The Kansas Meadowlark

Jan. 2, 2006

Should Cindy Neighbor Refund Republican Contributions Since She's a Democrat Now?
Should Republican National Committeeman for Kansas Ask for a Refund?

Several news articles appeared recently (KC Star, Lawrence Journal-World, Topeka Capital-Journal,  Wichita Eagle)  about Cindy Neighbor leaving the Republican Party to run as a Democrat for State Representative in 2006.  Republicans, Cindy Neighbor and Bill Kassebaum, lost their re-election bids in 2004 largely because of their support for higher taxes in the 2004 legislative session.  How will higher taxes, including higher taxes for education, help the Kansas economy grow when over 3/4ths of Kansas counties have lost population since the 2000 census?  No one is against education, but why do we teach our children fiscal responsibility and then have little fiscal responsibility with our schools?

In her Jan 10, 2005 contribution report to the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, Cindy Neighbor reported $4310.33 "cash on hand".  Since most of this money was raised as a  Republican from Republicans for a Republican primary, shouldn't Cindy Neighbor offer to give this money back to the contributors, or the local or state Republican Party?  Why should "Republican" money now be used to help Neighbor, who now is a Democrat?

Let's review Neighbor's individual contributors she reported in her July 2004 report, which she filed just prior to the August 3, 2004 primary contest that she lost:

Individual Contributors to Cindy Neighbor, July 26, 2004 Report
Date Contributor Amount Comments
1/1/2004 Jacquelin Alstatt $50 Republican for Moore; Contributor to Dennis Moore; Husband, John, is Mainstream Coalition contributor
1/1/2004 Michael Churchman $100 Republican; Co-chair of Mainstream Coalition Foundation campaign; $100 contributor to KFUPE1 11/1/2004; contributor to Mainstream Coalition
1/3/2004 Dr. Antoni Diehl $50 Republican for Moore (now a Democrat); Contributor to Mainstream Coalition
1/6/2004 Dr. Myra Litman $50 former Democrat, now a Republican; ProKanDo contributor2; $600 to Democratic Congressional Campaign; Mainstream Coalition contributor
1/14/2004 Eleanor Lowe $50 Republican for Moore (now a Democrat); contributor to Dennis Moore; former Mainstream Coalition president, on Mainstream Coalition Board; contributor to "Yes Yes Yes" campaign3; contributor to Democrat Chris Biggs for Attorney General; contributor to Mainstream Coaltion; Wrote anti-Bush Letter to KC Star in 9/2004; Letter to LJ World "Just say no" to Club for Growth
1/26/2004 Eleanor Boley $50 Republican; contributor to "Yes Yes Yes" campaign3; Republican precinct committee candidate 2004 and 2002.
2/25/2004 Bert Berkley  $300 Republican for Moore; Mainstream Coalition member; $1000 contributor to Steve Cloud's Johnson County Republican for Education PAC; contributor to "Yes Yes Yes" campaign3; wife, Joan, is on Mainstream Coalition Board; 
3/29/2004 Steve Cloud $100 National Republican Committeeman for Kansas ; Chair of GOP Club of Johnson County;  chair of Johnson County Republicans for Education;  "stealth" leader of Kansas Traditional Republican Majority? 
4/1/2004 Sally Levitt $50 Republican for Moore and Mainstream MAIN *PAC Officer
6/15/2004 Eugene Amos $100 Republican; former State Rep District 18 over the years 1987-1992.
6/16/2004 Ben Craig $100 Republican; $1000 contributor to Steve Cloud's Johnson County Republican for Education in 2002 and was one of the earliest contributors in 2001.
6/17/2004 Craig Denny $100 Republican; Shawnee Mission School Board member4
6/21/2004 Walter Hiersteiner $50 Republican for Moore; contributor to "Yes Yes Yes" campaign3; on Mainstream Coalition Board; "Republican for Jill Docking" in 1996
6/22/2004 Kala Musick $50 Republican for Moore in 2000; KNEA
6/25/2004 Larry Winn III $250 Republican for Moore ("This year...I am going to support Congressman Moore"); Shawnee Mission School Board member4; early contributor to Steve Cloud's Johnson County Republicans for Education in 2001.
6/28/2004 Lynn Sestak $50 Republican
6/29/2004 Cynthia Green $50 Republican; contributor to KTRM's Rob Boyer
7/5/2004 Jean Nelson $50 Republican for Moore in 2000
7/6/2004 William Harrington $50 Republican; Contributor to Dennis Moore for Congress; Shawnee Mission Northwest principal (paid $106,097 according to 12/2/2005 KC Star)
7/6/2004 Adele Hall $500 Republican; early supporter of President Bush, but also contributor to Democrat Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, who is on Mainstream Coalition Board
7/9/2004 Kathleen Cook $50 " Democrat-Republican-Democrat-Republican (changes parties to vote in Republican primaries); KFUPE 1 Exec Director (wants to raise your taxes for schools but had problems paying hers on time at least three separate years in JoCo); ProKanDo contributor2; Chris Biggs contributor and helped with  last minute phone bank for Biggs; Sebelius Education Policy Team
7/9/2004 Cheryl Scott $50 Republican, Shawnee City Council
7/14/2004 James Allen $250 Republican; former Shawnee Mayor
7/17/2004 Myra Nourse $75 Republican; secretary at Pawnee Elementary School

Notes:
1.  KFUPE, Kansas Families United for Public Education, seems to be an advocate for higher taxes for schools regardless of cost to families or other economic realities in Kansas.  KFUPE's president and PAC chair, John Martellaro, a Republican for Moore, contributed $700 to Howard Dean for President in 2004.  Does that support reflect values of the average Kansan?

2.  ProKanDo is Dr. Tiller's PAC, which found sneaky ways to support mostly Democratic candidates in both 2002 and 2004.  While Dr. Tiller's political motive is to support abortion advocates, his group tried to hijack the issue of education in 2004 to control the Kansas Senate.  In 2002 ProKanDo tried to "buy" the Attorney General's race in 2002 and even outspent the Democratic candidate.

3.  The "Yes Yes Yes" campaign in Johnson County in Nov 2000 was successful in removing party labels from certain Johnson County elections, like county commissioner. The Pitch wrote about Johnson County's political parties need to stand up and be counted on Nov 2, 2000. Democrat activists Neil Sader and his mom, Carol Sader, were big supporters of this measure.  Carol Sader, former Democratic State Rep and  now Sebelius appointee (e.g., the Kansas Board of Healing Arts) , personally donated 25% of the funds for the YesYesYes campaign. Other big supporters of the "Yes Yes Yes" campaign included liberal groups, Mainstream Coalition and the League of Women Voters. "Tax and spend" Democrats can now "hide" their party label in JoCo elections.

4.  Cindy Neighbor is a member of the Shawnee Mission School Board.  Other school board members, Denny and Winn contributed to her State Rep Campaign.  Both Denny and Neighbor were endorsed by the liberal groups, Mainstream Coalition and KFUPE, in their 4/2005 school board reelection bids.

Should these Republican contributors ask for refunds from Cindy Neighbor since she is now a Democrat, or will these Republican supporters re-register as Democrats to support Neighbor?

One name is most curious in the above list, Steve Cloud, since he represents the Kansas Republican Party at national events as the National Committeeman for Kansas. Shouldn't Cloud demand a refund from Democrat Neighbor for his personal $100 contribution, so he can donate this only to a Republican nominee?  And what about PAC money that Cloud controls?

Selected PAC Contributions to Cindy Neighbor
Date Contributor Amount Comments
6/30/2004 JoCo Republicans for Education PAC $500 Statement of Organization;
Steve Cloud is chair of this PAC.
7/6/2004 Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce PAC $500 Statement of Organization

Steve Cloud joined the Greater KC Chamber in 2002 and then received $20,000 contributions for his JoCo Republicans for Education PAC both in 2002 and 2004.

With Governor Graves no longer a player in Kansas politics, and with memories of Senator Nancy Kassebaum and Congresswoman Jan Meyers fading, what will the Cloud and his GOP Club do to retain its control of power in Johnson County?   Does JCRE really want to "help" education, or is education just an issue that Steve Cloud and the GOP Club will use just to retain its power?  Is the new group, Kansas Traditional Republican Majority, Cloud's attempt to extend his GOP Club to control Kansas politics, especially by using the education issue? 

Was the $20,000 support from the Greater Kansas City Chamber PAC in 2004 some sort of quid pro quo for Cloud's support for "moderate" Kansas Republicans, who would support higher taxes, including the bistate tax to send Kansas tax dollars to Missouri? The $20,000 payment from the Greater Kansas City Chamber PAC was in addition to their direct contributions to nearly the same candidates that Cloud gave money to.  This seems to have been a clever way to give the same list of "moderate" Kansas candidates the legal contribution limit from two "separate" groups.

When Cindy Neighbor lost in 2004 Cloud said:  "...The bad news is that people like Cindy Neighbor lost and people like Rob Boyer lost. Those are shining stars in the Republican Party, and the conservatives beat them, and that's a travesty."

But with Cloud losing his rising Republican stars, will Cloud as National Republican Committeeman for Kansas ask for his PAC money back from Democrat Neighbor so he can contribute it to Republican candidates?

efg

K a n s a s M e a d o w l a r k @ g m a i l . c o m