Money, politics and ethics collide in Goddard Mayor Larkin’s campaign for Statehouse
What is it about being the mayor of Goddard?
The last one, Jamey Blubaugh, had to resign the job after getting caught counterfeiting tickets to an event at the zoo.
His replacement, Hunter Larkin, age 23, now has eyes on a seat in the state House of Representatives.
But Larkin’s campaign finance form is raising ethics questions in Goddard because the bulk of his contributions are from a handful of developers and builders actively doing business with City Hall.
The contributions are from multiple individuals and limited liability companies controlled by essentially the same actors. It’s called “bundling” in politics and it’s a way around the state’s $500 limit on campaign donations.
That’s pretty standard, but the timing is suspect.
In August and September, Larkin received $2,000 in bundled contributions from homebuilder Bryan Langaly and partners who are developing a 200+ home and duplex complex on the west side of Goddard.
He got another $4,000 bundled from individuals and LLCs associated with the Dugan family, prominent local land owners who were selling the property for the development to Langaly.
In his day job, Larkin’s an accountant for a Dugan-owned company.
On Oct. 18, Larkin pressed city staff to fast-track consideration of Lagaly’s request for $300,000 in public money toward a $600,00 pumping station to tie the $60 million project to the town sewage system.
He recused himself two weeks later. But two weeks after that, Blubaugh, of all people, showed up at the council meeting accusing Larkin of leading the charge for the developer’s request behind the scenes.
It wasn’t the only questionable act.
Four LLCs associated with developer Robert Armstrong gave $2,000 to Larkin’s campaign on one September day and four months later bought four acres of city-owned property across the street from Goddard High School for $30,000.
The county tax appraisal on the land is $65,000, probably well below its real value in today’s torrid real estate market.
The land, now the site of a community garden, was given to the city in 2000 by a failing Baptist Church with a covenant attached that it be kept as public open space.
Larkin apparently didn’t negotiate for the city on the $30,000 sale price, but he was involved in cutting a deal to give the Baptists half the proceeds to get them to lift the covenant and open the parcel up for duplexes.
So the city’s total take from the sale is $15,000, minus half the closing costs, which the city is splitting with the developer. Most of that income will probably be needed to relocate the community garden.
Larkin says the complaints against him are all political, that he did nothing untoward and he challenged his detractors to report him to the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission if they’ve got a problem with it.
It’s an empty challenge, because state campaign-finance laws are incredibly lax and the Ethics Commission has no real authority beyond making sure paperwork is filled out properly.
Time will tell whether Larkin has run afoul of Goddard’s somewhat toothier ethics and conflict of interest ordinance, should his council colleagues decide to pursue it.
And we’ve heard such challenges before, from Larkin’s friend and political mentor, former Wichita City council member, state senator and Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell.
O’Donnell made a career out of pushing the boundaries of political ethics — until one day he stepped off a cliff with a false and malicious attack ad targeting Wichita mayor candidate Brandon Whipple.
When the ad backfired, O’Donnell and his accomplices tried to frame his previous friend and mentee, former Sedgwick County Republican Party Chairman Dalton Glasscock.
Larkin is a smart young man and could have a bright future in government service.
But to get there, he needs to learn a couple lessons: 1) When it comes to conflict of interest, appearances matter. And 2) just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Money, politics and ethics collide in Goddard Mayor Larkin’s campaign for Statehouse."
