BenjaminHodge.org. Hodge, Kansas economic conservative.

Link: http://www.benjaminhodge.com/newsart136.html

From the Kansas Liberty, Article by Holly Rowe Mo< Six says “open meetings” should be just that. JoCo DA says there are exceptions.
Despite AG’s findings, Howe pledges to keep doors closed to some public meetings

Attorney General Steve Six, responding to an inquiry from state lawmakers about the scope of the Kansas Open Meeting Act, determined that taxes and budget issues cannot be discussed during meetings that are closed to the public, except in cases in which it is “burdensome and impractical, if not impossible” to do so.

Six’s opinion, dated Sept. 23, found that “within an executive session, the governing body or agency…should remain vigilant and engage in self-policing to assure compliance with KOMA.”

Ben Hodge, a former state representative, and treasurer of the Kansans for State and Local Government Reform political action committee, prompted the legislators to ask for the attorney general’s opinion after learning that the president of Johnson County Community College , Terry Callaway, discussed a 64-item list of possible budget cuts during a closed meeting. Hodge is a former Johnson County Community College trustee.

“Some local governments in Kansas think that it’s acceptable to talk during closed-to-the-public meetings about how they spend your tax dollars,” Hodge said in a news release. “But I’ve taken the issue to Democratic Attorney General Stephen Six, and AG Six has agreed that local governments should not intentionally discuss budget-related topics during closed meetings.”

Hodge, along with the Kansas Press Association, believes that Six’s opinion differs from Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe’s interpretation of how the Kansas Open Meeting Act should apply in the Johnson County Community College situation.

Howe determined that the closed meeting did not violate the act, and that it is permissible to discuss budget matters during a closed session if an employee evaluation is also discussed.

Hodge said that Callaway discussed the budget cuts during his performance evaluation, but that Callaway had determined before the meeting that the primary focus of the executive session would be to discuss budget issues thus creating a violation of the act.

The Kansas Press Association argued that Howe’s opinion on the Kansas Open Meeting Act was in conflict with Six’s and requested that Howe review his opinion and once again investigate whether the act was violated at the Johnson County Community College meeting.

“Clearly it was not ‘burdensome’ or ‘impossible’ for Callaway to wait until an open meeting to share his 64-item list of possible budget cuts,” the Kansas Press Association said in its letter to Howe. “He in fact appears to have deliberately used the closed session to discuss policy matters that are not allowed under KOMA.”

Howe said his office will issue a written response to the Kansas Press Association’s questions within the next week, but said that he did not plan to amend his opinion in any way.

“It is our opinion that the AG’s opinion does not conflict with our findings,” Howe told Kansas Liberty. Howe said the response will outline, in detail, his reasoning behind reaching that conclusion.

Although Howe’s opinion was a direct response to the Johnson County Community College situation, Six’s opinion was a response to a hypothetical situation.

Reps. Anthony Brown, R-Eudora; Lana Gordon, R-Topeka; Owen Donohoe, R-Shawnee; and Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City requested Six’s clarification of the Kansas Open Meeting Act.

Donohoe said he believed that Johnson County Community College violated the act when budget cuts were discussed in executive session. Donohoe also agreed with Hodge and the Kansas Press Association that Howe’s interpretation of Kansas Open Meeting Act differed from Six’s.

“Obviously we have a difference of opinion between what the two individuals have stated,” Donohoe told Kansas Liberty. “It is important we get some clarification.”

The Kansas Open Meetings Act requires that at any meetings that fall under the act’s definition must be open to the public. According to the act, these include any “.. boards, commissions, authorities, councils, committees, subcommittees and other subordinate groups thereof, receiving or expending and supported in whole or part by public funds…”

There are some exceptions to Kansas Open Meeting Act guidelines that allow an agency to conduct a closed meeting, including when the group is discussing matters of personnel. However, previous rulings have determined that these exceptions must be interpreted as narrowly as possible.

Donohoe said he was unsure whether executive meetings in the state routinely include discussion of topics that are not appropriate to discuss without the public’s knowledge but said that the attorney general’s opinion should bring more attention to the matter, and hopefully work to discourage any unlawful behavior that may be occurring.

“The better we clarify it, the more people will understand what is acceptable,” he said.

- Holly Smith

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Kansas’ open meetings law must always be heeded
Kansas City Star, The (MO) - Thursday, October 29, 2009
A recent opinion by Kansas Attorney General Steve Six contains advice that all public officials should take to heart.

Asked for a hypothetical opinion based on the facts of a long-disputed incident at Johnson County Community College, Six cautioned public bodies to honor the state s open meetings law, even when no one is looking.

Within an executive session, the governing body or agency should remain vigilant and engage in self-policing to assure compliance, Six said.

The trustees and president of the community college could have spared themselves a lot of trouble if they had followed that line of reasoning last February.

The trustees were meeting in executive session to evaluate college President Terry Calaway s job performance. Asked about the upcoming budget, Calaway produced a list of possible upcoming budget cuts. Former Trustee Benjamin Hodge shared the list with the media, provoking the wrath of other trustees.

In response to a complaint from Hodge , Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said the list fit into the category of personnel matters of non-elected officials and could be discussed in a closed meeting.

We couldn t disagree more.

The proposed cuts were general in nature and didn t discuss specific personnel. Job evaluation sessions aren t meant to provide a haven for boards to discuss issues of keen interest to the public.

Howe s opinion leaves a wide hole for school boards, city councils and other boards to conduct public business behind closed doors. That s not a precedent the district attorney should set.

In his recent advisory, Six noted that Kansas courts have said that public boards must separate matters that are permitted in executive session and those permissible only in open meetings, except to protect the privacy of employees. That wasn t the case with the community college meeting.

The Kansas Press Association has called upon Howe to reconsider his opinion. We hope he will.
Section: News
Page: A15
Provided By: The McClatchy Company
Index Terms: Johnson County Community College; The Kansas Press Association
Location(s): Kansas
Personal Name(s): Steve Six; Terry Calaway s; Steve Howe
Record Number: ed_bks_jccc—405916
Copyright (c) 2009 The Kansas City Star

This is the budget list that JCCC leaders think should be talked about in a closed session

By Benjamin Hodge | 04/26/09

Link: http://www.redcounty.com/budget-list-jccc-leaders-think-should-be-talked-about-a-closed-session

On page 102 (appendix item 42) of my formal KOMA complaint (PDF file) to District Attorney Steve Howe, I provide the list at the center of the open meetings debate at JCCC.  This is the budget-related list that JCCC President Terry Calaway chose to distribute during a closed meeting and that Calaway clearly instructed board members not to share with others.  Calaway on his own decided to print the list, and enough copies were made — note, in advance of the closed meeting — so that each of the 5 board members present at that closed meeting could have a copy of his or her own.  Calaway on his own also decided to share the list, as nobody (myself included) requested that he provide this list — contrary to the false statements made by Calaway and Trustee Lynn Mitchelson.

I encourage readers to look at the 64 items on the list, on page 102.  Is this the type of information that closely relates to Terry Calaway’s private job evaluation?  I don’t think so, and neither does The Kansas City Star nor The Kansas Press Association.  This is budget information, information that the Kansas Open Meetings Act requires be discussed during an open session.

With specific regard to the two items where the employee names are redacted, I’ll reference what I write on page 12 of my letter to the D.A.

• Calaway has also said that the “discussion” of the budget was permissible because two employee names were mentioned. My comments to this:
  • It’s not entirely accurate to state that two names were mentioned. Rather, two partial names were listed-in the form of “B. Hodge.”
  • I do not believe that this is the intent of KOMA, and neither does Merriam, KPA’s attorney - that merely because an employee’s
    name is mentioned, that the discussion about the funding for that employee’s job should be discussed during a closed meeting.
    Remember that a government employee’s title, salary, and length of tenure are all available for public consumption.
  • JCCC makes a mockery of KOMA by implying that a budget discussion involving “Cutting the position of Chief Information
    Officer” should be done during a public meeting, but that a discussion involving “Cutting the position of Chief Information
    Officer, a position currently filled by Joe Smith” should be done during a close session. There is no functional difference!

Link: http://www.redcounty.com/latest-misleading-comment-jccc

Latest misleading comment from JCCC

By Benjamin Hodge | 04/24/09

Tracy Thomas wrote this recently about JCCC:  “You know, it’s the cover-up that kills you. Just ask Bill Clinton.”

On that note:

At the April 15 monthly JCCC board meeting, I called for Chair Shirley Brown-VanArsdale and Vice-Chair Lynn Mitchelson.  They have each engaged in untruthful behavior, and they have allowed JCCC President Calaway to engage in obstructive, intimidating, and misleading behavior.  All three of them have allowed untold amounts of money to be spent on legal services in attempt to intimidate me and mislead the public.

However, after that meeting, the Email summary provided by the college marketing department failed to include my comments.  Didn’t really surprise me all that much, as the marketing director reports directly to Calaway, and Calaway has proven to be untrustworthy.  Also, as the lone economic conservative on the six-member board, I’ve generally grown to become accustomed to political behavior by college personnel.

This from the 4/22 edition of the JCCC Campus Ledger (emphasis mine):

Hodge also blasted the college for omitting his presentation made at the board meeting from the board meeting summary released on the college’s e-mail information service InfoList.

“It doesn’t surprise me. Calaway wants to control the flow of information,” Hodge said. “I think it is amateurish, and they are becoming a parody of themselves at this point.” Julie Haas, executive director, Marketing Communications, writes the summary report after every board meeting.

“The summary does not give opinion and does not comment, it simply reports things happening,” Haas said. “If you look at the budget report, there is a lot more discussion than what is put in the summary.”

Right, Julie.

Here’s a portion of Haas’ summary from the March 26 board meeting:

Faculty Association

Mike Martin, president of the Faculty Association, reviewed aspects of the current negotiation process and announced the association’s endorsement of four candidates for the board election: Bob Drummond, Peter Jouras, Melody Rayl and Stephanie Sharp.

Link: http://campusledger.jccc.edu/news/2009/04/23/thousands-rally-college-tea-party-protest

Thousands rally at college for tea party protest

April 23, 2009 | Written by Ryan Koenig

Passing cars sounded their horns for the estimated 10,000 people sounding their voices at the “tea party” protest on the corner of College Boulevard and Quivira Road on April 15. Similar tea party protests are occurring across the nation and carry a resounding message.

“We are protesting the huge increase in the size of federal and state government under both Republican and Democratic administration,” Amanda Grosserode, tea party co-organizer said. “We feel that the government is overspending, and in the process, creating a huge national debt that we will be paying off for years to come.”

The 10,000 protest attendees placed the tea party in a three-way tie for 6th place in attendance nationwide. The protest’s size was reflected by the police vehicles scattered around the college and was so large that traffic at the intersection of College Boulevard and Quivira Road was directed by Overland Park Police officers.

Protestors held signs that read, “Liberty not tyranny,” “Freedom Yes, Socialism No,” “Stop stealing from our children,” and “Mr. resident, preserve, protect and defend us. Don’t apologize for us.” “[This protest is] not about political parties, Democrat or Republican, it’s not about politicians,” Dave Redel, protestor, said.

“It’s not right for our government to be spending our children and grandchildren’s money before they get a chance to earn it.” The protest was comprised of a variety of people. Parents brought their children along so their voices could be heard. Linda Coffey, protestor, brought her 3 year old great niece who held a sign that read, “Stay out of my piggy bank.”

“[We are] tired of all this [government] pending and the representatives don’t listen to us,” Coffey said. Coffey’s sign read, “Politicians are like dirty diapers, they need to be changed.” The protest lasted approximately three hours and the participants were respectful of the college’s property.

“We brought trash bags to pick up any trash left over, because we assumed we would have trash to clean up and there was not one piece of trash for us to [collect],” Grosserode said. “I think that says something about the type of people who came to the protest. Which plays into the philosophy we have, we believe that people can and will take care of themselves.”

Link: http://www.redcounty.com/taxpayer-funded-intimidation-jccc-tea-day

Taxpayer-Funded Intimidation by JCCC on TEA Day

By Benjamin Hodge | 04/15/09

Is there a government in Kansas more out of touch with its citizens than Johnson County Community College?

This morning, I received a cease and desist letter in my Email from JCCC President Terry Calaway and attorney Mark Ferguson.  I’ll include the full Email at the end of this post.  It claims that the board will consider a defamation lawsuit against me; they know such talk is nonsense and wouldn’t go anywhere in court (my statements would need to be both knowingly false and made with a malicious intent, neither of which, of course, is true), but JCCC leaders are willing to waste taxpayer resources to attempt to intimidate this board member and to attempt to protect their reputations.

It should be noted that Ferguson has never been subject to a competitive review process; he was first hired merely because it was “the JCCC way” to hire a law firm that is a “friend of the college.”  In the coming months, though, he will be required to compete for his job for the first time.  Last month, Ferguson made the decision to engage in a sham “review” of JCCC’s compliance with the Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA), during which he never talked with me nor made me aware that he was performing the review.  During his public summary of the “review,” Ferguson also failed to mention that he-Ferguson-had just a few months prior determined that four board members had violated KOMA when they co-signed a letter to the editor that was published by The Kansas City Star in December 2008.  I fully expect that he took his marching orders from JCCC President Terry Calaway.  If that is true-that Calaway instructed Mark Ferguson to perform an intentionally incomplete review-that is an abuse of the public trust and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Considering that the chair and vice chair are supportive of such a politically-motivated, taxpayer-funded, and misleading attack toward a fellow board member, these two trustees need to resign from their leadership positions.

Calaway, VanArsdale, and Mitchelson are still working on getting their stories straight, with regard to why Calaway made the voluntary, intentional decision to discuss the budget during an executive session that was part of the February 2009 board meeting.  During that executive session, Calaway handed out a typed list of about 50 items that were under consideration to be cut or trimmed in the budget. Calaway also clearly told the board to not distribute the material.

• Calaway has repeatedly made the following false implication in public: that I asked him for the information. This is entirely false and misleading, and Calaway knows it.
• At one point during a phone conversation, I told Calaway that it wasn’t true for him to state that I had asked for the information. Calaway replied: well, maybe it was something you said (meaning, aloud during open session) at a previous board meeting.
• On February 27, as reported on The Prime Buzz blog, Calaway sent an Email to employees that included the following statement (emphasis mine): “The irresponsible nature of this reporting is exacerbated by the fact that the process under consideration had taken place as part of a board of trustees executive session, during which time a brainstormed list of potential cost-saving measures was discussed.”
• Yet in a Gardner News article on March 18 (emphasis mine):
  • Chair Brown-VanArsdale was quoted: “There was no discussion on the budget,” Brown VanArsdale said.
  • President Calaway was quoted: “We’re very careful about discussion in executive session,” Calaway said. “We have an exceptionally experienced board, most particularly our chair and vice chair. They truly understand the (KOMA) criteria. We’re very careful about it, which was why there wasn’t any discussion about this material.”
• Calaway has stated that the “discussion”-to use his terminology-of the budget during executive session is permissible under KOMA because it related to his evaluation. Sorry-that’s not the intent of the Kansas Open Meetings Act. Mike Merriam, the attorney for the Kansas Press Assocation, agrees with me. I have never objected to the fact that Calaway shared this information-the issue is the timing of the distribution of the information. Calaway should have shared the information during an open meeting.
• Calaway has also said that the “discussion” of the budget was permissible because two employee names were mentioned. My comments to this:
  • It’s not entirely accurate to state that two names were mentioned. Rather, two partial names were listed-in the form of “B. Hodge.”
  • I do not believe that this is the intent of KOMA, and neither does Merriam, KPA’s attorney-that merely because an employee’s name is mentioned, that the discussion about the funding for that employee’s job should be discussed during a closed meeting. Remember that a government employee’s title, salary, and length of tenure are all available for public consumption.
  • JCCC makes a mockery of KOMA by implying that a budget discussion involving “Cutting the position of Chief Information Officer” should be done during a public meeting, but that a discussion involving “Cutting the position of Chief Information Officer, a position currently filled by Joe Smith” should be done during a close session. There is no functional difference!
  • Regardless: without a doubt, the other 48 budget items should not have been discussed during an executive session. JCCC again makes a mockery of the open meetings laws by implying that if one name is thrown into a document, that the entire document is therefore off-limits for an open meeting.

To which story(ies) are JCCC leaders sticking?

One other fact that I shared tonight in public for the first time, and that needed to be shared with college employees, in particular: during a phone conversation that I had with Calaway, not too long after the February board meeting, Calaway threatened me. The threats were implied, but they were clear: you will never work at JCCC, and I will sue you for slander/defamation.

Never before-not under former presidents Carlsen or Tyree-has any college employee (not even faculty, who know it’s nearly impossible to be fired) threatened me in such a way. About a week later, after (I thought, incorrectly) things had cooled off, Calaway apologized to me, and I mistakenly thought that he would then proceed in a clear, consistent manner beneficial to the public welfare.

Lastly-and no surprise here, but worth noting-the “meeting summary” issued by JCCC Wednesday evening includes no mention of my comments.  These comments were made during a portion open to the public.  JCCC leaders refuse to provide the courtesy of having a small amount of time in the official agenda; more accurately, Calaway has passively refused now for 6 days to even answer my question to him, regarding whether I will be granted a time to speak during the agenda.

Here is the letter sent to me today by JCCC President Terry Calaway and attorney Mark Ferguson:

________________________________________
From: Mark Ferguson [mailto:markferguson@gsflegal.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 10:02 AM
To: Benjamin Hodge
Cc: Terry Calaway; Sue Kuder; Ben Hodge; Don Weiss; Jon Stewart; Lynn Mitchelson; Melody Rayl; Shirley Brown-VanArsdale
Subject: Ben, Please Call Me: Confidential Attorney Client Privileged Communication
Importance: High
Ben,
I just tried to reach you on your cell phone this morning; please call me immediately. My office phone is 913-661-0222 and my cell phone is 913-707-5125. I would like to speak with you immediately and hopefully discourage you from continuing along your current path that will certainly lead to legal claims and personal liability.
I am very concerned with the direction that you appear to be headed with your anticipated actions and comments later today at the Board of Trustees meeting. You have stated an intent to make a verbal and written presentation in the petitions and communications portion of the board meeting today. While I am sure that the Board Chair will permit you to make your statement and presentation as you have requested, I want to caution you against making any public criticism or attacks of fellow board members or the College president, which may be defamatory in nature. Not only is it simply unnecessary and embarrassing, but more significantly, it might subject you to personal liability.
I have cause for serious concern, given the inflammatory and demanding tone of the emails and blog postings that you have made since the last Board meeting. I have a heightened cause for serious concern based upon the fact that you have stated that you intend to produce a PowerPoint and data file only 30 minutes prior to the meeting. The risk you run is that by presenting any personal attacks in a public setting, which is broadcast on television, you have satisfied the “publication” element of a defamation claim.
I just reviewed your public redcountry blog. You outright accuse Dr. Calaway and the Board leadership of “unethical behavior.” You also state that there is a “recent violation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act” and refer to a “cover-up.” In prior emails and web blog postings, you have accused Dr. Calaway and others of lying and engaging in dishonesty. While you may have a difference of opinion about certain events or the application of KOMA, it is not only inappropriate, but defamatory to state these difference of opinions as fact. To continue with these kinds of baseless allegations, your labels are not only false, but are made in reckless disregard of the truth and appear on their face to be made with the intent to injure the reputation of others. Your pattern of public comments and anticipated public retaliation in tonight’s board meeting serves no legitimate purpose and is construed to be malicious.
Please be forewarned that any comments that you make which are attacking of your fellow board members, the college president, the college administration or the faculty must be based on fact and must not be false. Out an abundance of caution and to make sure that you are warned in advance of your actions, any personal attacks waged in the public will not be tolerated and will likely be met with legal claims against you. As attorney to the Board, it is within the scope of my responsibility to protect the Board from legal liability and represent the Board as a legal entity, when legal matters arise. This is one of those occasions.
I will make myself available to discuss any of these points by phone or in person today prior to the Board meeting, so as to help you avoid any public embarrassment and legal liability. I urge you to immediately cease and desist with any planned public attacks and advise you to seek advice of your own competent legal counsel.
Mark.
Mark A. Ferguson
Gates, Shields & Ferguson, P.A.
10990 Quivira; Suite 200
Overland Park, KS 66210
P: 913-661-0222
F: 913-491-6398
C: 913-707-5125
MarkFerguson@GSFLEGAL.COM
www.gsflegal.com

Link: http://www.redcounty.com/calaway-offers-four-different-reasons-budget-release-sticking-now-two

Calaway offers four different reasons for budget release; sticking now to two

By Benjamin Hodge | 03/28/09

Terry Calaway knows better.

“Let me see this year’s final budget proposal (and whether there’s a tax increase), and then my rating will change.”

That — and only that — is what I wrote to Calaway in his evaluation, with regard to financial management.

To briefly review:  Calaway shared budget information during a closed session, when it would have been much more appropriate to have shared the information during an open meeting (according to a correct interpretation of the Kansas Open Meetings Act, KOMA).

In an attempt to throw the blame to me, the JCCC president continues to support a false theme that, unfortunately, some employees at JCCC probably believe: the idea that I requested for him to share budget information during the closed session. That’s not true. Calaway knows it’s not true. To continue to encourage that theme is to lie, and that is what Calaway is doing.

The purpose of the closed meeting was for an annual evaluation of Calaway. To be clear, it is OK to have a closed “executive” session to discuss individual employees. But it is not OK to talk about the budget in a closed meeting.

An important aside: Calaway claims to consider evaluations extremely private, and he claims to be offended that the public is now discussing his evaluation. Here’s the thing — it’s only because of Calaway that people are discussing the topic of his evaluation. Early on in this debate, Calaway openly informed the press that his evaluation was the main purpose of the closed meeting. And it was Calaway — not me — that released the rating that he received from me on one part of the evaluation (fiscal responsibility, where I ranked him as a 3 out of 5).

Calaway is really reaching. He says that he doesn’t want to talk about his evaluation in public, but he cannot stop talking about it.

On the “fiscal responsibility” part of his evaluation — I made a simple, short, and clear implication: I will rate you higher next year if you don’t raise taxes. The exact quote, again: “Let me see this year’s final budget proposal (and whether there’s a tax increase), and then my rating will change.”

We won’t know until mid-year (when JCCC will finalize the budget) whether Calaway will ask for a tax increase. While he has indicated multiple times that JCCC will likely not increase taxes, he will not make a firm commitment. The two elected leaders — Board Chair Shirley Brown-VanArsdale and Vice Chair Lynn Mitchelson — are also still considering “all options” (read “tax increase”). And so, I will not learn the answer to the question, “Will Calaway request a tax increase?” until mid-year. Therefore, no amount of information given to the board today could answer the question. Nothing short of a firm pledge of “yes” or “no” would answer the question.

Calaway claims that my theme for rating him on financial management (”I will rate you higher next year if you don’t raise taxes”) led him to then provide to the board a list of about 50 possible/considered budget cuts. And my reaction is — fine, glad to have the information. I don’t really care that Calaway claims to have interpreted my statement to mean, “I should give Ben detailed information today indicating what I’m willing to cut.” But the following point is critical: by no means did I state anything to suggest that I requiredfrom Calaway a detailed list of budgetary information, as a part of his evaluation. To suggest otherwise is flat-out incorrect. I clearly stated that my concerns would subside once I viewed a “final budget.” Not “brainstorming.” Not “ideas.” Not “considerations.”  Rather, I wrote “final budget.”

To run with the incorrect theme of “Hey, Hodge asked for the information,” and to not correct others on that point, is to lie.

In an effort to gain pity from employees, Calaway stated that, in the future, he will need to do his performance evaluations in public. No, that is just another over-reaction from Dr. Calaway: what he needs to do is NOT give detailed budget information out during a closed meeting, even when that meeting also includes a private evaluation.

I’ll never know for certain whether Calaway’s stated reason (the lie that I requested the information) is really THE reason that he decided to provide budget information during executive session. Why? Because, in our one on one conversations, he’s suggested to me two additional reasons; in public, he’s stated yet a FOURTH reason:

1. That it’s OK to discuss budget information in a closed meeting, because the budget pays the salaries of individual employees.
2. That I requested the information from him not in my evaluation, but during the previous public board meeting — he’s suggested two different timelines.
3. This is the most entertaining, I think — that the open meetings laws only apply to verbal statements. Meaning, topics that are inappropriate to talk about are OK to type out and then distribute.

Lately, Calaway has narrowed the four different explanations to only two:

1. That, in my written evaluation, I asked for this information (untrue).
2. I’m quite surprised, actually, on this one: Calaway stands by his remark toThe Gardner News that it was OK to distribute budgetary information, just as long as it wasn’t talked about. Chair Brown-VanArsdale stated the identical idea in the same news article.

The behavior the last few weeks by Calaway, Brown-VanArsdale, and Mitchelson are a continuation of the predominant behavior of the JCCC board during the past 20 years: don’t question the administration, and attack anybody who does. This behavior is unacceptable for a taxpayer-supported institution.

Link: http://www.redcounty.com/entire-jccc-leadership-openly-hostile-kansas-laws-citizens-0

JCCC leadership openly hostile to Kansas laws, citizens

By Benjamin Hodge | 03/27/09

JCCC should change it’s theme from “Learning comes first” to “Learning comes first for everybody but the administration and the board.”  Or perhaps, “Taxpayers come last.”

Text of Majority Leader Ray Merrick’s speech to the Elephant Club on October 20, 2009.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today. It’s an honor to serve the people of Kansas as the Majority Leader of the Kansas House of Representatives. (more…)

Six says “open meetings” should be just that. JoCo DA says there are exceptions.

Despite AG’s findings, Howe pledges to keep doors closed to some public meetings

Link: http://www.kansasliberty.com/liberty-update-archive/2009/02nov/johnson-county-da-says-he-will-not-change-his-koma-opinion-despite-ags-recent-findings

Attorney General Steve Six, responding to an inquiry from state lawmakers about the scope of the Kansas Open Meeting Act, determined that taxes and budget issues cannot be discussed during meetings that are closed to the public, except in cases in which it is “burdensome and impractical, if not impossible” to do so.
Six’s opinion, dated Sept. 23, found that “within an executive session, the governing body or agency…should remain vigilant and engage in self-policing to assure compliance with KOMA.”
Ben Hodge, a former state representative, and treasurer of the Kansans for State and Local Government Reform political action committee, prompted the legislators to ask for the attorney general’s opinion after learning that the president of Johnson County Community College, Terry Callaway, discussed a 64-item list of possible budget cuts during a closed meeting. Hodge is a former Johnson County Community College trustee.
“Some local governments in Kansas think that it’s acceptable to talk during closed-to-the-public meetings about how they spend your tax dollars,” Hodge said in a news release. “But I’ve taken the issue to Democratic Attorney General Stephen Six, and AG Six has agreed that local governments should not intentionally discuss budget-related topics during closed meetings.”
Hodge, along with the Kansas Press Association, believes that Six’s opinion differs from Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe’s interpretation of how the Kansas Open Meeting Act should apply in the Johnson County Community College situation.
Howe determined that the closed meeting did not violate the act, and that it is permissible to discuss budget matters during a closed session if an employee evaluation is also discussed.
Hodge said that Callaway discussed the budget cuts during his performance evaluation, but that Callaway had determined before the meeting that the primary focus of the executive session would be to discuss budget issues thus creating a violation of the act.
The Kansas Press Association argued that Howe’s opinion on the Kansas Open Meeting Act was in conflict with Six’s and requested that Howe review his opinion and once again investigate whether the act was violated at the Johnson County Community College meeting.
“Clearly it was not ‘burdensome’ or ‘impossible’ for Callaway to wait until an open meeting to share his 64-item list of possible budget cuts,” the Kansas Press Association said in its letter to Howe. “He in fact appears to have deliberately used the closed session to discuss policy matters that are not allowed under KOMA.”
Howe said his office will issue a written response to the Kansas Press Association’s questions within the next week, but said that he did not plan to amend his opinion in any way.
“It is our opinion that the AG’s opinion does not conflict with our findings,” Howe told Kansas Liberty. Howe said the response will outline, in detail, his reasoning behind reaching that conclusion.
Although Howe’s opinion was a direct response to the Johnson County Community College situation, Six’s opinion was a response to a hypothetical situation.
Reps. Anthony Brown, R-Eudora; Lana Gordon, R-Topeka; Owen Donohoe, R-Shawnee; and Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City requested Six’s clarification of the Kansas Open Meeting Act.
Donohoe said he believed that Johnson County Community College violated the act when budget cuts were discussed in executive session. Donohoe also agreed with Hodge and the Kansas Press Association that Howe’s interpretation of Kansas Open Meeting Act differed from Six’s.
“Obviously we have a difference of opinion between what the two individuals have stated,” Donohoe told Kansas Liberty. “It is important we get some clarification.”
The Kansas Open Meetings Act requires that at any meetings that fall under the act’s definition must be open to the public. According to the act, these include any “.. boards, commissions, authorities, councils, committees, subcommittees and other subordinate groups thereof, receiving or expending and supported in whole or part by public funds…”
There are some exceptions to Kansas Open Meeting Act guidelines that allow an agency to conduct a closed meeting, including when the group is discussing matters of personnel. However, previous rulings have determined that these exceptions must be interpreted as narrowly as possible.
Donohoe said he was unsure whether executive meetings in the state routinely include discussion of topics that are not appropriate to discuss without the public’s knowledge but said that the attorney general’s opinion should bring more attention to the matter, and hopefully work to discourage any unlawful behavior that may be occurring.
“The better we clarify it, the more people will understand what is acceptable,” he said.
- Holly Smith

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JCCC faculty enters fray on inquiry of Carlsen
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-May 4, 2006
Author: MELODEE HALL BLOBAUM

Johnson County Community College faculty members are turning up the volume in expressing concern about college leadership since last month’s departure of longtime president Charles Carlsen.

Members of the faculty association have directed the group’s executive council to draft a statement similar to one released by 10 of the association’s former presidents late last week.

That statement called for Board of Trustees Chairwoman Elaine Perilla to excuse herself from involvement in an independent investigation into allegations that Carlsen sexually harassed a female employee in 2003.

But at least two trustees said the faculty was acting hastily.

“I think it’s premature,” said Trustee Ben Hodge, noting that the independent investigation had barely started.

Trustees will meet tonight to discuss an interim president and the search for a new president. It was unclear whether their agenda would include other subjects.

At their regular meeting last week, trustees directed their attorney to contact Kansas City lawyer Betsy Badger to see if she would conduct the review. Their resolution limited the investigation to interviews with faculty and staff on the “public allegation” involving Carlsen and said the findings and recommendations would not be disclosed publicly in order to protect the confidentiality of personnel.

That raised red flags for the faculty.

“There’s widespread agreement that the investigation should examine all the issues, not just the allegations against Chuck Carlsen,” said Vincent Clark, president of the faculty association. “The motion passed by the board used the singular, and you have to conclude, since it was written by the lawyer, that was on purpose.”

The earlier statement by the former college presidents asked that the investigation include not only the allegation against Carlsen but also the process involved in handling it.

Perilla declined to comment on the earlier statement, which also called for her to resign as board chairwoman.

Both Hodge and Trustee Jon Stewart said they stand behind Perilla.

Perilla and board vice-chairman Lynn Mitchelson issued a statement late Friday through public relations consultant David Westbrook to clarify the board’s views on public disclosure of the report and its recommendations.

The statement said, in part, “If the consultant believes our policies are sound and require no revision, then I think we have a duty to disclose the consultant’s reasoning for this conclusion. … There is a delicate balance between the privacy rights we must honor for our staff and the disclosure obligations we must meet when facing our taxpayers and constituents.”

The sexual harassment allegations against Carlsen came to light in the campus newspaper’s April 13 edition. Carlsen announced a voluntary leave of absence that evening and retired a week later.

He denied the allegations to the school newspaper and in his retirement letter said he had done nothing wrong.

The school newspaper article also reported that Perilla had been given a copy of a 22-page narrative about the harassment.

Clark said the faculty association, which represents about 300 full-time faculty members, believes neither Perilla nor two staff members who may have been privy to the allegations should be involved in the investigation.

Perilla said she expected that trustees tonight would discuss the process both for choosing an interim president and beginning the search for a new leader.

Charles Bishop, a history professor and former president of the faculty association, said someone from outside the college might be the best interim leader.

“Anybody here is going to be tainted because of their alliance with Carlsen or with the board,” he said. “Somebody with stature from the community would be great.”

Faculty members would like a say in the selection of both an interim and permanent leader.

Clark said, “Talking about a process is a good idea, doing something quickly is a good idea, but appointing someone without any consultation (with the faculty) is an extremely bad idea.”

Tonight’s meeting

The Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees will meet at 7 tonight in the Hugh Speer Board Room in the General Education Building at the college, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park.

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Legal expenses mushroom at JCCC
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In two months, attorney fees top $56,000
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-May 31, 2006
Author: MELODEE HALL BLOBAUM

Johnson County Community College trustees spent more than half of the school’s annual $100,000 budget for legal services in March and April.

Lathrop & Gage, the law firm that represents the college, billed trustees $56,379.72 for professional services and costs over the two-month period.

Trustees sought legal help for a number of matters in the two-month period, including President Charles Carlsen’s unexpected retirement April 20 amid allegations that he had sexually harassed a female employee in 2003.

The trustees’ charges included a $10,000 engagement retainer paid on April 6 to Corporate Communications Group, Inc., an Overland Park public relations firm led by David Westbrook.

Michael Grimaldi, director of issues management for the company, said Friday that his firm’s total charges for services to the college in April had come to roughly $42,000, including the retainer.

Grimaldi would not elaborate on what services his firm had provided. But, he said, it was not uncommon for law firms in Kansas City and across the nation to hire public relations counsel when a client faced the potential of litigation.

And, he said, the fees often are heavier in the early days of an “issues management” situation than they are later.

Trustee Ben Hodge said Mark Ferguson, the board’s attorney at Lathrop & Gage, had provided valuable assistance.

But in hindsight, he wondered whether trustees had needed the additional PR counsel.

“I don’t know whether we got $42,000 worth of work,” he said. “They’re nice people; I appreciate their work. But I think we could have handled our PR needs entirely from staff we already had at the college.”

The college has 13 full-time and eight part-time staff members in its information and publications department, including a director, two full-time writer/editors in publications and one in media relations, a publications manager, a photographer, four graphic designers, two full-time Web editors and a full-time administrative assistant.

Trustee Lynn Mitchelson said he did not think the staff had the professional credentials to deal with events like those that unfolded at the college in April.

The school’s newspaper published allegations in its April 13 issue that Carlsen had sexually harassed a female employee in 2003. Carlsen denied the allegations to the student newspaper.

He began a voluntary leave of absence that evening and called for an independent investigation.

In his retirement letter, Carlsen said he had done nothing wrong and was pained to see the college distracted by issues having nothing to do with its educational mission.

“This is a unique and unprecedented event,” Mitchelson said. “It calls for calling on the best PR counsel you can. I wouldn’t expect we would need to do it again in the future, unless something very potentially damaging to the college should happen.”

Former Trustee Molly Baumgardner said that using the PR firm simply added a second or third tier to the process of getting information out.

She noted that Westbrook had spoken on behalf of trustees, and wondered why the trustees could not speak for themselves.

“It does not cost a dime to say, ‘No comment,’” she said. “That’s the option that every elected official has.”

Mitchelson said the college might have been on track to exceed its legal budget even before April.

For example, he said the school’s lawyers had handled a higher-than-usual number of personnel issues during the fiscal year, as well as finding new quarters for a northeast Johnson County satellite location when it lost its space at Mission Center.

When charges for the business office and other matters were added in, the school’s Lathrop & Gage bills for March and April totaled $74,811.09. Two-month totals for the previous six months averaged $25,150.52.

Don Perkins, the school’s director of budget and auxiliary services, said Friday that the college had spent about $230,000 for legal services since July 1.

Perkins said the money needed to pay the bills had been transferred from the president’s $500,000 contingency budget.

To reach Melodee Hall Blobaum, call (816) 234-7733 or send e-mail to mblobaum@kcstar.com.

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JCCC confirms interim choice
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Beginning July 5, Larry Tyree will serve as president while trustees seek permanent leader.
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-June 16, 2006
Author: MELODEE HALL BLOBAUM

Larry Tyree will begin work as the interim president of Johnson County Community College on July 5.

The school’s trustees approved his hiring in a 5-1 vote Thursday afternoon.

Tyree, of Sarasota, Fla., will be paid $18,833.33 a month. The college will also reimburse him for reasonable expenses and provide an automobile, laptop computer and cell phone. His contract is month to month.

Trustee Ben Hodge voted against the contract, saying he welcomed Tyree but thought the college could have saved money by hiring local candidate Bill Eddy.

Trustee Lynn Mitchelson said checks of Tyree’s references earned him universal praise for his service as the CEO of community colleges.

In 2002, Tyree was interim leader at a community college in Kentucky. Earlier he held leadership posts at several institutions in the South.

Mike Martin, a Faculty Association officer, praised the selection.

“I m personally elated,” he said. “He has the experience, background and vitality to both stabilize the institution and maintain, possibly even elevate, our national profile.”

Trustees also took an initial step in their search for a permanent president to replace Charles J. Carlsen, who retired suddenly in April.

They identified two search firms that will be asked to make presentations at the board’s meeting in July. The consultants are Hockaday-Hunter & Associates in North Carolina and David Ponitz, president emeritus of a community college in Ohio.

In other business, board chairwoman Elaine Perilla asked that her name not be on the slate of board officers to be elected in July. She has led the board since 1997.

Perilla appointed trustees Jon Stewart and Shirley Brown-VanArsdale to the board nominating committee.

To reach Melodee Hall Blobaum, call (816) 234-7733 or send e-mail to mblobaum@kcstar.com.

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Tyree

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Committee takes shape
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-August 17, 2006
Author: MELODEE HALL BLOBAUM

It takes a village to select a chief. At least that seems to be the case for the screening committee for a new president at Johnson County Community College.

Trustees on Tuesday chose 14 categories of committee members, including professors, students, lawmakers and a faith community representative. Trustees Elaine Perilla and Ben Hodge will serve as co-leaders of the group, which will work with search firm Hockaday-Hunter and Associates.

The committee’s makeup has some faculty members irked. Vincent Clark, Faculty Association president, said there’s not enough faculty (three) and too many politicians (three).

Perilla said the search firm said the makeup looked fairly standard.

| Melodee Hall Blobaum, mblobaum@kcstar.com

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Report omits conclusion
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Faculty want to know about probe of sexual-harassment allegations.
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-September 22, 2006
Author: MELODEE HALL BLOBAUM and EDIE HALL

JOHNSON COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE | Lawyer’s inquiry released

A report released Thursday on an investigation into sexual-harassment allegations against former Johnson County Community College President Charles Carlsen does not draw any conclusions on whether harassment occurred.

The board in May asked Kansas City lawyer Betsy Badger to conduct an independent investigation of allegations made by Human Resources Manager Teresa Lee and published in the student newspaper on April 13. The alleged incidents happened between May and November 2003.

The 12-page report said that Lee followed college procedures related to sexual harassment and that the matter had been dealt with in November 2003.

Carlsen, who called for the review the day the allegations were published and retired a week later, released a statement Thursday night. He said that he had reviewed the report and had nothing to say beyond what he said when he retired. He said he had done nothing wrong.

“I am pleased that the college will now be able to move forward with its important work without further distraction,” he said in the statement Thursday.

But Lee said she was disappointed with the report.

“I m just very surprised that this is the result of all of that work,” she said.

Badger presented the report to trustees at their regular meeting. Her firm billed the college $377,390 through Sept. 3 for the work. Trustees declined to comment on the report, saying they had not had an opportunity to read it.

Others who filled the board room and spilled into the hallway wanted more information.

“This isn’t what I expected,” said associate business professor Katie Ghahramani. “I thought it would be more complete and more of a narrative of what happened. It’s just he-said, she-said, and that’s nothing really new.”

Faculty members also were concerned that the report didn’t appear to address trustees knowledge of the matter.

“When did they become aware of this, and what did they know?” said history professor Michael Hembree.

The report was not the sum of Badger’s work.

“Our legal analysis, advice and communications with representatives of the Board about the Lee/Carlsen matter are not included here,” the report said. “The engagement also included legal analysis, advice and review of other personnel and policy matters also not included here.”

According to the report, Badger and her associate conducted scores of interviews. Many were reluctant to talk because they feared the board would learn who had made negative comments about Carlsen or the college.

Carlsen was initially cooperative, the report said. He denied all of Lee’s allegations of misconduct. He gave Badger access to his college computer and personal papers.

But on the advice of his lawyer Carlsen suspended his participation in the review on July 13, and canceled a scheduled second interview.

Lee didn’t respond immediately to Badger’s request for an interview. When she did, she answered nearly all of the questions though she declined to answer some and declined to provide some information. She also declined to give Badger access to her college-owned computer.

The report said a narrative written by Lee said Carlsen touched her breast with his elbow or forearm five times between May and November of 2003. Carlsen denied that he ever touched her breast.

Lee confronted Carlsen on Nov. 10, 2003, telling him it made her uncomfortable when he stood too close to her. They agreed that she didn’t confront him with a specific claim that he had touched her breast.

Lee told the attorneys that she counted on Carlsen to know what she meant.

A second meeting that appeared to end discussion of the matter included Lee, Carlsen, human resources director Dorothy Friedrich and special assistant to the president, Susan Lindahl. Friedrich and Lindahl are now vice presidents.

Trustees initially said they would not release the report publicly, a decision that drew sharp criticism from faculty.

After trustees this summer met twice with Badger behind closed doors for interim reports, chairman Lynn Mitchelson said the report would be released to the public.

Before the meeting, trustee Ben Hodge said he expected that the report would please few people.

“If people are looking for conclusions, or who’s guilty and who’s innocent, that’s not our role and it wasn’t our intent,” he said.

Timeline of events

April 13: The Campus Ledger publishes an article alleging that college President Charles Carlsen sexually harassed a female employee in 2003. Carlsen denies the allegations in the newspaper article.

He issues a written statement calling for an independent third-party investigation of the allegation and announcing that he will take a voluntary leave of absence until the process is concluded. April 20: Carlsen abruptly announces his retirement, saying he has done nothing wrong. Trustees accept his retirement in a special meeting.

April 26: After meeting behind closed doors for 3 hours, trustees choose Betsy Badger of the Kansas City law firm Badger and Levings to conduct the independent review. Sept. 21: Trustees receive Badger’s report during their regular monthly meeting.

@ For the text of the report, go to KansasCity.com

To reach Melodee Hall Blobaum, call (816) 234-7733 or send e-mail to mblobaum@kcstar.com carlsen22_09-22-2006_E1O41AM.xml

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JCCC continues president search
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Trustees go ahead despite a 230-signature petition to keep interim president Larry Tyree.
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-September 28, 2006
Author: MELODEE HALL BLOBAUM

Trustees go ahead despite a 230-signature petition to keep interim president Larry Tyree.

Johnson County Community College trustees will move ahead with the search for a new president for the school, despite requests from faculty, staff and administrators to slow the process.

Trustees on Wednesday approved in a 5-0 vote a presidential profile developed by a 16-member screening committee. Trustee Jon Stewart was not at the meeting. The profile will be published in advertisements, and the screening committee will meet again next month to review applications for the post.

More than 230 people had signed an online petition by late Wednesday asking trustees to rethink the search and keep interim president Larry Tyree as president for the short term.

Trustees said they would welcome an application from Tyree, who said he would consider whether he would enter the search process over the weekend.

“You ve obviously made an impression, and I m delighted you may have an interest in applying,” Lynn Mitchelson, the board chairman, told Tyree.

The school hired Tyree following former President Charles Carlsen’s retirement in April after the school newspaper published allegations he had sexually harassed a female employee in 2003. He denied the allegations.

Some in the crowded board room Wednesday were dissatisfied with the decision to continue the search.

“The board already has made an excellent presidential choice in Dr. Tyree,” said Jonathan Bacon, academic director of the educational technology center. “There’s no need for a consultant or a national search.”

History professor Jim Leikert said a packet of hundreds of e-mails presented to Mitchelson at the meeting was an expression of support for Tyree and of disappointment in the divisiveness of Trustees Elaine Perilla and Ben Hodge, who lead the search.

But Mitchelson said after the meeting that much of the ill will is based on the screening committee’s composition.

“What we as trustees and the screening committee have to do is make sure everyone in the college family knows their voices will be heard,” he said.

@ A copy of the online petition can be seen at http://staff.jccc.edu/mmartin/ healing.html.

A blog on the subject is at http://a-time-for-healing. blogspot.com. jccc28_09-28-2006_UQO7SDG.xml

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Professor, graduate student divided on social issues
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Two newcomersare vying for seat left vacant by Scott Schwab.
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-October 18, 2006
Author: ASHLEY BROWN

A Johnson County Community College professor and a University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate student are vying for the 49th District seat in the Kansas House of Representatives, a position vacated by Scott Schwab, who lost the race for the 3rd Congressional District seat.

Democrat Bond Faulwell serves as adjunct associate professor of Political Science at JCCC, while Republican Ben Hodge is studying for a master’s degree in business administration at UMKC.

Neither candidate supports a Taxpayers Bill of Rights that would limit growth in state spending according to inflation and population growth. On social issues such as homosexual marriage, abortion rights and the death penalty, the candidates are divided along party lines.

If elected, Faulwell would focus on education. Hodge wishes to change state judicial selection to the federal model so that the governor would make appointments and the Kansas House would confirm the appointments. The 49th district encompasses much of southeast Olathe, bordered by Interstate 35 on the west and Overland Park on the east.

The following responses were excerpted from a questionnaire sent to all legislative candidates.

Would you support an increase in the local option budgets (the current state-imposed ceiling on the collection of local tax dollars) for Kansas school districts?

Faulwell: Definitely. If a community wants world-class schools it should be able to have them. I believe in local government and local control.

Hodge: I will support the ability of local governments to raise more money, if they so desire. Whether local governments should indeed raise taxes is another matter.

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade and allows states to decide the abortion question, would you vote to ban all abortions in the state and make it a crime for a woman to have an abortion and a physician to perform an abortion? In what instances do you believe abortion should be legal?

Hodge: I believe an advanced and compassionate society will value life at all stages - regardless of a person’s intelligence, regardless of disease, regardless of handicap, and regardless of whether a child had been planned for by the parents. I only support abortion in the event of an extreme health-related situation with the mother.

Faulwell: This issue has been discussed as a hypothetical for decades. Candidates have run on it, knowing they would never have to deliver. I do not like abortions - they represent a tragedy - and I will work to reduce them through promotion of adoption, providing better health care and education. If we prevent conception we avoid the abortion. Under no circumstances, however, should abortion be in the criminal justice system. We do not need to be putting poor women in prison for seeking abortions through back alley butchers while more affluent women travel to get safe abortions.

Should alternatives to the theory of evolution - like intelligent design or creationism - be taught in public science classrooms?

Faulwell: Creationism and intelligent design are not alternatives to evolution. Evolution is a scientific theory. Creationism, intelligent design and other cosmological and teleological arguments belong in philosophy classes. I do not believe the state should be teaching religion. This responsibility rests with the family and the church. As a Christian, I find the idea of evolution vs. Christianity to be a false dichotomy.

Hodge: I suppose leaving these decisions to the local school district. When I am a parent, I will support such teaching.

Do you support the state’s death penalty? Would you expand it to cover other crimes like child rape? In what instances do you think the state should put a criminal to death?

Hodge: I support the death penalty.

Faulwell: I do not personally believe in the death penalty. It puts government in the position of taking a life. We also know innocent people have been executed as well as placed on “death row.” Those unable to hire their own counsel are also more likely to receive the death penalty. However, I believe a majority of Kansans do support the penalty and it will therefore be continued. I believe it should be used rarely for the most heinous crimes such as mass murder by John Robinson.

Should schools be required to teach abstinence only in sex education courses? Should students automatically be exempted from sex education classes unless a parent or guardian specifically requests they be included?

Faulwell: I believe in abstinence plus education in other facets of sexuality. Preventing conception is the key to preventing abortion. I believe in opt-out, not opt-in.

Hodge: I support leaving these decisions to the local school district. When I am a parent, I will support my local school district teaching abstinence education, and I will support opt-in sex education.

BOND FAULWELL

Party: Democrat

Age: 51

Occupation: Adjunct associate professor of Political Science at Johnson County Community College

Education: Bachelor’s degree in philosophy, Grinnell College; Master’s degree in public administration, University of Missouri - Kansas City; further study at Harvard University and University of Hull in the UK

Public service: Elder, Presbyterian Church; Advisory Committee to American Red Cross; University of Missouri School of Administration; President of the Lenexa Jaycees; President of local chapters of the Senior Executives Association and the American Society for Public Administration; Associate Coordinator of the Combined Federal United Way Campaign; high school hockey commissioner.

Family: Wife, Shirley, two children and four grandchildren.

Endorsements: Political Action Committee for Mainstream Coalition, Kansas Families United for Public Education and Heavy Constructors Association.

BEN HODGE

Party: Republican

Age: 26

Occupation: Business administration graduate student at University of Missouri - Kansas City

Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism, Kansas State University

Public service: Trustee, Johnson County Community College; Eagle scout

Family: Single

Endorsements include: Kansans for Life, Commissioner Doug Wood, Commissioner John Toplikar

A candidate forum for District 49 will air on Time Warner Channel 17 and Comcast Channel 22 at 8 p.m. Oct. 25. The forum can be viewed online at video.jccc.edu.

For a complete set of questions and answers, go to www.kansascity.com and visit the Politics page.

To reach Ashley Brown, Olathe education reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-7729 or send e-mail to abrown@kcstar.com

Kansas House | District 49

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Other women accused Carlsen
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“A few” reported inappropriate touching by then-JCCC president, trustee statement says.
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-October 20, 2006
Author: MELODEE HALL BLOBAUM

A statement released late Thursday by Johnson County Community College trustees said additional women had reported being inappropriately touched by former President Charles Carlsen.

Carlsen retired abruptly in April after the school newspaper reported allegations that he had sexually harassed a female employee in 2003. He denied the allegations.

Fred Logan, Carlsen’s attorney, said Carlsen denies the allegations revealed Thursday and stands by what he has said from the very beginning: that he has done nothing wrong. Logan said Carlsen thinks that his record of service to the college and the community speaks for itself, and those people who know him and have worked with him will reject these allegations.

The trustees statement says “a few” women interviewed during an independent investigation by the Kansas City law firm Badger and Levings reported that from the late 1990s to early 2005, they had been touched in a manner similar to that reported by Teresa Lee, the woman identified in the school newspaper report.

“They said that they concluded that the conduct was not inadvertent or accidental because it was repeated,” the statement said. “A few other women confirmed what they called inappropriate conduct by Carlsen during this same time period but declined to specifically describe the conduct or answer other specific statements about it.”

The statement said all the women said the conduct occurred while they worked at the community college. Their allegations had never been reported to the college “under the college procedure or as a legal claim against the college,” the statement said.

The statement said Carlsen canceled a scheduled interview and ended his participation in the independent investigation before attorneys Betsy Badger and Theresa Levings could ask him about the other women’s allegations.

Some of those interviewed provided second-hand information about other women thought to have been the object of inappropriate conduct by Carlsen. Three of those women denied any improper conduct toward them, and one declined to speak with Badger and Levings.

The statement also addressed allegations that Lee had given a written narrative documenting the incidents to Trustee Elaine Perilla in 2004. The statement said that Lee and Perilla disagree about whether that happened.

Trustees voted 4-1 to release the statement after meeting for four hours behind closed doors with Badger, Levings and board attorney Mark Ferguson. Levings is the wife of Darryl Levings, The Star’s national editor, who played no role in reporting or editing this story.

Perilla voted against releasing the statement; Trustee Shirley Brown Van Arsdale was not at the meeting.

Perilla declined to comment on the statement or why she voted against releasing it.

Trustee Jon Stewart said releasing the statement was not the result of pressure from the media or from the faculty, who on Wednesday announced plans for a vote of no confidence in Perilla.

Trustee Ben Hodge said the board would continue to hear from Badger and Levings, and Chairman Lynn Mitchelson stressed that the board was committed to respecting the privacy of those who participated in the investigation.

He also said the board continues to investigate the atmosphere at the college.

“We have a change in style of leadership now,” he said. “We have a new interim president and a new chairman.”

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Professor competes with student for seat left open by Rep. Schwab
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Candidates weigh in on abortion rights, teaching alternatives to evolution.
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-November 1, 2006
Author: ASHLEY BROWN

KANSAS HOUSE | DISTRICT 49

It’s the professor vs. the student in the 49th District of the Kansas House of Representatives.

Bond Faulwell, a Democrat, and Republican Ben Hodge are vying for a seat vacated by Scott Schwab, who lost the race for the 3rd Congressional District seat.

Faulwell serves as adjunct associate professor of political science at Johnson County Community College, while Hodge, a Republican, is studying for a master’s degree in business administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Hodge believes abortion is permissible only “in the event of an extreme health-related situation with the mother.” Faulwell would not ban abortion, but said he wishes to “reduce (abortions) through promotion of adoption and providing better health care and education.”

Faulwell does not support the teaching of alternatives to the theory of evolution, such as intelligent design or creationism, in Kansas classrooms. Hodge said he would leave such decisions to local school districts, but would support the teaching when he has children in school. Hodge also advocates leaving the structure of sex education, including whether such classes are “opt-out” or “opt-in,” to individual districts. Faulwell said that he supports a program that teaches both abstinence and “other facets of sexuality.”

Neither candidate supports a Taxpayers Bill of Rights that would limit growth in state spending according to inflation and population growth.

If elected, Faulwell would focus on education. Hodge wishes to change state judicial selection to the federal model so that the governor would make appointments and the Kansas House would confirm the appointments.

The 49th district encompasses much of southeast Olathe, bordered by Interstate 35 on the west and Overland Park on the east.

BOND FAULWELL

Party: Democrat

Age: 51

Occupation: Adjunct associate professor of Political Science at Johnson County Community College

Education: Bachelor’s degree in philosophy, Grinnell College; Master’s degree in public administration, University of Missouri - Kansas City

Public service: Elder, Presbyterian Church; Advisory Committee to American Red Cross; University of Missouri School of Administration; President of the Lenexa Jaycees; President of local chapters of the Senior Executives Association and the American Society for Public Administration; Associate Coordinator of the Combined Federal United Way Campaign; high school hockey commissioner.

Endorsements: Political Action Committee for Mainstream Coalition, Kansas Families United for Public Education and Heavy Constructors Association.

Web site: www.bondfaulwell.com

BEN HODGE

Party: Republican

Age: 26

Occupation: Business administration graduate student at University of Missouri - Kansas City

Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism, Kansas State University

Public service: Trustee, Johnson County Community College; Eagle Scout

Endorsements: Kansans for Life, Commissioner Doug Wood, Commissioner John Toplikar

Web site: www.benjaminhodge.com

A candidate forum for this race can be viewed online at video.jccc.edu.

For a complete set of questions and answers, go to www.kansascity.com and visit the Politics page.

Photos (2)

Section: Photo
Page: 14

Record Number: 2005045
Copyright 2006 The Kansas City Star Co.

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Finance reports show Republicans raising more, spending more
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Kansas City Star, The (MO)-November 4, 2006
Author: MIKE EKEY and ASHLEY BROWN

In this year’s general election for state representatives, Republican incumbents are out-raising and outspending their Democratic challengers in Olathe area districts.

Candidates turned in campaign finance reports to the Johnson County Election Office this week.

The contributors listed below reportedly gave donations of $500 or more at one time and were collected from Jan. 1 to Oct. 26. Readers can view the candidates campaign finance forms by visiting www.accesskansas.org/ethics and click on “Submitted Forms & Reports by Candidates/Committees.”

Voters will choose their representatives on Tuesday.

14th District

Republican incumbent Lance Kinzer raised more than Democratic challenger Aunesty Janssen.

Kinzer started with $2,740 and received $38,894 in contributions, while Janssen began her campaign with no money and received $9,955 in donations. Kinzer cited a total $34,384 in expenditures. Janssen listed $8,787.

Kinzer received $500 donations from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, business owner John Lewis of Lenexa, Montgomery and Co. in Olathe, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Mayetta, KTLA Consumer and Civil Justice PAC of Topeka, retiree BA Bianchino of Overland Park, Bundschuh Properties LLC of Kansas City, Kan.; Pretech Corporation of Kansas City, Kan; business owner Robert Hodgdon of Shawnee, Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City PAC, Koch Industries of Wichita, registered nurse Dana Lewis of Lenexa, reimbursement manager David Watts and KC Docs PAC of North Kansas City.

Janssen received $500 donations from Operating Engineers 101 of Kansas City, Kansans for Life-Saving Cures PAC, business owner Cory Brown and the Carpenter’s District Council. She received two donations of $500 from the Kansas chapter of the National Education Association.

Janssen also loaned her campaign $1,977.

District 15

Incumbent Arlen Siegfreid has raised more than double the amount of funds as challenger Heather Cessna. Siegfried, a Republican, raised $29,322. He has spent $19,085, and had $10,236.70 cash on hand at the end of the reporting period.

Cessna, a Democrat, has raised $10,668 since Jan. 1. She has spent $10,379, and had $288 on hand.

The following reportedly gave a $500 donation to Siegfreid: Home builder Association of Greater Kansas City, Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hallmark Cards Inc., Trans Am, Kevin Gilmore, Olathe school board president.

The following gave two donations of $500: John Lewis, Lenexa, Newspaper Publisher; Kansas Realtors.

Those who gave $500 to Cessna were: Kansans For Life Saving Cures; Karrie Straceski of Littleton, Colo., a nurse; the Kansas National Education Association; Darl Carpenter, Kansas City, Retired Air Force; Jacquelyn Carpenter, Kansas City, Retired Air Force.

The following gave two $500 donations: Lori Cessna of Olathe, a nurse; James Cessna of Olathe, a data specialist; Randal Newton of Olathe, a construction manager; Diane Newton of Olathe, medical clerical;

26th District

Incumbent Republican Rob Olson raised far more money than challenger Bill Jackson.

Jackson received $1,175 in contributions during the reporting period in his campaign against Republican incumbent Rob Olson, who took in $61,868. Jackson embarked on his campaign with no money, whereas Olson began with more than $17,000.

Jackson spent $1,040 on his campaign during the reporting period. Olson spent more than $20,000.

The following reportedly made donations of $500 to Olson: Farmer’s Employees and Agents, Kansas Insurance Agents, Astra Zeneca Services, the law firm of Polsinelli, Shalton, Welte and Suehaltus; BP North America and Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Kansas Realtors PAC made two $500 donations to Olson’s campaign.

Jackson received a $500 donation from the Kansas PAC.

29th District

Republican Sheryl Spalding raised about $15,000 more than Democrat Amber Bachelor.

Spalding started with $7,784, then raised an additional $25,555. She spent $23,255 on her campaign. Beginning her campaign with no previous election funds, Bachelor has pulled in $10,560 in campaign contributions, spending about $10,000.

Spalding received one-time $500 contributions from John Wilson, who is the executive director of the National Education Association and lives in Raleigh, N.C., retired Leawood resident Norman Polsky, retired Lenexa resident Bonnie Cloud, National Commiteeman of the Kansas Republic Party and Lenexa resident Steve Cloud, Heavy Contractors Association PAC, KC Docs PAC KS East, Tennessee resident Robert Walker, the Kansas National Education Association PAC, Hallmark Cards and KC Docs PAC KS West.

The Kansas Contractors Association PAC, the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce PAC, the Kansas Coalition for Lifesaving Cures all gave Spalding two $500 contributions over the primary and general election periods.

Spalding also has filed for a $2,000 personal loan for her campaign.

Major contributors for Bachelor include Karen Mitchell, a respiratory therapist living in Lenexa, who gave her campaign two $500 contributions during the primary and general election periods.

Contributions of $500 were given also given by the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus PAC, Lenexa resident and welding supply company manager Hugh Mitchell, the Operating Engineers Local #101 PAC, the Plumbers and Gasfitters Local Union #8, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #53 PAC and the Sheet Metal Workers Local #2 Legislative Action Committee. Bachelor also gave $500 to her own campaign.

Libertarian Andrea Gava, who is also running, has filed an affidavit of exemption from submitting campaign finance reports.

District 38

Carpenters union came out in full force to support incumbent Anthony Brown in his re-election campaign. His challenger, Democrat Diane Bryant, relied more on individuals to support her campaign.

Brown’s campaign, between Jan. 1 and Oct. 26, has raised $34,092 and has spent $29,116 - leaving him roughly $16,289 to spend until Tuesday.

Bryant has raised $20,858 since Jan. 1. She has spent $8,375, leaving $12,482.

Bryant also contributed $500 of her own money to the campaign.

Those reported to have given a single donation of $500 or more to Brown’s campaign include:

Greg Kelly and Diana Kelly of Arkansas City, Business owners; the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City; the Carpenters District Council of Kansas City; the Carpenters for Sound Legislation; Robert Hodgdon and Mary Jane Hodgdon of Shawnee, business owner; Prairie Band Pottawatomie Nation; John Deere; Millwrights Local 1529; Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Republican State Leadership Committee; Dana Lewis of Lenexa, registered nurse; John Lewis of Lenexa, Newspaper publisher; Kansas Bankers Association; Kansas Farm Bureau; Jami Hadgen of Shawnee, homemaker.

Various Carpenters Unions from around the area donated a combined total of $8,500.

The Carpenter’s Local 168 gave two $500 donations to Bryant.

Those that donated $500 or more to Bryant include: Kansans for Life Saving Cures; Loren Rogers of Little Rock, Ark., retired; Raymond K. Pritchett of Lawrence, business representative; Pro Kan Do; Dianne and Paul Shumaker of Olathe, chaplain; Sheet Metal Workers; Kansas National Education Association.

Those who gave two donations of $500 are: Roberta A. Eveslage of Lenexa, teacher; Ron V. Contino of Lenexa, retired.

District 43

Incumbent Mike Kiegerl has raised $17,650. He has spent $37,106 - relying on $25,958 in various loans. Keigerl reported having $1,394 in cash on hand.

His opponent, Democrat Lee Urban, has raised $6,199 since Jan. 1 and has spent $4,635. Urban reported having $1,589 on hand.

Those who were reported to have given donations of $500 or more to Kiegerl’s campaign include: John Lewis of Lenexa, Newspaper publisher; Prairie Band Pottawatomie; Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors; Mid-America Medical; Thomas Mertz of Edgerton, business owner; Donna Mertz of Edgerton, business owner; PRM Inc; HCCC Inc; Professional Real Estate Management Inc; Kansas Realtors Association.

Those who donated $500 to Urban’s campaign include: Kansas National Education Association; Operating Engineers Local 10; Carpenters District Council of Kansas; Paul and Diane Schumaker of Olathe, retired; Tim and Sandra Barton of Overland Park, business owner.

48th District

Republican candidate Jeff Colyer has spent eight times the amount his opponent Democratic candidate Pam Ippel has spent.

Colyer began this year with $93,068.06–including $75,000 he loaned to the campaign–and raised an additional $28,479.71. He spent $46,583.31, and still had $74,964.46 cash on hand when the report was filed.

Ippel began the year without any funds, but raised 7,225.50 and spent $5,756.24. In addition to those amounts, she has loaned her campaign $3,000, as well as $1,107.85 worth of mailing supplies. She had $1,469.26 cash on hand.

Colyer received $500 contributions from: David Gibson, a commodity trader from Mission Hills; Paul Camarata, a physician from Shawnee Mission; Karen Camarata, a homemaker from Shawnee Mission; H. James Bartels, a retiree from Hays, Kan.; Patricia Bartels, a retiree from Hays, Kan.; Anthony LaSalle, a physician from Overland Park; Daniel Hinthorn, a physician from Leawood; Michael Lowe, a physican from Liberty; Lisa Lowe, a homemaker from Liberty; Steve Scott, a physician from Seattle, Wash.; John Reifschneider, a ophthalmologist from Lenexa; Robert Hodgdon, a company president from Shawnee; Brian Bardo, an executive from Lee’s Summit; Delbert Dunmire, an executive from Grandview; Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City; Koch Industries, Inc. in Wichita; Growth Industries Enterprises, Inc. in Grandview; Cass County Land Oil and Cattle Company in Grandview; Airline Parts, Inc. in Grandview; Kansas Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Harrisonville Investment Group in Grandview!
; Kansas Realtors PAC; KC Docs PAC KS-East; KC Docs PAC KS-West; KC Docs PAC KS-North.

Ippel received $500 contributions from: Kansas National Education Association; Operating Engineers Local 101; Plumbers and Gasfitters Local #8; Greater KC Women’s Political Caucus; Sheet Metal Workers Local No. 2.

49th District

Democratic candidate Bond Faulwell raised $21,385 and spent $18,425 after beginning his campaign without any funding. He reports having $2,958 on hand. Republican candidate Ben Hodge received $20,828 in donations and also began his campaign without money. He spent $17,633 and has $3,194 on hand.

Faulwell reported $500 donations from: Operating Engineers Local 101, Carpenter’s District Council, Prof. Roberta Eveslage of Lenexa and the Johnson County Democratic Committee.

Teamsters Local 696, Heavy Constructors Association, Hallmark Cards, and Kansans for Lifesaving Cures all made two donations of $500 to Faulwell’s campaign during the reporting period.

Hodge’s $500 donations are reported to come from attorney David Sage of Lakewood, Colo; Beverly Enterprises, Lathrop and Gage, retiree Julia Hodge of Prairie Village,

Dentist Jay Hodge of Kansas City gave Hodge’s campaign two $500 donations during the reporting period. Retired physician Geoffrey Hartzler of Leawood gave Hodge three $500 contributions.

| Laura Uhlmansiek and Michael Kan contributed to this report.

{CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS | CANDIDATES FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE} {CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS | CANDIDATES FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE} {CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS | CANDIDATES FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE}

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Section: Photo
Page: 6

Record Number: 2007748
Copyright 2006 The Kansas City Star Co.

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