I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
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Lansing mayoral candidates, from left, Virgil Bernero, Carol Wood and Charles Ford. (Photo by Todd A. Heywood/Michigan Messenger)
LANSING — Mayoral candidates Charles Ford and Carol Wood, who are both trying to unseat incumbent Virgil Bernero, say city officials should press for an investigation into the release of a man’s HIV-positive status by the city attorney earlier this month.
“If some one on my staff were to divulge confidential information like that, I’d do my own investigation,” said Ford, a Lansing School Board member. “I wouldn’t need an attorney general investigation.”
Ford, an attorney by trade, said the city has an obligation to investigate, or it could open itself up to greater liability if a civil case were brought.
Ford declined to say whether he believed an investigation by the Michigan attorney general was necessary, something the Michigan Department of Community Health is urging.
Carol Wood, an at-large city council member, said she supports the call for an investigation by the attorney general.
“If an issue like this came up I would want to the know the who, what, why, where and how,” said Wood. “If that meant asking someone to come in, I would ask.”
The issue is the result of the city of Lansing releasing police reports from a May 22 undercover sex sting operation targeting men having sex in a local nature center. After a protracted battle over releasing the documents, the city released them in early July. Contained in one of the police reports was the HIV status of one of the two men arrested.
Observers contend releasing the man’s HIV-positive status violated a stringent Michigan law making it a civil and criminal act to do so, except under specific conditions. None of those conditions include in a police report.
The man arrested was charged and subsequently pleaded guilty to indecent exposure charges but this week, changed his plea to not guilty. Michigan Messenger is not identifying the man because of privacy concerns related to his HIV status.
City Attorney Brigham Smith, who released the documents, said Monday the city would not make such a request, but on Wednesday, Bernero said he is considering an investigation request.
Wood, Ford, Bernero and college student Ben Hassenger will face off in the Aug. 4 primary. The top two vote getters will move on to the November general.
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