Kansas lawmakers to give colleague accused of abusing women an informal warning, mentor
A Kansas lawmaker accused of abusive behavior toward women will receive an informal letter of warning, after a bipartisan House panel voted Friday to dismiss a complaint filed against him.
The letter to Wyandotte Rep. Aaron Coleman is a mild rebuke compared to other options available to the committee, which included asking the full House to remove him.
Coleman, 20, who ran as a Democrat but has left the party, will remain in the House and won’t be expelled or even formally reprimanded after Democrats alleged a pattern of inappropriate behavior began as a teenager and continued into the past year.
Coleman has been accused of hitting, choking and leaving violent messages with an ex-girlfriend, has suggested he wanted a former Republican lawmaker to die of COVID-19 and promised to take out a “hit” on Gov. Laura Kelly.
In dismissing the complaint, the House Select Investigating Committee, made up of three Republicans and three Democrats, voted unanimously to issue a public letter to Coleman.
“His continued presence in the Statehouse will continue to threaten the safety of legislators and Capitol staff,” House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said in a statement after the decision. “This is, frankly, an insult to women and victims of abuse—that someone who has admitted to harassing, abusing, and threatening their peers is allowed to serve in a position of power.”
Coleman, who ousted a veteran Democratic incumbent in the August primary by just 14 votes, has been ostracized by fellow lawmakers and shunned by Democrats, who filed the complaint against him. Some of the most serious allegations against him began receiving widespread attention in the general election, but he faced no Republican opponent and easily fended off a write-in challenge.
During a more than three-hour hearing Friday afternoon in a Statehouse committee room rendered cavernous by COVID-19 distancing requirements, Coleman repeatedly apologized, calling his past actions “unfortunate.” Accompanied by an attorney, with whom he sometimes conferred, he often confirmed the truthfulness of allegations against him when questioned by lawmakers.
Coleman walked silently by reporters after the committee’s decision and didn’t respond to questions.
“I have said things that were offensive and hurtful to others and then convinced myself that my own personal positions and passions absolved me. I was wrong,” Coleman told the committee.
Taylor Passow, Coleman’s ex-girlfriend who says he physically abused her, said Friday that the committee had let her down and delivered a “slap in the face” to her and other victims by failing to oust Coleman despite a continuing pattern of behavior.
“I don’t even think the letter’s even going to do anything. Everybody already knows what he did. Everyone already knows his history,” Passow, 21, said.
In written testimony Passow detailed her relationship with Coleman. She said her experiences were uncomfortable so she described them in detail so lawmakers would be uncomfortable too. She was frustrated they did not ask her to testify in person and answer questions.
Passow said she plans to continue fighting to see Coleman expelled from the chamber.
The committee’s 6-0 vote came after agonized discussion among lawmakers over the correct response to the complaint against the freshman legislator. Rep. Boog Highberger, a Lawrence Democrat, at one point moved that the committee recommend the House formally reprimand him, but withdrew the motion after it became apparent the committee — divided equally between Republicans and Democrats — would tie if it came to a vote.
Democrats on the committee agreed to the informal letter but said they believed a stronger consequence was needed.
Rep. Cindy Neighbor, a Shawnee Democrat, said that although Coleman had asked the committee for a second chance, he was already on his “5th or 6th chance but his 3rd since being 18.”
She said she would only vote for the informal letter if each member of the committee signed on, sending a clear message that Coleman’s behavior was unacceptable.
“Otherwise this is a slap in the face to all those who are his victims,” she said.
Rep. Susan Humphries, a Wichita Republican, said she felt an informal letter was preferable to taking a formal action to the full House.
“I can see a letter from this committee as a baseline,” Humphries said, adding that if Coleman behaved poorly again it could be referenced to as evidence in future hearings.
Rep. John Barker, an Abilene Republican who chaired the committee, addressed Coleman at the end of the hearing. As Coleman stood before the panel, Barker said he was going to talk to Speaker Ron Ryckman about finding the young legislator a mentor.
Afterward, Barker called the letter a “great compromise” that shows Coleman he is being watched. “You do this type of conduct again, you will be back in here,” Barker said, describing the message it sends to Coleman.
Barker expressed reservations about punishing legislators for conduct before they were elected, calling it a “slippery slope.” Barker and other lawmakers also raised concerns about overturning the voters’ will.
House rules allow legislators to censure or expel a fellow member with a two-thirds majority vote. But the vote may only be taken after a committee has investigated a formal complaint against the lawmaker.
Sawyer and other Democrats filed their complaint on the second day of the 2021 session, the day after Coleman was sworn in. The complaint cited a “longstanding history of physically and emotionally abusive behavior.” It listed several instances which occurred before and after the election as evidence of a dangerous pattern of behavior.
At the time, Coleman criticized the party as “petty” for paying attention to personal issues rather than policy.
Eight people submitted written testimony declaring Coleman unfit for office, including Sawyer, his former chief of staff Heather Scanlon, the landlord of the woman who sought an anti-stalking order against him and former victims, among them the ex-girlfriend he allegedly choked.
Scanlon describes threats Coleman made against her and a point when he called her and threatened physical violence against Sawyer before the election.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Sawyer said that if Coleman’s alleged behavior continues he will immediately file another complaint.
“This is a stressful place and his past actions, very recent past actions, indicate he hasn’t changed,” Sawyer said. “I don’t want to send the wrong message that it’s okay to be abusive and continue with a pattern and get by with it. Hopefully this at least puts a stop to it.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Kansas lawmakers to give colleague accused of abusing women an informal warning, mentor."
