Livingston Today

An Auditor General’s report on a no-bid contract awarded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to a partisan political software vendor suggests that MDHHS was “not utilizing best practices,” said Rep. Ann Bollin (R- Brighton Township).

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been “unprecedented,” the report revealed, “These practices were not best practices; they were atypical of a department of state government,” Bollin said, according to Michigan House Republicans.

Bollin requested the inquiry after the contact-tracing contract was awarded to a data firm with links to the Democratic Party.

Rep. Ann Bollin | Michigan House Republicans

According to the Auditor General’s report, Great Lakes Community Engagement was the only firm considered for the contract. The firm is connected to K2K Consulting and Kolehouse Strategies, political consulting companies owned by Donald M. Kolehouse “with strong ties to Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer and other Democratic political campaigns,” Bolin told Michigan House Republicans.

Whitmer canceled the contract after the Democratic ties were disclosed, The Detroit News reported.

In testimony before a legislative committee, MDHHS Director Robert Gordon acknowledged the contract was a mistake.

“Individuals who both Gordon and the Office of the Auditor General identified as playing key roles in the awarding of the contact-tracing contract -- Andrea Taverna of the Michigan Public Health Institute and MDHHS HIV/STD Division Director Kathryn Macomber -- have refused multiple invitations to speak before the select [legislative] committee,” according to Michigan House Republicans. “Taverna refused to cooperate with the Auditor General when the office was compiling its report and has declined to speak with the Attorney General as it investigates the contract.”

Taverna "referred us to her attorney," who said that she is continuing to decline discussing the issues, the Auditor General’s report said, according to The Detroit News.

This was a surprising response, according to Bollin.

“Normally I would think you would, knowing that you have an Auditor General that has advised you that they're going to be doing an inquiry, that you might prepare a statement, request a list of questions beforehand,” Bollin said, according to an audio file on the Michigan House Republicans website. “But it doesn’t seem to me that it would be in your best interest both personally or professionally... to refer to an outside attorney.”