Calley: Schuette only worked 104 full days in 8-year span

Paul Egan | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Calley: Schuette only worked 104 full days There's too much blank space on Attorney General Bill Schuette's daily calendar, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley charged Tuesday.

LANSING — There's too much blank space on Attorney General Bill Schuette's daily calendar, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley charged Tuesday.

Calley, who used the Michigan Freedom of Information Act to obtain Schuette's daily calendar from when Schuette took office in 2011 to July of this year, calculated that Schuette worked only 104 full eight-hour days during that nearly eight-year period.

"About half the days are 90 minutes or less," Calley said at a news conference at his campaign headquarters in downtown Lansing.

"I think this is unprecedented. I can't imagine another public official having a work schedule this blank."

But Calley refused to immediately release his own daily calendar for his nearly eight years as lieutenant governor, which are not subject to FOIA because he is part of the executive office, which is exempt. Calley said he favors making the governor's office subject to FOIA and will soon release statistics about his daily calendar activities, but "if I release my schedule, I'm releasing a bunch of other people's schedules at the same time."

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley on fixing Michigan's roads. Lt. Gov. Brian Calley, one of four Republican candidates for governor, describes his plan for improving Michigan roads.

Calley acknowledged that it's possible the AG was working on state business during periods when no appointment was listed on his schedule, but said there were too many large blank areas for that to account for what happened most days. He said he counted a full day as one in which the first item listed and the last item listed covered eight hours, even if there was ample blank space in between. But if a day counted an appointment at 9 a.m. and another at 2 p.m. and had nothing else listed, he would not count that as a full work day, he said.

"It's a total joke," said Stu Sandler, a spokesman for a pro-Schuette Super PAC. "Just looking at a calendar doesn't tell you what a person's day is. Not everything is on the calendar," and "Schuette is one of the hardest-working political officials in the country."

Bill Schuette on fixing Michigan roads Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican candidate for governor, outlines his plan for improving Michigan's crumbling roads.

Sandler noted Calley, who is paid $111,510 as lieutenant governor, got his master's degree at Harvard in Boston while serving as lieutenant governor.

"Brian Calley won’t release his calendar because Calley is stealing from the taxpayers for his own personal benefit," Sandler said.

It was the latest attack by Calley on Schuette, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for governor, who is paid $112,410 as attorney general.

More: Prosecutor, lawyer involved in Schuette complaint host party for Whitmer

More: Snyder: Referral to FBI of complaint about AG Schuette 'a serious matter'

Calley has also harshly criticized Schuette for using state employees to witness and notarize private real estate transactions and for stacking civil service positions in his state office with Republican campaign operatives in advance of his run for governor, as first reported by the Free Press in December.

Calley said Tuesday he is sure Schuette has been working hard, just not on the people's business.

"He was either doing things personally or doing things politically," Calley said.

Schuette spokeswoman Andrea Bitely said Schuette "has been on duty 24/7 since he took the oath of office."

"He runs an office that manages 40,000 cases a year and has spent days, night and weekends putting predators like (former MSU sports doctor) Larry Nassar behind bars when no one else did, stopping scam artists from harming Michigan seniors, helping kids stand up to bullying with the OK2SAY initiative, recovering $252,567,153 in back child support payments, and so much more," Bitely said.

Sandler said the attacks by Calley are a sign of desperation as the Aug. 7 primary draws near. He also accused Calley of working with the Democratic campaign of Gretchen Whitmer, a former Senate minority leader.

Michigan November Election Voter Guide Michigan's general election is on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Use the Free Press' voter guide to learn about the candidates in races up and down the ballot in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties



Type in your ZIP code to learn about races that will be on your ballot.

Can't see the address field? Click here. iframe not supported.

"Yesterday I sent a message that the Calley lies were coming and Calley’s press conference is just that," Sandler said in an email sent Tuesday, in advance of Calley's news conference.

"Brian Calley worked to undermine Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump in October 2016, so it’s not surprising Calley is willing to work with Democrats to try and undermine Bill Schuette ..."

Sen. Patrick Colbeck of Canton and Dr. Jim Hines, a Saginaw-area physician, are also seeking the Republican nomination for governor.

Michigan Democrats didn't try to hide their pleasure with the fight between two GOP state officials.

“We’re glad Bill Schuette and Brian Calley are finally recognizing that neither of them have been doing their jobs," said Brandon Dillon, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party.

"Of course, you don’t need to look any further than our declining schools, crumbling roads, and ongoing water crisis to know Republicans in Lansing have been a failure for the past 8 years.”

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.