by
Dennis Muchmore
Correction: Two paragraphs on the bottom of the story were inadvertently put under the Honigman law firm statement. They were part of the Metro Times report. We regret the error. Allan Lengel
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Dennis Muchmore apparently couldn't take much more.
Gov. Rick Snyder's chief of staff since November 2010 finishes his last day on the job this week to join a Detroit law firm. Metro Times managing editor Michael Jackman writes:
Talk about great timing! If you were Gov. Snyder's chief of staff, wouldn't it be nice right now to be making a quiet and almost unobserved transition into private business, passing without comment because you'd announced your retirement back in the relatively sedate month of August?
That's what happened with the governor's chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, who will go to work at Honigman at the end of this workday. A friend emailed us today, asking us about it, wondering why Muchmore gets off scot-free.
The only pressing question at this moment is whether to count him in our office over-under on how many members of the Snyder administration leave due to the Flint fallout. His departure was announced in August, and we only began breaking the story in September. This could become a hotly debated matter in our office pool, and may leave the outcome as clouded as a glass of Flint's finest H2O.
NBC News recently reported about an email Muchmore had sent to a top health department staffer, saying:
"I'm frustrated by the water issue in Flint. I really don't think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. Now they are concerned and rightfully so about the lead level studies they are receiving.
"These folks are scared and worried about the health impacts and they are basically getting blown off by us (as a state we're just not sympathizing with their plight)."
The Detroit law firm, Honigman, posted this on its website:
Dennis Muchmore, who has spent his career helping transform Michigan through roles in the public and private sector, including five years as Gov. Rick Snyder’s chief of staff, will be joining Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP, on February 1. He will continue serving the Governor as chief of staff until January 20, as the role is transitioned to Jarrod Agen. Honigman is a full-service business law firm with nearly 300 attorneys in the Midwest, as well as a growing national and international client base.
