Former Republican, now Democrat, Rick Guinn, Johnson County District Attorney candidate against Republican Steve Howe, is running a commercial on TV and the Internet. Guinn in a pictorial name calling ad shows several clowns in a court room and then says
Haven’t we had enough of those guys? I’m Rick Guinn. I’ll end the politics … fire Phill Kline’s political hires, and put an end to his political agenda.
But if Guinn is elected JoCo DA and fires assistant DAs, what will Joe Colantuono do? In Jan. 2007 when Phill Kline re-organized the Johnson County District Attorney’s office after being elected by Republican precinct committees, Colantuono was quite opposed to Kline’s firings:
attorney Joe Colantuono said seven dismissed assistant DAs and an investigator fired by Phill Kline will pursue grievances over their dismissals.
Surrounded by several dozen applauding supporters, the lawyer said if Kline argues he’s exempt from the grievance procedure, “it will get very costly for the county.”
[Memo to Dave Helling: Where are you hiding your video of this on the Star's web site?]
If Colantuono thought it was improper for JoCo DA Phill Kline to fire assistant DAs, why wouldn’t he do the same thing if Rick Guinn is elected? Or does Colantuono, a Democrat and $2000 contributor to then AG Paul Morrison, have a double standard for conservatives vs. liberals in such law suits? Why do we tolerate such harassing law suits when the intent was political, not legal? Where is the pressing pointing out the waste of tax dollars for political purposes by Democrat Colantuono?
Guinn, a political newcomer, is having problems with political consistency.
In Dec 2007 Guinn, then a Republican, ran against Phill Kline for JoCo DA, claimed:
I consider myself a career prosecutor. I have had very little involvement in the political arena to date. However, I understand that if I am chosen, the expectation would be for me to become an active campaigner for office as a Republican. I look forward to the opportunities and friendships that would bring.
Why would a career prosecutor claim he’s not a politician and then appear in a name-calling ad with clowns?
Should Guinn have added to his statement above that if he lost, he would become a Democrat and become an active campaigner for office as a Democrat?
And what about the former Johnson County assistant DAs that Kline fired? [See Hays Daily News, Jan 12, 2007, Former JoCo assistant DAs file saying firings were wrong]. Will they call on Guinn to stop his political ad that it’s wrong to fire assistant prosecutors after an election?
Why are there different rules for the left and the right in reorganizing the JoCo District attorney’s office after an election?
Related:
- The Left-Leanding and Unprofessional Kansas Press Malings and Impugns Phill Kline, Kansas Meadowlark, Dec 18, 2006.
Tags: District Attorney, Johnson County, Rick Guinn, Steve Howe
