You'd think with his recent Ethics violations, and mere regard for the integrity of the office he seeks, Chris Steineger would be going to great lengths to surround himself with virtuous people.Not people like former Senator Jim Barone.
As a State Senator Jim Barone faced a wide range of allegation of misconduct including; sexual harassment of Capitol interns and lobbyists, abuse of power related to telephone harassment charges filed against his son by nurses at KU Medical Center, and conflict of interests stemming from his sons role as a gambling lobbyist when the Seante was voting to expand gaming in Kansas. (The Pitch has an authoritative account of the whole sordid affair)
Eventually, Jim Barone's corruption, graft, and all-around sleaziness cost him the support of his constituents and colleagues. In the 2008 election Barone lost the Democratic Primary when local Democrats decided they deserved better.
And Kansans deserve better from a candidate for Secretary of State.
Despite all this, Chris Steineger isn't shy about his association with and remains curiously willing to take Barone's dirty money. What does that say about the kind of Secretary of State Steineger would be?
