Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius does not plan to appoint a new Shawnee County treasurer until a district court gives her some direction, her spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Sebelius is not sure which political party controls the treasurer’s office following last week’s resignation of Rita Cline, who left amid allegations that she misused nearly $22,000 in county funds.

Cline won re-election in 2000 as a Democrat but switched parties the next year.

State law is not clear on which party gets to nominate a successor. Both Democratic and Republican precinct committee members in Shawnee County met Tuesday night to name replacements.

The same question surrounds the replacement of former Woodson County Sheriff Mike Hinnen, who was elected as a Democrat but switched to Republican. A lawsuit is pending in Woodson County District Court.

Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran-Basso said the governor would wait until a ruling in Woodson County.

“It’s exactly the same circumstances, so we need clarification,” Corcoran-Basso said.

Meanwhile, legislators are considering a bill to clarify the law, saying an official’s party affiliation at the time of resignation would govern. The Senate approved the bill three weeks ago, and it awaits action in the House.

Cline resigned facing an attempt by Shawnee County Dist. Atty. Robert Hecht to oust her.

Hecht accused Cline and Kate Carty, former manager of the treasurer’s motor vehicles office in south Topeka, of conspiring to defraud the county.

The district attorney alleged Cline authorized the buyout of Carty’s employment contract, then routed $21,915, in county funds through Carty to a senior-care franchise the two purchased in Springfield, Mo.

Cline denied the charge, but when she resigned, she apologized to county residents for “my lack of attention to matters which created a perception of risk to the financial integrity” of the office.

To replace her, Republicans picked Chearie Donaldson, a Topeka accountant, while Democrats selected Larry Wilson, the retired deputy director of the Topeka Housing Authority.

Cline’s resignation left administrative assistant Judy Wiese in charge of the treasurer’s office.