A former aide to Republican State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer of Amherst has filed an ethics complaint with the state after she was fired a month ago.
Michelle McCulloch, 45, of Attica says her dismissal was due to her political support for the congressional campaign of David Bellavia over Ranzenhofer’s preference of former Erie County Executive Chris Collins.
In a sworn complaint to the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics acquired by The Buffalo News, McCulloch alleges that she and other Ranzenhofer staffers were told to gather nominating petitions to get Collins on the June GOP primary ballot.
McCulloch told The News that the decision to file a formal complaint was a difficult one and that she and her husband fear retribution for her actions.
Ranzenhofer said he will not comment on personnel matters, but did say McCulloch knows why she was fired.