Kathleen Sebelius: Two decades in politics
Kathleen Sebelius is the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services in Obama's Cabinet. She has served as Kansas' governor since 2002 and before that was insurance commissioner and a state representative.
Topeka — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' campaign committee sent out a fundraising e-mail that could run afoul of the state ethics law.
The Sebelius Committee sent to about 70,000 people the e-mail in which Sebelius reviewed the recent fight over plans for two coal-fired power plants.
At the end of the message, the reader was invited to click on a link to a Web site where a donation could be made to the committee.
State law bans legislators, statewide officials and candidates for those offices from seeking or accepting donations from lobbyists, corporations or political action committees while the Legislature is in session. The legislative session doesn't officially end until May 29.
It is probable that lobbyists were among those who received the governor's message.
Sebelius' spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said Tuesday that a staff member for the Sebelius Committee made a mistake.
"The letter approved by the governor was never intended to be a fundraiser but an update on a policy issue," Corcoran said.
"Unfortunately, the staff made an error and added a fundraising solicitation," she said. "As soon as the mistake was discovered, a follow-up message and an apology were sent to the same distribution list, and the committee self-reported the error to the Ethics Commission."
Corcoran said one $50 contribution had come in shortly after the e-mail went out. The contribution - not from a lobbyist - will be returned, she said.
In April 2006, Sebelius was fined $1,500 over the same issue. The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission found that Sebelius asked for contributions from registered lobbyists while the Legislature was in session.
At that time, Sebelius campaign officials said that there was never an intent to solicit funds from lobbyists. A vendor hired to work on the e-mail distribution list tried to remove the addresses of all lobbyists but failed, they said.
In the recent instance, Corcoran said, "Governor Sebelius was disappointed to learn of the committee staff's mistake and will support whatever action the Ethics Commission deems appropriate to ensure accountability."
Kansas Republican Party executive director Christian Morgan criticized Sebelius for both the e-mail and her position in opposition to the coal-fired plants in southwestern Kansas.
"We appreciate the apology," he said. "But until the governor apologizes to the people of Kansas for her rejection of jobs and billions of investment dollars we will continue to protest her radical agenda."
Sebelius rejected the coal-burning plants, citing environmental concerns about the project's carbon dioxide emissions.
Comments
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igby (anonymous) says…
This is the second time she has got caught in violation of the campaign ethics rules. Then blamed it of her staff. If you can't control your staff's crooked tactics how can she begin to be a leader in ethics when this was her beginning platform the first time she ran for office. Strike three and she will get ousted by the house and senate.
bondmen (anonymous) says…
Her ethics and demagoguery will serve her well in Washington the District of Corruption and fit in too as No. 2 on the Obamanator ticket.
Kropotkin (anonymous) says…
The e-mail went out yesterday morning and the problem was quickly found and fixed. Unless a recipient's e-mail was set to HTML, the fundraising button was invisible. There was no text in the message about the energy issue that referred in any way to fundraising. An e-mail apologizing for the mistake went out eight hours later, long after the problem was fixed (the button was disabled). For some nitwits to be making a huge "ethics" deal about this shows how few issues of actual substance apparently exist. Spare us the drama.
deskboy04 (anonymous) says…
The coal plant decision was a political move to position herself for a place in the Obama cabinet.
jmadison (anonymous) says…
Kansans won't have to worry about Gov. Sebelius' petty campaign finance violations for much longer, as she will be ensconced in Washington, DC, in a cushy federal job of some sort with our future President, Barack Obama.
jimincountry (anonymous) says…
After her stay in DC, she can come home to a cushy professor job at a Kansas university the way ex-gov John Carlin has done at KSU.
Souki (anonymous) says…
Oh, come on. How can you say she "knowingly violated" the rule? If she'd done this deliberately, why would she then report the error to the Ethics Commission?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
The real dirty little secret about Sebelius is that she tore the labels off her new mattress, and she's failed to fess up about that, instead blaming her dog.
situveux1 (anonymous) says…
This doesn't bother me as much as the Senate and House Minority Leaders using their postage allowance from the state for campaign for other Democrats.There's a real story the JW ought to go after, but I guess they're too busy republishing AP stories.http://kansasmeadowlark.com/2008/05/07/update-on-franking-abuse-by-kansas-senate-minority-leader-hensley/
dirkleisure (anonymous) says…
Mebbe you kids should read the story, specifically the part where Sebelius' spokesperson indicates they are fully supportive of whatever action the Ethics Commission takes.It's called accountability. Despite all your comments about it, if you would actually read the story you would see this politician is stepping up and taking some.Also, I would click on that kansasmeadowlark link, but that person only seems to be interested in how Democrats spend their money. When she shows the same interest in Republican campaigns, I will consider her credible.Until then, it is just partisan nonsense with no basis in either law or logic.
Phillbert (anonymous) says…
Dirk, why would Republicans need to know about accountability? In the history of the universe, no Republican has ever made an error or needed to apologize for anything, ever.
toe (anonymous) says…
Obama Osama Sebilius
ksks2525 (anonymous) says…
Sebelius for Vice President!!!
georgeofwesternkansas (anonymous) says…
"Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says: Get real people. How often do you order food and some mistake is made?I can't tell you how many times someone working under me has made a stupid mistake, that we thought they would know better."Yea, last time they put onions on my cheeseburger, I was suprised when the police came in and arrested the cook. If you are going to make a compairson at least use an example that pairs like wages. Food service employees do not get paid as much as government employees.
dirkleisure (anonymous) says…
george, you poor thing. The political staff for Kathleen Sebelius do not qualify as "government employees." That applies to all of the "people should be fired" comments. The political staff are part of a private enterprise, not a government one.
Eride (anonymous) says…
"This is the second time she has got caught in violation of the campaign ethics rules. Then blamed it of her staff. If you can't control your staff's crooked tactics how can she begin to be a leader in ethics when this was her beginning platform the first time she ran for office."I really doubt that she personally coded the outgoing email communication with the problematic button. I also severely doubt that she ordered it to be placed in the email since the problem was immediately corrected and an apology sent in a timely manner.I don't know whether to laugh at people like you or pity you.
ENGWOOD (anonymous) says…
Obama's Mama will fit right in when she goes to Washington!OOP's we made an error heh heh!! But the message had the intended effect.
igby (anonymous) says…
Yea! Obama's going to pick a woman who has a racist son who she supports by selling the "don't drop the soap game" out of the state house. I don't think so.
jasonc_22 (anonymous) says…
good grief this story drew some weird comments.in the end, sebelius's staff broke a rule, fessed up to it, and i'm sure they'll pay the fine. non issue, non story, and not a big deal.a stupid mistake, but not earth shattering