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Lee Chatfield

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Lee Chatfield
76th Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives
In office
January 9, 2019 – January 1, 2021
Preceded byTom Leonard
Succeeded byJason Wentworth
Speaker pro tempore of the Michigan House of Representatives
In office
January 11, 2017 – January 9, 2019
Preceded byTom Leonard
Succeeded byJason Wentworth
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 107th district
In office
January 1, 2015 – January 1, 2021
Preceded byFrank Foster
Succeeded byJohn Damoose
Personal details
Born
Lee Roberson Chatfield

(1988-05-25) May 25, 1988 (age 36)
Political partyRepublican
SpouseStephanie Chatfield
Children5
EducationNorthland International University (BA)
Liberty University (MPA)

Lee Roberson Chatfield (born May 25, 1988) is an American politician from Michigan. Chatfield, a member of the Republican Party, from Levering, was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives for three terms (2015–2021). He was elected from the 107th House district. He was speaker pro tempore of the state House from 2017 to 2019, and speaker of the state House from 2019 to 2021. In 2022, his sister-in-law accused him of grooming and rape since the age of 15, allegations Lee admitted to in part.[1]

Education and career before politics

Chatfield has a bachelor's degree from Northland International University, a Baptist college in Wisconsin, and a master's degree from Liberty University in Virginia.[2] Before his election to the state House in 2014, he worked at a Christian school in northern Michigan operated by his father, a minister. Chatfield was a teacher, coach and athletic director at the school.[2]

Michigan House of Representatives

Rep. Chatfield hosts state legislators on a tour of the Soo Locks

Chatfield was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014, when he defeated a Republican incumbent, Frank Foster.[3] Chatfield criticized Foster for supporting Medicaid expansion and for supporting an extension of Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to cover LGBT people.[3]

Chatfield took office in 2015. He was re-elected to the state Legislature in 2016 with 67 percent of the vote, and in 2018, with over 58 percent of the vote.

Speakership

Chatfield was speaker of the state House from 2019 to 2020. Elected at age 30; he was believed to be the youngest House speaker in recent memory.[2] During Chatfield's tenure as speaker of the House, Michigan had divided government, with both chambers of the legislature controlled by Republicans, but with a Democratic governor (Gretchen Whitmer).[3] Chatfield and the Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey both repeatedly clashed with Whitmer over issues such as the state budget, road funding, auto insurance legislation, and criminal justice legislation.[3]

As speaker, Chatfield presided over the passage of a bipartisan auto insurance bill that allowed motorists to chose their level of personal injury protection coverage. However, proposed road infrastructure improvements became mired in deadlock, with Chatfield rejecting a proposal by Whitmer to fund road repairs by raising the gas tax by 45 cents.[3] Negotiations for long-term road funding broke down, and Legislature passed a bill without support from Whitmer's administration.[3] Whitmer signed the bill, but with 147 line-item vetoes plus several administrative transfers.[3]

Chatfield and Shirkey both opposed Whitmer's actions to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, although some compromises were reached between the legislature and the Whitmer administration.[3]

Firearms security violation

In 2018, Chatfield attempted to bring a loaded, unregistered handgun onto a commercial flight at Pellston Regional Airport.[4] He was fined $250 for failure to register his handgun, which he had purchased in December 2015.[5] He also paid a $1,960 fine from the Transportation Security Administration.[6] Chatfield had previously introduced a bill in the Michigan House of Representatives to make handgun registration voluntary.[7]

Lee Chatfield meets with residents during monthly office hours

Role in 2020 presidential election

Chatfield was a strong supporter of President Donald Trump.[3] Chatfield, along with Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, met with Trump on November 20, 2020, as Trump and his campaign attempted to overturn the results of the presidential election, in which Trump was defeated by Joe Biden (both nationally and in Michigan).[3][8] Paul Mitchell, the U.S. representative for Michigan's 10th congressional district, said that the purpose of the meeting may have been to discuss the appointment of pro-Trump electors to the U.S. Electoral College.[9] Despite pressure from Trump, Chatfield ultimately declined to support passage of a Michigan Legislation to pass a resolution purporting to retroactively change Michigan's slate of electors for Trump, saying that such a move "would bring mutually assured destruction for every future election in regards to the Electoral College" and "we would lose our country forever."[10]

Allegations of sexual assault

On January 6, 2022, The Detroit News reported Michigan State Police were investigating Chatfield over allegations that he sexually abused a girl who would later become his sister in law for 12 years, beginning in 2009 when she was between 14 and 15 years old and continuing until 2021. The sexual abuse is alleged to have begun when she was attending Chatfield's church, Northern Michigan Baptist Bible Church, and continued while she was a student at the school associated with the church.[11][12]

Chatfield's successor, House Speaker Jason Wentworth, has ordered all members to preserve records dealing with the conduct of Chatfield.[13]

Post legislative career

Due to term limits, Chatfield was ineligible to run for another term in the Michigan House of Representatives. In mid-February 2021, after leaving office, Chatfield was appointed as the new CEO of Southwest Michigan First, a privately funded economic development organization covering the seven counties of southwest Michigan (Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren).[14]

Chatfield's hiring caused a backlash due to Chatfield's past stances in opposition to LGBTQ rights. Various groups including the City of Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo Promise, pulled support from Southwest Michigan First.[15]

Following the backlash from his hiring, Southwest Michigan First and Chatfield stated that they would support expanding the state's civil rights act (the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act) to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a stance that the Southwest Michigan First board had voted in 2017 to support.[16] During his tenure in the Michigan House, Chatfield had opposed such an expansion, which he viewed as an infringement on religious freedom.[16] A few days after beginning his new job, Chatfield resigned, citing the controversy.[17]

Personal life

Lee married his high school sweetheart, Stephanie (Zondervan), and they have four sons and one daughter.

Lee’s family runs a private Baptist church school which has been accused of “cult-like” practices[18], marginalizing minorities, and decrying that any inappropriate action of a male was the fault of a female.

Lee’s father, Pastor Rusty Chatfield, had helmed the church since 1983 and is the school’s principal and history teacher, while Lee’s wife, Stephanie, is an elementary school teacher. Lee was a soccer coach and teacher until he was elected to state government in 2014. “They preach at the pulpit that the men are always right, the women have no say,” his accuser told a reporter, adding that female church members were expected to marry young, have kids, and obey male relatives.[19]

In 2022, Lee was accused of grooming and raping his sister-in-law. Lee denies the rape and says the affair, which started when his accuser was a minor, did happen, but was consensual. Lee was one of his accuser’s teachers at the aforementioned school.

References

  1. ^ January 13, Aaron Parsley; Pm, 2022 06:55. "Lee Chatfield's Dad Preaches About Truth as Son Faces Sex Abuse Allegation from His Sister-in-Law". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2022-01-14. {{cite web}}: |first2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c David Eggert, AP Interview: Chatfield says taxes at pump should fund roads, Associated Press (February 3, 2019).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lauren Gibbon, Outgoing House Speaker had big wins on auto insurance and criminal justice, but pandemic was a stumbling block, MLive (December 25, 2020).
  4. ^ Zucker, Steve. "Chatfield detained at airport after loaded gun found in carry-on". Petoskey News-Review.
  5. ^ Zucker, Steve. "State rep pays one fine, another to be determined". Petoskey News-Review.
  6. ^ Oosting, Jonathan. "Michigan House speaker pays $1,960 fine for gun incident at airport". Detroit News.
  7. ^ "Rep. Chatfield introduces bill to eliminate pistol registration mandate". Michigan House Republicans. April 27, 2017.
  8. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Rutenberg, Jim; Corasaniti, Nick; Epstein, Reid J. (November 20, 2020). "Trump Targets Michigan in His Ploy to Subvert the Election". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Mauger, Craig; Burke, Melissa Nann. "Top GOP state lawmakers set to visit White House amid election fight". The Detroit News.
  10. ^ "GOP leader Chatfield says state's Electoral College must vote for Biden or 'we would lose our country forever". Metro Times. December 14, 2020.
  11. ^ Eggert, David. "Former Michigan lawmaker accused of molesting 14-year-old". The Washington Times. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  12. ^ "State police investigating sexual abuse allegations against ex-Speaker Chatfield". The Detroit News. 6 January 2022.
  13. ^ Boucher, Dave. "House speaker orders lawmakers, staff to retain records in light of Chatfield allegations". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Southwest Michigan First Announces Lee Chatfield as New CEO". MITechNews.com. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Former Michigan House speaker's new job spurs backlash". The Detroit News. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  16. ^ a b Mauger, Craig. "Chatfield will support expanding civil rights protections in new post". The Detroit News. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  17. ^ Boucher, Dave. "Lee Chatfield resigns from new job after pushback on LGBTQ policy positions". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  18. ^ Briquelet, Kate (2022-01-14). "Family of Politico Accused of Rape Ran 'Cult-Like' School". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  19. ^ Briquelet, Kate (2022-01-14). "Family of Politico Accused of Rape Ran 'Cult-Like' School". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
Michigan House of Representatives
Preceded by Speaker pro tempore of the Michigan House of Representatives
2017–2019 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
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