In late July, Attorney General Six appointed Dodge City attorney Glenn Kerbs to be the newest member of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. Kerbs replaced John T. Marshall, who had been appointed by former Attorney General Phill Kline.
Here is the list of all the members of the Ethics Commission, followed by a chart showing political connections of each member:
Members of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission
|
Commissioner
|
City
|
Occupation
|
Appointed by
|
Term Expires
|
| Sabrina Standifer,
Chair |
Wichita | Lawyer/ Former Legislator | Gov. Sebelius | 1/31/2010 |
| Tim Emert,
Vice Chair |
Independence | Lawyer/ Former Legislator | Senate President | 1/31/2009 |
| Barbara J Barnard | Topeka | VP Community National Bank | Gov. Sebelius | 1/31/2009 |
| Gerald L Goodell | Topeka | Lawyer | KS Supreme Court Chief Justice Kay McFarland |
1/31/2010 |
| Glenn Kerbs | Dodge City | Lawyer | Attorney General Six | 1/31/2010 |
| John Reimer | Tecumseh | Retired | Speaker of House Neufeld | 1/31/2009 |
| John Solbach | Lawrence | Lawyer / Former Legislator | Senate Minority Leader | 1/31/2009 |
| Elon M. Torrence | Topeka | Retired journalist | Secretary of State | 1/31/2010 |
| Carolyn Zimmerman | Topeka | Director of Development, Marian Clinic | House Minority Leader | 1/31/2009 |
Why is there so little geographic diversity on the Commission? Is there no one from Manhattan, Salina, Hays that is willing to serve? Why are no members from Johnson County?
Political Notes about Members of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission
| Commissioner | Party | Political Participation |
| Sabrina Standifer, Chair |
D
|
Attorney at Adams Jones in Wichita.
As legislator in 1996, Standifer walked out of the Kansas House Chambers during Pastor Joe Wright’s invocation. See Paul Harvey’s comments. Letters from 1993 from State Rep Kathleen Gilligan Sebelius and State Rep Standifer appear in the Queer Resources Directory. Executive Board Member of Wichita Women Attorneys Association. Alternate Delegate, Fourth District Kansas Democratic Party, 2005 Contributed $300 to Kansas Democratic State Committee, 2005. See Open Secrets. |
| Tim Emert,
Vice Chair |
R
|
Emert gave to Kathleen Sebelius (2002,2005), Paul Morrison (2005), Chris Biggs (2002), Jerry Moran (1996).Emert wrote letters to editors in support of Kathleen Sebelius for Governor, 2002 [e.g., Topeka Capital Journal, Kansas City Star, Overland Park Sun]
Sebelius appointed Emert to Budget Efficiency Savings Team, Wichita Eagle, Nov 24, 2002. Sebelius appointed Emert to her Education Policy Team, Feb 2003 Sebelius appinted Emert to an advisory group on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, 2004 Emert was a founding member of Kansas Traditional Republican Majority (KTRM) in 2005 to block conservative Republicans. Emert’s name appeared on KTRM political solicitation letter a month after he joined the Ethics Commission. Emert resigned from KTRM on Jan 24,2006 before joining the Commission on Jan 31, 2006, even though the KTRM mailing was in Feb 2006. Sebelius appointed Emert to her child advocacy task force, 2007. |
| Barbara J. Barnard |
R
|
Shortly after her election, Sebelius appointed Republican Barnard to the Ethics Commission. |
| Gerald L. Goodell |
R
|
Goodell gave to Kathleen Sebelius (2005), Paul Morrison (2005, 2006, 2007), Chris Biggs (2002), David Adkins (2002). Goodell gave to Brownback, Thornburgh and Wes Winter, Jr. in 1993-1994.Past president of Topeka and Kansas Bar Associations
Former chair of Kansas Board of Law Examiners |
| Glenn Kerbs |
D
|
Appointed by Attorney Generla Stephen Six on July 30, 2008.Kerbs is an attorney, who serves as Ford County counselor and as the board attorney for Dodge City Community College and Unified School District 381. Kerbs was an applicant for judge of the Kansas Court of Appeals in 2003. He is also a Commissioner on the Kansas Supreme Court Client Protection Fund Commission.
Krebs gave $100 to the First District Democrats in 2007. |
| John Reimer |
U
|
Appointed by Speaker of House Neufeld, but only after he changed to an unaffiliated voter.Recently served as a Compliance Representative for the Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund.
Reimer has given political money to Jim Barnett (2006), Sandy Praeger (2006, 2002), Tim Shallenburger (1998), Bill Graves (1994), and Ron Todd (1993) |
| John Solbach |
D
|
As a legislator in 1989 with Kathleen Sebelius, Solbach said “that little was to be gained by changing criminal laws to protect a fetus.” Wichita Eagle, Oct 28, 1989.
“Lawrence attorney John Solbach, who helped draft Kansas’ sentencing guidelines 10 years ago as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, admits the system isn’t perfect and isn’t always fair,” Lawrence Journal-World, Nov 30, 2003. Solbach contributed to Paul Morrison (2006). Solbach Law with a Lawrence address gave to Biggs (2002). Wife, M Patricia Kenney Solbach, gave to Sebelius (2002) and Garner (2002). Solbach also gave to Jim Slattery, Sally Thmpson and Marvin Barkis in 1994. |
| Elon M. Torrence |
R
|
Has been a registered voter in Kansas for nearly 50 years |
| Carolyn Zimmerman |
D
|
Husband, Jon, gave twice to Sebelius (2002).In April 2008 Zimmerman wrote a letter about “Synod for Catholics” to the Topeka Metro News about “Catholics for Renewal of Northeast Kansas,” which is a liberal “Catholic” group that confuses mainstream Catholics about church doctrine. |
Related:
- Missing Campaign Finance Reports, Kansas Meadowlark, Aug 1, 2008.
- Missouri sunshine exposes Kansas political money, Kansas Meadowlark, July 25, 2008.
- Ethics Commission’s “Top 20″ PAC list missing 10 PACs?, Kansas Meadowlark, July 18, 2008.
- Kansas Ethics Commission ignores missing $25,000 payment by PAC?, Kansas Meadowlark, July 2, 2008.
- Speaker of the House’s Appointment to the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission Blocked for Years, Kansas Meadowlark, Feb 3, 2008.
Tags: Ethics
Thanks. Useful information. Who can be counted upon to serve the public interest?