Mark Simpson, Lawrence. New Ethics Commissioner.
Mark Simpson was introduced as a new member of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission at its meeting last week. Simpson was appointed by Kansas House Minority Leader, Paul Davis, and replaced Carol Zimmerman on the Commission.
Simpson gave this short introduction to other members of the Commission:
“I live in Lawrence … I’m an Assistant District Attorney in Douglas County. I’ve been there coming up on a year, and before that I worked in politics. I worked on some campaigns and things like that.”
What might “worked on some campaigns and things like that” mean?
Simpson had been a field organizer for the Democratic Party’s coordinated campaign in Wyandotte County in 2002. [Kansas City Star, "Capitol notebook," Feb 11, 2004.]
Simpson was made a special assistant to the Democratic Party Chair, Larry Gates in 2004:
Lawrence resident, Mark Simpson, will be promoted to special assistant to the chairman to manage the party’s fund-raising and outreach coordinations. He formerly served as the party’s finance director. He has been with the party since February 2003. [Lawrence Journal-World, Kansas Democratic Party shuffles staff, Feb 8, 2004]
Simpson was listed in the Democratic National Committee Membership Roster, 2004-2008 (p. 14), as the Executive Director of the Kansas Democratic Party.
As Executive Director Simpson’s job was to be the spokesman for the Democratic Party. This often meant attacking Republicans and promoting Democrats whenever possible.
The July 2005 Demo-Memo said that Mike Gaughan replaced Mark Simpson as the Executive Director of the KDP when Simpson left to go to law school.
In 2006 Mark Simpson was Paul Morrison’s campaign manager after Morrison switched from Republican to Democrat to run against Attorney General Phill Kline. Simpson was quite partisan in his criticism of Phill Kline on a number of occasions, both while party executive director, and Morrison’s campaign manager.
State Law (KSA 25-4119d) only prohibits a Party Chair, Vice-Chair and Treasurer from serving on the Ethics Commission. But because of the highly partisan nature of the job of a Party’s Executive Director, shouldn’t someone serving that role also be ineligible to serve on the Commission?
Whether legal or not, the appointment of a former Party Executive Director taints the Ethics Commission by bringing a perception of partisanship.
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 | 1/31/2011 |
| Barbara J Barnard | Topeka | VP Community National Bank | Gov. Sebelius | 1/31/2011 |
| 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 | 1/31/2011 |
| John Solbach | Lawrence | Lawyer / Former Legislator | Senate Minority Leader | 1/31/2011 |
| Elon M. Torrence | Topeka | Retired journalist | Secretary of State | 1/31/2010 |
| Mark Simpson | Lawrence | Lawyer | House Minority Leader | 1/31/2011 |
Six of the nine members of the commission are attorneys.
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 over 50 years |
| Mark Simpson |
D
|
Assistant Douglas County Attorney; Former campaign manager for Paul Morrison for Attorney General; Former Executive Director of Kansas Democratic Party; Former Finance Director of Kansas Democratic Party. |
Related:
- Kansas Speaker of the House Faces Ethics Hearing Next Month, Kansas Meadowlark, Apr 16, 2009.
- Van Meteren to appeal $7500 Fine for Free Speech in District Court, Kansas Meadowlark, Mar 27, 2009.
- Political Money & Ethics were Top Meadowlark Topics in 2008, Kansas Meadowlark, Jan 1, 2009.
- New ethics commissioner in Kansas. Updated political profile of Ethics Commission, Kansas Meadowlark, Aug 30, 2008.
Tags: Ethics
