Michigan lawmaker defends using campaign cash at strip club

DEARBORN, Mich. — A Michigan lawmaker who spent campaign money at a strip club said it has “great lamb chops.”

State Rep. Jewell Jones, a Democrat, reported spending $221 in March at the Pantheion Club in Dearborn to discuss economic development, The Detroit News reported, citing public records.

“We have (to) meet people where they’re at some times … #HOLLA,” Jones said in a text message to a reporter Monday.

He added that the suburban Detroit club has “great lamb chops.”

Jones also spent about $700 at a Las Vegas restaurant in March. It was described in records as a “dinner meeting with other legislators.”

Simon Schuster, director of a watchdog group, the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said it’s not unusual for a lawmaker to use campaign money for meals. But doing so at a strip club “truly pushes the limit of credulity,” Schuster said.

Jones, who is in his mid-20s, has made headlines lately for a drunken driving case, which is pending in Livingston County.