Michael O’Donnell resigns from Sedgwick County Commission after attack-ad scandal
Embattled Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell resigned Friday evening, after the district attorney decided there was sufficient evidence to pursue his removal for his role in a scandal over a false 2019 campaign ad attacking Wichita’s mayor.
The resignation was handled quietly, in an e-mail to commissioners, just minutes before District Attorney Marc Bennett announced the findings of his investigation.
Late Friday, Bennett announced he had found sufficient grounds to pursue ouster against O’Donnell.
“The District Attorney notified legal counsel for Commissioner O’Donnell that the District Attorney intended to initiate a legal proceeding for forfeiture of public office through ouster proceedings the week of Monday, November 16, 2020,” Bennett said in a statement. “ In response to this communication, Commissioner O’Donnell, through counsel, indicated his intent to resign from his position prior to 5:00 p.m. (Friday), effectively terminating the need for official ouster proceedings.
“The Office of the District Attorney received confirmation that the Commissioner tendered his resignation before 5:00 p.m. (Friday).”
Bennett said he’ll have more next week on two other politicians linked to the video attack, state Rep. Michael Capps and Wichita City Council member James Clendenin.
The campaign ad at the heart of the controversy, a video promoted on Facebook and YouTube, was designed to benefit then-Mayor Jeff Longwell by smearing his opponent, then-state Rep. Brandon Whipple.
Whipple won the mayoral race and filed a lawsuit to find out who was behind the attack video ad, which falsely alleged he’d sexually harassed college-age interns at the Capitol.
O’Donnell had already announced that he would not serve a second term if re-elected.
He is trailing Democrat Sarah Lopez by a narrow margin of 125 votes in his re-election bid, with the final outcome to be announced Monday.
If he wins, the seat will be filled until the next general election by someone selected by about two dozen Republican precinct committee men and women in his 2nd Commission District.
Regardless, the Republicans will have to name a replacement for O’Donnell for at least the approximately 2 ½ months remaining in his current term, a county news release said.
O’Donnell didn’t return a phone call from The Eagle. He was quoted in the written statement issued by the county, but did not address the reasons for his abrupt departure from office,
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve in the greatest community and work for the wonderful people of Sedgwick County these last four years,” O’Donnell said in the county statement. “I am proud and humbled by how much we have accomplished, even in unprecedented times, for this region, county, and my district. Thank you to my parents and family, friends, colleagues, and supporters for your love, guidance, and support. I look forward to this next journey in my life.”
Commissioner Jim Howell said the resignation came as a surprise to him. “I got a note from staff that said he is resigning as of 5 o’clock this afternoon,” Howell said minutes before 5.
Commissioner Lacey Cruse, who frequently sparred with O’Donnell at the commission bench, said replacing him for a couple of months will be “yet another distraction that is taking away from the attention we should be giving to reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our community.”
Commissioner David Dennis said they’ll get by. “As long as we have three people, we can govern,” he said.
Although the entire commission had requested O’Donnell’s resignation, Dennis said “I wish Michael well. We’ll be praying for him.”
Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner could not be reached for comment.
The video that was O’Donnell’s downfall featured paid actresses, shown in dark silhouette, reading from a script of accusations that the video producer, Matthew Colborn, has said were provided by O’Donnell.
The accusations were lifted from a Kansas City Star/Wichita Eagle story about harassment allegations against Republican members of the state Senate, not Whipple, who was a Democratic member of the House of Representatives.
Money for the political smear was funneled through a Capps-operated nonprofit sports charity and the ad itself was launched from behind the shield of an anonymous New Mexico shell company called “Protect Wichita’s Girls, LLC.”
Ouster proceedings and numerous calls for O’Donnell’s resignation came after a secretly made audio recording was released by Colborn’s lawyer 11 days before the election.
The audio recording captured O’Donnell plotting with Capps and Clendenin to cover up their role in the false attack ad and instead frame Dalton Glasscock, then the chairman of the Sedgwick County Republican Party.
O’Donnell, Capps and Clendenin are currently defendants in a civil defamation lawsuit brought by Whipple, primarily to uncover who had attacked him in the ad.
The Sedgwick County Commission, Sedgwick County Republican Party and U.S. Congressman Ron Estes called for all three officials involved in the video to resign.
The Wichita City Council condemned their actions in a formal censure, although they stopped short of calling for Clendenin to step down. Clendenin’s own district advisory board later admonished him with a vote of “no confidence.”
Clendenin is the only official set to remain in office in 2021.
Capps lost his seat in the Republican primary in August and will not serve in next year’s legislative session.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 5:15 PM.
