Kansas State School Board District 5 candidate Jean Clifford has been cited by the Kansas Public Disclosure Commission (KPDC) for failing to disclose that her campaign paid for mailers it claimed were sponsored by the state Republican Party during her victorious primary campaign. KPDC administers campaign finance law in the state.
The state GOP offers discounted printing and mailing services to party candidates. Opponent Kelly Ancar claimed Clifford’s disclosure violation was intentional and implied the state party endorsed Clifford’s candidacy.
According to the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, Clifford won the August primary by 756 votes out of 37,660 cast, a margin of about 2%. Ancar believes some voters may have been swayed to Clifford’s side by what appeared to be the state GOP’s subtle support for her candidacy.
“Considering how close the race was, I think that reasonable people would wonder about the impact of the last-minute violations. Publicizing that the Republican Party paid for mailers not just once but twice surely had impact on die-hard Republican voters. The true issue is that all parties had been previously warned and were well aware that it was a violation, and (she) chose to do it anyway. Clearly, Jean thought it gave her an advantage; otherwise, she wouldn’t have taken the risk of a complaint being filed for a violation she knowingly was committing if she didn’t think that it would help her.”
According to the warning letter Clifford received from the KPDC, her campaign mailings contained only the attribution “Paid for the Kansas Republican Party, Roger Lomshek, Treasurer,” rather than disclosing that Clifford’s campaign paid for the mailers. The result, Ancar claims, suggested the Kansas GOP sided with Clifford.
The warning letter to Clifford reads in part:
K.S.A. 25-4156(b)(1)(D) defines corrupt political advertising for a state or local office as: [Publishing or causing to be published any brochure, flier or other political fact sheet that expressly advocates the nomination, election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate for a state or local office, unless such matter is followed by a statement that states: “Paid for” or “Sponsored by” followed by the name of the chairperson of the political or other organization sponsoring the same or the name of the individual who is responsible therefor.
Omitting this required attribution is a class C misdemeanor and can result in fines up to $5,000 per offense. As noted by the statute, because you reimbursed the Kansas Republican Party for costs associated with the mailers, your campaign would be considered a responsible party and should have been included in the attribution. The Commission is generally understanding of first-time attribution errors and will not file a complaint against you in this matter. This matter is therefore considered closed. Please carefully evaluate campaign communications going forward to ensure required attributions are present and feel free to reach out to our office if you need any assistance.
Clifford told The Sentinel her campaign committed no wrongdoing:
“I complied with guidance from the Kansas GOP. Please contact Rob Fillion (Executive Director) at the Kansas GOP for any additional information.”
