Dec 02, 2020

Kan. official replaced by man he allegedly tried to frame

Posted Dec 02, 2020 12:00 AM
Dalton Glasscock speaks during the Sedgwick County Republic Party meeting on Monday -
Dalton Glasscock speaks during the Sedgwick County Republic Party meeting on Monday -

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A disgraced politician in Kansas will be replaced on a county commission by the man he and two other Republican officials allegedly tried to frame in order to hide their roles in a smear campaign against a Democratic mayoral candidate.

Republican Party stalwarts on Monday selected Dalton Glasscock to fill the remaining term of former Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell, the Wichita Eagle reported. Glasscock, until recently the chairman of the local Republican Party, will hold the seat until Jan. 10.

“Thanks for your trust over the next 40 days,” Glasscock told the Republican precinct committee members. “Let’s get to work.”

O’Donnell resigned last month after the local district attorney concluded there was sufficient evidence to begin proceedings to oust him.

The scandal stems from the release of a recording made in November 2019, just two days before then-Democratic state Rep. Brandon Whipple won the Wichita mayor’s race.

O'Donnell wiping away tears following a censure vote by the Sedgwick County Commission in October. At that time, he refused to apologize.
O'Donnell wiping away tears following a censure vote by the Sedgwick County Commission in October. At that time, he refused to apologize.

On the recording, O’Donnell, Republican state Rep. Michael Capps and Wichita City Council member James Clendenin could be heard plotting to frame Glasscock for a YouTube ad that falsely suggested that Whipple was accused of sexual harassment while serving in the Legislature.

David Thorne, who took over the chairmanship of the county GOP about three weeks ago, called the actions of the three “a stain on the integrity of the Republican Party.”

Democrat Sarah Lopez defeated O’Donnell in the general election amid the backlash.

The local district attorney’s office has filed a civil court petition seeking the ouster of a Clendenin. The investigation against Capps has been referred to the Kansas attorney general’s office.

O’Donnell won the county commission seat in 2016 after serving four years in the Kansas Senate.