A trio of Lawrence City Commission candidates alleged Thursday that a coalition of Lawrence builders and Realtors were engaging in unethical and illegal campaign practices.

City Commission candidate Mike Rundle and spokesmen for candidates Dennis “Boog” Highberger and David Schauner said the Lawrence Builder-Realtor Coalition violated state campaign finance laws when it mailed a flier to approximately 1,200 city residents urging them to vote for commission candidates Lee Gerhard, Lynn Goodell and Greg DiVilbiss.

Greg Douros, a spokesman for the Schauner campaign, said the flier, which discussed floodplain issues, violated state law because it did not have a “paid for by” line.

Carol Williams, director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, said because the flier urged people to vote for specific candidates, the lack of a “paid for by” line likely was a violation of the law. She said the standard penalty for a first offense was a warning.

Bill Yanek, director of governmental relations for the coalition, said the group had no intention of evading the law. He said it was obvious the coalition was not trying to hide the fact it paid for the mailing because it used its name in the return address of the flier.

Douros also alleged the coalition was violating state law because it had not registered as a political action committee. Yanek said the group was not required to do so because it did not contribute any money or in-kind services to candidates.

“The mailing was done completely independent of the candidates,” Yanek said.

Yanek said the coalition included about 500 members of the Lawrence Board of Realtors and the Lawrence Home Builders Assn.