Ashley MacMASTER told MIRS today that her father is a “good man” and that for her grandmother, Michelle MacMASTER, and sister, Kristin BRZEZINSKI, to turn their backs on Greg MacMaster in such a public way was an “embarrassment” to the family. Brzezinski is the third of Greg’s four children.

Rep. MacMaster was the frontrunner in the 37th Senate District Republican primary until the negative attacks on MacMaster’s family situation caught hold in the media. MIRS first reported that the candidate’s mother actively sought a yard sign for her son’s opponent, Rep. Wayne SCHMIDT (See “MacMaster’s Mother Supports Schmidt In 37th,” 7/21/14).

MIRS later spoke with Brzezinski, who said she felt her father had abandoned her, her mother and her siblings years ago. Brzezinski said she felt her father didn’t have the moral standing to serve in elected office and threatened to leave the state if he were elected to a higher office.

The news was gobbled up in local media and covered by FOX News nationally, among other outlets. This information, and other personal attacks, were used by third-party groups supporting Schmidt in advertisements. MacMaster’s lead collapsed and Schmidt won the Tuesday primary, 56 to 44 percent.

After MIRS tried to get ahold of Kristin MacMaster for weeks, the youngest daughter of the House member called Thursday and said she felt bad she didn’t speak out sooner in an effort to help her dad. But she said she was so embarrassed and ashamed she couldn’t bring herself to talk publicly.

“What Michelle did to her own son . . . I pretty much had to hide for a week,” she said. “I was too embarrassed to admit that, ‘Yes, I have a grandmother who is that cold and harsh.'”

The truth, she said, is that Rep. MacMaster did not “abandon the family.” There was a divorce, which is not uncommon in today’s society, and it put him in a tough place for a while afterward.

“He doesn’t abandon people at all,” she said. “For me, I had cancer and he helped me fight with the doctors to make sure I was cancer-free . . . When it comes to the public, when it comes to everybody, he doesn’t abandon anybody.”

Ashley MacMaster said there are divisions in the family, which she said also isn’t unusual. As for their motivations in speaking out, she said her grandmother is a “cold and harsh” individual who rebuffed attempts for a relationship with her, and her sister holds “grudges” and “wants revenge.”

Ashley MacMaster said she couldn’t vote for MacMaster because she lives in Leelanau County, which is in the 35th Senate District, not the 37th Senate District, but she would have voted for her father if she lived in the district.