State-sponsored smear?

It is true, as Gov. Sam Brownback’s campaign spokesman noted, that a state statute prohibiting the use of state equipment or employees to further political campaigns includes an exception. “The provisions of this section prohibiting the use of time of any officer or employee for such (campaign) purposes shall not apply to an incumbent officer campaigning for nomination or re-election to a succeeding term to such office or to members of the personal staff of any elected officer,” Kansas Statute 25-4169a reads.

That exception is a practical recognition that official duties of some staff may overlap with campaign activities, such as the person who schedules events or answers the phone. The exception was not intended to authorize taxpayer-paid staffers to engage in campaign muckraking.

But Timothy Keck, chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and deputy chief counsel for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, requested and received reports on a strip club raid in 1998 near Coffeyville several days before a news story broke linking Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis to the club.

Davis’ campaign accused Gov. Sam Brownback of using government resources to orchestrate a smear campaign. Brownback campaign spokesman John Milburn responded that Keck was allowed by state law to work on the campaign.

Again, that’s true, but it doesn’t make it right.

For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published September 30, 2014 at 7:07 PM with the headline "State-sponsored smear?."