Topeka ? Kansas Supreme Court justices were urged Wednesday to uphold a lower court’s ruling that Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans violated campaign finance laws during the 2003 election cycle.

The case stems from a complaint filed by Joan Cole in Sedgwick County District Court. Cole, a former Wichita City Council member and primary election candidate for mayor, contested Mayan’s use of funds transferred from his campaign as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives.

Cole maintained that Wichita city ordinances restricted campaign contributions to $500 for any primary and $500 for any general election. Mayans transferred $50,000 from his House campaign to his mayoral bid, which he won in April. She said she filed the case after the Wichita City Council refused to take action.

Cole’s complaint was dismissed in district court, but the Kansas Court of Appeals reversed that ruling, holding that the city’s contribution limits applied.

Johnston said despite the fact no action was taken by the state Governmental Ethics Commission, Mayans did violate local limits and should be required to return the $50,000. Cole said the money wasn’t the issue, but upholding the intent of residents to have fair elections.

Johnston also asked the court to determine whether Mayans violated campaign finance statutes and administrative regulations by maintaining his House campaign while running a mayoral campaign.

However, Mayans’ attorney, Richard Olmstead, told the justices that Cole had no standing in the case because she hadn’t exhausted all administrative remedies before taking the matter to court. He said Cole should have filed a complaint first with the ethics commission.

“The case always should have been decided as a matter of state law, not Wichita city law,” Olmstead said.