reporter accused him of making sexist remarks to her in front of a group of high school boys — remarks Lucido apologized for before backtracking and saying he was misquoted.

And things got heated quickly as talk turned to the swirling Capitol controversy.

An argument started off the event when a Washington Township man and a Clarkston woman yelled at each other at the beginning of the 90-minute meeting at the Washington Township Activity Center that was attended by about 50 people.

Roger Van Pamel said he feels "sorry for this girl" — Michigan Advance reporter Allison Donahue — and said that there were only a couple of options for why she would make such claims against Lucido, including to "bolster her career." Van Pamel continued: "if she needs help, I'll donate ... Let's go in and get this girl help."

Kara Sprague then stood up and yelled, pointing at Lucido: "This woman was harassed .... this woman was harassed by this man. He has no business treating women that way."

Lucido, R-Shelby Township, asked attendees to instead focus on issues affecting the state — which they did, for the most part afterward — and said he couldn't speak on the exchange with Donahue because it is under a fact-finding process in the Senate.

Lucido answered media questions about the exchange after the event, which included questions about road funding, auto insurance, cuts to Pure Michigan ads and the "green ooze" on I-696 in Oakland County.

"I don't wanna not talk, I want to. But at this point, there's Senate rules that are in place. I did as much talking as I did. My statements are recorded. My statements are out there," Lucido said. "And at the end of the day, I did apologize to her. My apologies did stand.

"If it was something that she can accept, I'd appreciate it," he continued. "If there's more that I have to, she can communicate it through the Senate. At this point here, I've been on the record already."

"I'm sorry this all occurred," said Lucido, then saying to a TV reporter that the reporter, in all these years, never had to interview him except about all of the "good things I've done for this state."

"It's unfortunate, but we have to move forward. I'm hoping they conclude the fact-finding quickly and efficiently," Lucido said, adding there is no time frame for that process.

When asked why Lucido apologized if he thought Donahue was misquoting him, Lucido said: "If there was a misstatement or if there was a misunderstanding of what was believed, I did my best to do what I had to do, which was, if I offended you, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry. I told her that."

The Michigan Advance reported on a Tuesday exchange between Lucido and Donahue outside the Senate chamber when he was surrounded by male students from his alma mater, De La Salle Collegiate, a Catholic high school in Warren.

Donahue tried to question Lucido.

"You’ve heard of De La Salle, right?” the Michigan Advance quoted Lucido as asking Donahue, who is 22.

When Donahue said she had not, Lucido said: “It’s an all-boys school,” adding: “You should hang around — you could have a lot of fun with these boys, or they could have a lot of fun with you.”

The students then burst into laughter, the online publication reported.

More: Sen. Peter Lucido changes story on sexist remark, now says he was misquoted

Lucido was asked twice during a Wednesday morning telephone interview by the Free Press whether he had been misquoted. He twice said he was not denying the quotes attributed to him, but he felt they were being taken out of context and out of proportion.

He also did not claim to have been misquoted when he issued what he called an apology for a misunderstanding later on Wednesday morning.

“I apologize for the misunderstanding yesterday (Tuesday) and for offending Allison Donahue," Lucido said in the statement, issued midmorning through the Senate GOP and Lucido's Twitter account.

But late Wednesday, after Senate leaders announced an investigation into his conduct, Lucido told both WDIV-TV (Channel 4) and the Washington Post that the quotes attributed to him by the Michigan Advance were not accurate. He also said he was misquoted during a Thursday morning radio interview with host Paul W. Smith on WJR-AM (760).

"I said, 'We're going on the (Senate) floor to have some fun; you're welcome to join us,' " Lucido told Channel 4.

Lucido told WJR he was about to take the students onto the Senate floor to learn about government when Donahue requested the interview and told her she could either come along with them or wait about 30 minutes outside the Senate chamber.

"I want to bring them on the floor; you're welcome to come and join us," Lucido said he told Donahue. "You're welcome to have some fun with us."

Susan Demas, editor-in-chief of Michigan Advance, said it stands by the story and that Lucido's changing story shows he "is lying."

Lucido, who is married with three children, told the crowd in northern Macomb County on Friday that he has learned, moving forward, "that every word that you say — every word — no matter if you say the word fun, you say the word run or sun, it's gonna be taken or interpreted, so you're gonna be very careful on every word you choose."

One woman in the audience told Lucido that it is important that he set an example.

"I hope I get a chance. I hope I get a chance to set a better example," he said.

More: Michigan senator to female reporter: High school boys could 'have a lot of fun' with you

Staff writers Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray contributed to this report.

Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.