Did $13,000 given to Gov. Sebelius play part in Supreme Court Nominating Commission appointment?
Thursday’s Kansas Register announced Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ appointment of Katherine Taylor DeBruce, a Democrat from Mission Hills, to the Supreme Court Nominating Commission.
Did the $13,000 contributed to Gov. Sebelius by Katherine DeBruce, her husband Paul DeBruce, and his DeBruce Grain company, have any influence on Sebelius’s appointment to the Supreme Court Nominating Commission? And what about the $5000+ DeBruce Grain gave to the Kansas Democratic Party in 2006 for “plane travel”?
Not much is known about why Katherine DeBruce might be a good member of the Supreme Court Nominating Commission. DeBruce is on the local advisory board of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, and is on the board of directors of Powell Gardens. She is a committee member for the Harvest Ball 2008. DeBruce replaced Vivien Jennings, a Democrat from Fairway, on the Commission.
The following table shows the Kansas political contributions by the DeBruce’s:
Kansas Political Contributions from Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission
The Oct. 30, 2006 Receipts and Expenditures report by Kansas Democrats showed they received a $5166 in-kind contribution for “plane travel” in 2006 from DeBruce Grain:
Katherine DeBruce gave money to Democrat Dennis Moore for Congress in 2000, but also gave money to Republican Missouri Congressman Sam Graves in 2002.
Paul DeBruce, Katherine’s husband, and his company, DeBruce Grain, give healthy contributions to politicians on both sides of the aisle including Missourians Kay Barnes, Emanuel Cleaver, Sam Graves, Jim Talent, Kit Bond, and Kansans Jim Ryun, Dennis Moore, and Jerry Moran.
The DeBruce’s political contributions to their representatives in the Kansas legislature reflect their view from wealthy Mission Hills where they can afford anything they want:
- State Rep Terrie Huntington has a lifetime taxpayer rating of 35.0%.
- State Senator David Wysong has a lifetime taxpayer rating of 20.2%.
KTN scores at 75% or above are considered “taxpayer friends.”
Paul DeBruce is one of the most powerful business leaders in the region, since his $2.83 billion DeBruce Grain is the #126 company on Forbes list of private U.S. companies. Paul DeBruce was appointed to the Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank District 10 in late 2007. A Kansas City Star article on Sept 1, 2005, “Meet KC’s civic elite — behind the scenes (maybe too much), group moves to improve the city,” identified DeBruce as a member of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, which the Star said was “an enigmatic organization.” The Star said of this group: “The region’s most powerful business leaders don’t hold public meetings or press conferences.”
The DeBruce Foudation has been a major contributor to the Nelson Gallery Foundation, according to their IRS 990 report.
Some may remember the DeBruce Grain Elevator explosion near Haysville 10 years ago.
Oddly, Paul DeBruce is not a registered voter in Kansas or Missouri, and has no known political affiliation.
A search of newspaper stories about Katherine DeBruce showed that in 1995 she was a program manager at KCPT in Kansas City but little is known about her tenure their.
Related:
- Supreme Court Nominating Commission, Judgepedia
- Political Profile of Ten Judicial District Nominating Committee, Kansas Meadowlark, June 4, 2008.
- Updated Political Profile of Members of the Kansas Supreme Court Nominating Commission: Still 6 Democrats, 2 Republicans, 1 Republican for Moore, Kansas Meadowlark, Dec 16, 2007.
- Selection to the Kansas Supreme Court, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, Stephen Ware, KU School of Law, Nov 26, 2007.
- Why did a Kansas Supreme Court Justice Change Political Parties?, Kansas Meadowlark, Dec 4, 2007.
- Governor Sebelius Rewards $13,700 Democratic Donor with Johnson County District Judgeship, Kansas Meadowlark, Aug 7, 2007.
- Sebelius continues packing Kansas Supreme Court with Democrats: 5 Democrats Vs. 2 Republicans when Kansas has only 27% Democrats!, Kansas Meadowlark, July 22, 2005.
Tags: Kansas Supreme Court, Kathleen Sebelius, Supreme Court Nominating Commission