Even if it’s legal, a state official using internal e-mail information for political purposes probably doesn’t sit well with many Kansans.

A person who contacts the Kansas attorney general, the insurance commissioner, the secretary of state or any state official usually is seeking information or assistance with a business or consumer matter. They are not asking or expecting for their e-mail information to be used to seek campaign support for the incumbent during the next election cycle. Even if it is not specifically prohibited, it is an improper use of private information that was intended only for official use.

Although other state officials agree with that assessment and say they would never use office e-mail records in their campaigns, Atty. Gen. Phill Kline sees the issue differently. He has acknowledged using the addresses of people who have contacted the attorney general’s office for help as part of his solicitations for campaign money and support. He said he was told by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission that using the e-mail addresses was within the law, but that doesn’t mean it’s right or proper.

A number of questions could be raised about this issue. Is it right for Kline’s campaign to have access to state e-mail records? The state draws strict lines between spending and personnel time used for state business and that used for campaign activities. Were none of those lines crossed in transferring e-mail addresses from the attorney general’s office to the Kline campaign?

Even if the information was properly obtained, using it to solicit campaign support crosses ethical lines. People who contact any state official are seeking that person’s assistance in his or her role as a public servant. There is only one attorney general. If Kansans have complaints that should be handled by the consumer division of that office, they have only one place to go, whether they voted for the incumbent or not.

Contacting that office in no way implies political support for the current attorney general. Kansans contacting that office have a right to expect their private information – including their e-mail addresses – to be used only for the purpose they intended, not to try to garner support for a political campaign. If they want to support the Kline campaign, that desire should be expressed and handled completely independently of their business contact with that office.

Maybe it’s legal – the state’s top law enforcement official ought to know – but that doesn’t mean it’s proper or ethical for a state official to use Kansans’ private information to promote a political agenda.