Kansas ex-lieutenant governor’s lobbying firm tied to dark money attacks on Blubaugh

A dark money group sending out false and misleading ads attacking Jeff Blubaugh — a Republican candidate for Sedgwick County Commission — has ties to a Topeka lobbying firm run by several Democratic operatives who held state positions under former Democratic Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who served as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration, The Eagle has learned.

Blubaugh is challenging Democratic incumbent Sarah Lopez for Sedgwick County’s 2nd District. Lopez — the lone Democrat on the Commission — has condemned the ads online and in an interview with The Eagle, saying she had no role in creating the ads or approving them.

The ads say they were paid for by Kansans for an Affordable Future and include a P.O. Box address in Topeka.

Internal Revenue Service records show the organization was granted 501(c)(4) status on May 8. The IRS determination letter lists an official address at 800 SW Jackson Street, Suite 906C, in Topeka.

That office suite is shared by Summit Strategies Group LLC, a registered lobbying firm for clients such as ACLU of Kansas, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, American Federation of Teachers-Kansas, Kansas Trial Lawyers Association and others.

Because the ads don’t directly tell voters to vote for or against a candidate, Kansans for an Affordable Future is not subject to the Kansas Campaign Finance Law that requires disclosure of who donated to the organization and how much they paid.

Summit is owned by three former legislative liaisons for former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and a former leader of the Kansas Democratic Party. They include former Kansas Lt. Gov. Troy Findley, who also served as chief of staff for Sebelius before her successor, Mark Parkinson, promoted him to lieutenant governor; John Polzar, who was also Sebelius’ director of legislative and governmental affairs; Jennifer Crow, who was Sebelius’ personal aide; and Kerry Gooch, a former executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party.

The four Democratic operatives did not return phone calls. Crow sent an email acknowledging a connection with Kansans for an Affordable Future.

“Our firm provides administrative services to the non profit, but will be happy to forward your request to the appropriate party in the organization,” Crow wrote.

She did not respond to questions asking whether Summit had any role in creating or distributing the ads and seeking the identities of those involved in Kansans for an Affordable Future. No one from the dark money group contacted The Eagle on Thursday.

The first ad — launched online — falsely claimed Blubaugh “slashed funding for police and firefighters” and “cut public safety jobs.” In his 11 years on the Wichita City Council, the city consistently increased funding for public safety. The annual Police Department budget grew by $41 million during his tenure, and the annual Fire Department budget grew by more than $20 million. Neither department cut jobs.

A second ad showed up in Sedgwick County voters’ mailboxes this week. It features a cutout of Blubaugh’s head arranged inside a pea pod along with three Republican officials who The Eagle found were responsible for a false, dark money attack ad against former Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple in 2019.

“Jeff Blubaugh, Michael Capps, Michael O’Donnell, and James Clendenin are four peas in a pod,” it says.

The back side of the mailer features a smaller version of the pea pod next to a photograph of Blubaugh and O’Donnell shaking hands.

It also includes an arrangement of news headlines from The Wichita Eagle and local television news KWCH.

One headline references the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s investigation into Capps, Clendenin and O’Donnell for their attack ad on Whipple and a secret recording where they conspired to cover it up by blaming Wichita City Council member Dalton Glasscock, who at the time was the leader of the county GOP.

Another headline refers to O’Donnell’s 2018 federal indictment on bank fraud and wire fraud charges related to his campaign activities. He eventually beat the charges at trial.

Two others are related to an Eagle investigation into CARES Act fraud by Capps, who was later convicted and sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.

None of the headlines have anything to do with Blubaugh, who played no role in any of those scandals and is not mentioned in any of the referenced articles. Blubaugh also voted to censure Clendenin and condemn the actions of O’Donnell and Capps.

Another ad hits Sedgwick mailboxes

On Thursday, a third ad from Kansans for an Affordable Future showed up in Sedgwick County mailboxes. It encourages voters to “Thank Commissioner Sarah Lopez for fighting to make Sedgwick County a safe and affordable place to live and work” along with a QR code. “Scan the QR code to thank Sarah!” it says. The QR code links to the organization’s web page listing voting dates and polling locations.

It claims Blubaugh is against “lowering property tax rates,” “passing sustainable budgets to plan for the future” and “investing in our first responders and police” — three issues he has said he favors. It says Lopez is a “yes” for each of those issues.

“I’m very disappointed in these dirty campaign tactics,” Blubaugh said. “When a candidate or a campaign is afraid or unable to run on their own record, they stoop to these negative political games. We need to stick with the issues of the county and work for real solutions to move Sedgwick County forward.”

Lopez said she had no involvement in the Kansans for an Affordable Future campaign.

“I’ve never approved anything that looked like that,” Lopez said. “I never approved it. I would be very, very [upset] if that came from my camp because I’ve never said that, and I never would.”

Lopez acknowledged that she has criticized Blubaugh for the city’s mill levy and for a looming budget shortfall at City Hall that city staff members have said could result in cuts to public safety budgets in 2026 and 2027.

Blubaugh, who has been endorsed by the Wichita Fraternal Order of Police and the Wichita Firefighters’ union, voted for wage increases for police and fire but voted against the city’s most recent mill levy rate and budget, which included a large transfer of cash to reserve funds to offset future revenue shortfalls.

“What I have said, and what I’ve posted, was that I have said multiple times that the city staff has reported that due to the $55 million deficit that cuts to public safety are unavoidable,” Lopez said. “That’s what was in the Wichita Eagle article.”

Early voting and voting by mail have already started in Sedgwick County. Election Day is Nov. 5. District 2 includes south-central Sedgwick County and is roughly bordered by K-42 to the west and K-15 to the east. It includes south and southwest Wichita, Haysville and Clearwater.

This story was originally published October 26, 2024 at 5:07 AM.