Hackel: I Was Misquoted In Newspaper Article

SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel goes on the defensive, saying he was misquoted recently in a local newspaper.

According to The Macomb Daily, Hackel claimed Macomb County was in "better shape" than Oakland and Wayne counties, and that Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson used his position to propagandize Oakland County. Read more here.

During a taping of "Michigan Matters" at the WWJ-TV studios in Southfield, Hackel said he was severely misquoted in the article.

"It was not to disparage either one of these two individuals, and if you could give me a second here, because I really need to clear the air on this, because I found it very unfortunate that a reporter would write something like that when the quote that was in the paper only pertained to Mark Hackel talking about his budget. And the reality is, I do have a problem with that particular reporter, I have for some time now. I've talked to some of the editors and have corrected, my understanding, of how to deal with this person," the Macomb County Executive said.

Hackel said the "un-named" reporter definitely had bad intentions.

"I think it was an opportunity for somebody to try to create a controversy where absolutely none existed. If I ever had something to say about either one of these two, it would be in a setting such as this or on the phone to one or the other. absolutely inappropriate for the content of what was put into that paper to be put in the content that it was," Hackel said.

You can see the entire interview with Hackel, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano Saturday at 11:00 am on WWJ-TV's "Michigan Matters."