OFFICIAL CRITICIZES USE OF TAX FUNDS

Booklet Is Political, Candidate Claims

A candidate for Jackson County prosecutor has accused incumbent Mike Sanders of using COMBAT anti-drug tax funds to pay for what she calls a campaign booklet.

The 44-page booklet lists telephone numbers and services available for senior citizens, but only two of the listed numbers are for drug-related programs, candidate Cynthia Clark Campbell said this week.

The prosecutor's office paid roughly $4,000 from COMBAT funds for 6,500 booklets earlier this year, county records show.

Campbell, one of three Democratic candidates for county prosecutor, said the booklet amounts to campaign literature that touts Sanders' political ability.

Sanders, also a Democrat, countered that the booklet provides information for senior citizens and was funded properly.

"There's nothing political about this," he said.

Sanders' picture and name are on the cover, along with the title: "Protecting Our Senior Citizens.  A Resource Guide for Jackson County's Older Adults." The booklet opens with a letter from Sanders.

His office gives the resource guide to seniors who ask for it, Sanders said.  The staff started putting together the information last summer because senior citizens requested it, he said.

Campbell, a Kansas City lawyer who is a former assistant U.S.  attorney, said the booklet should not have been funded by anti-drug sales tax money.  She said Sanders should apologize and repay COMBAT.

"Sanders is quick to attack others and demand audits of others," she said, "but his own political use of taxpayer COMBAT funds is indefensible."

Jim Nunnelly, program administrator for COMBAT, said the tax is often used for printings aimed at specific groups, such as seniors, teenagers and women.  Seniors need information in part because they are often abused by people who use drugs, he said.

Sanders cited research showing a correlation between elder abuse and persons using narcotics.

He defended using COMBAT funds for the booklet.

As for his picture on the cover, Sanders said everything printed out of the prosecutor's office for decades has featured the prosecutor's picture.

The clash is the first salvo in a prosecutor's race that is expected to be contentious.  Kansas City lawyer Kathy Finnell also is running as a Democrat.  The primary is Aug.  3.

"It's going to be a very interesting time," Campbell said.