An email statement released by the conservative think tank Kansas Policy Institute is causing something of a stir, not because of what it said, but because of who sent it out on their behalf.

The statement praising Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson for his new “vision” statement for public schools came from a public relations firm that KPI has hired, Singularis Group. And it’s creating a stir because KPI, which wields significant influence in the Statehouse, receives tax-exempt status as a 501(c)3 organization because it is a supposedly non-partisan think tank, and Singularis Group — whose motto is “We don’t do timid” — is anything but nonpartisan.

The group is led by Kris Van Meteren, a former executive director of the Kansas Republican Party who is known for having employed some pretty brazen tactics in the past, such as taking over the name of a centrist organization, the Mainstream Coalition Inc., after that group failed to renew its articles of incorporation, and sending out mailers under its name that Democrats called deceptive.

On its website, under the category of “success stories,” the group proudly boasts of its role in flipping control of the Kansas Senate away from moderate Republicans to conservatives in the 2012 GOP primaries.

Through a series of very hard hitting,
but very effective mailings, as well
as targeted radio ads and newspaper
campaigns, The Singularis Group
schooled GOP primary voters about the
records, political alliances,
outrageous statements and infuriating
votes made by liberal Republican
senators. We knew that if the truth
penetrated through to the GOP base,
the outcome would be all but certain,
and we were not disappointed.

On that same page, Singularis describes Kansas Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley as having been “arguably the most powerful politician in Topeka since he controlled the votes needed by liberal Republicans to maintain control over the upper house.”

In a telephone interview, Hensley poked fun at that statement, saying he took it as a compliment. But he said the connection between Singularis and KPI raises serious questions.

“It blows the cover off of (KPI president) Dave Trabert’s claim that his organization is nonpartisan and nonpolitical, it seems to me,” Hensley said. “Trabert likes to boast that he doesn’t engage in politics, and he’s a nonpartisan think tank. To my way of thinking, if Singularis has them as their client, then he’s just an extension of the Republican Party.”

But KPI vice president James Franko said he didn’t see any problem being connected with a Republican PR firm.

“We’ve contracted with Singularis for some PR help,” he said in an email. “Not being that familiar with their client list, I’m sure they have some clients with whom we agree on certain issues and others with whom we don’t agree.”