A dark money group gets involved in Wichita City Council races. Here’s what we know

An out-of-state dark-money group is spending an untold amount of money on ads taking aim at City Council incumbents Maggie Ballard and Mike Hoheisel in the final weeks of the Wichita election.

And it’s unlikely Wichita voters will ever find out who actually paid for it or how much they spent.

As the ads don’t call for the election or defeat of either candidate, under Kansas law that means they aren’t subject to the Kansas Campaign Finance Act.

The mailers were paid for by the American Policy Coalition, a 501(c)(4) organization that has an address listed in Alexandria, Va., just south of Washington, D.C. A Google search shows APC’s address to be a Staples office supply store in an Alexandria strip mall.

As a charity, it is not required to disclose its donors. Its IRS form 990 filings show a history of sharing money with conservative groups and PACs, including Bluegrass Freedom Action, which supported Daniel Cameron in his failed Kentucky governor’s run.

APC was embroiled in a Missouri ethics probe involving former Gov. Eric Greitens, one of several scandals leading up to his 2018 resignation.

So far, the group appears to have sent out mailers and text messages in the city’s District 3 and 6 races.

In its IRS 990 filing, the organization describes its mission this way: “With a commitment to free market principles, APC focuses on educating the public about conservative fiscal policies that foster job growth, a stronger economy, and increased opportunity for all Americans.”

A Wichita Eagle reporter reached out to the group through a form on its website, but has yet to receive a response back.

The group’s Facebook page has no information and no apparent links to Wichita.

Some voters in District 3, who are registered as unaffiliated or Republican, received two mailers about Hoheisel in the past week. Hoheisel narrowly won his election in 2021 and is being challenged this year by Genevieve Howerton, a political newcomer whose mother is a Republican state legislator and husband is a coordinator for the local chapter of Americans for Prosperity.

The APC group has been heavily involved in gubernatorial elections, supporting Republican candidates, media reports show — including the Kansas governor’s race in 2022.

Filings with the Kansas Secretary of State show that the American Policy Coalition gave $95,000 to the Wheat State PAC for Government Accountability.

Wheat State then ran television ads attacking Gov. Laura Kelly for issues with the state’s foster care system, including the death of 6-year-old Aaron Carter, who was nonverbal autistic.

A phone call to a number listed as the Wheat State chairperson’s business phone, according to the filing, was not immediately returned.

The American Policy Coalition appears to be less involved in hyper-local elections, raising questions about why it got involved in Wichita’s city council races.

“If you believe in certain people or if you believe in certain causes,” Hoheisel said, “you should be advocating for those ideas, instead of creating a society where we’re always just tearing each other down.”

Hoheisel and Ballard’s opponents did not return calls for comment on the mailers.

Fact checking mailer claims

It’s unlikely that voters will ever find out exactly how much the PAC spent in the city council races.

The mailers don’t tell recipients how to vote, rather it tells them how the candidates voted on specific issues, which allows them to avoid campaign finance disclosure laws.

The mailers accuse Hoheisel and Ballard, both Democrats, of raising property taxes, increasing their pay and “funding $500,000 porta-potty’s,” a reference to their votes in favor of the recently installed Portland Loo restrooms at A. Price Woodard Jr. Memorial Park and Naftzger Park downtown.

The property tax claim is dubious. Hoheisel and Ballard have never voted to increase the property tax rate. They voted multiple times to keep the mill levy flat. During their term, most Wichita property owners’ taxes have continued to increase along with valuations, which are driven by the housing market and set by the Sedgwick County Appraiser’s Office.

Hoheisel voted to reduce the mill levy this year while Ballard voted against it. Neither supported City Council member Brandon Johnson’s motion to keep the mill levy flat for next year.

“That’s one that I voted no on because I wasn’t as concerned about the $14 people were saving, I was more concerned about the amount of services that would be cut,” Ballard said.

Hoheisel and Ballard did vote to increase their pay – three times over three years. But they said that’s because the City Council in 2018 tied council members’ raises to those of non-union city employees, including any raises regular employees received based on merit. If they had voted against the raises, they would have voted against raises for city employees. They also refused to support Mayor Lily Wu’s motion to turn down her salary increase last December.

Hoheisel and Ballard took office in 2022, making about $49,000 a year — that climbed to $57,985.20 in 2025.

“If I voted against that pay raise, I would also be voting against raising pay for the guys who plow our streets in the winter time or maintain our parks or several in Fire and Police as well,” Hoheisel said.

A Portland Loo is not the same as a porta-potty. It is permanent, constructed of steel designed to deter crime and not a temporary, portable, plastic enclosure typically used for large outdoor events and construction sites. The city’s two new Portland Loos didn’t cost $500,000. The City Council actually approved spending $660,310 for the two restrooms and hydration stations. Hoheisel and Ballard both voted for it.

The mailer that was sent out to District 6 residents also claims Ballard supported spending $1.25 million on a single sculpture at the new northwest water treatment plant.

That claim is also dubious. While Ballard supports public art, two other art works were also installed at the treatment plant, bringing the total for all three of those artworks to $1.25 million, according to minutes from a City Council meeting last year.

It’s also part of the city’s 2% for public art program, which sets aside two percent of the budget for capital projects to go towards public art.

“Local government is there to solve problems,” Ballard said. “We certainly don’t want to be influenced by people from out of state.

“It’s just weird to me. I guess that’s how politics works.”

The general election is Nov. 4. Advance voting begins at satellite locations Oct. 30.