A U.S. District Court judge responded to a lawsuit filed by Fresh Vision, an Overland Park political organization, against the Kansas Govenmental Ethics Commission and KGEC executive director Mark Skoglund, pictured, by declaring Fresh Vision didn’t have to register at a political action committee, despite endorsing a specific mayoral candidate, because its central mission was issue advocacy. The judge declined to strike down the state’s campaign finance law. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature’s YouTube channel)
TOPEKA — A U.S. District Court judge decided a small Kansas organization primarily engaged in local-issue advocacy shouldn’t be compelled under current state laws or regulations to register as a political action committee despite campaigning for election of a specific candidate for Overland Park mayor.
The dispute was between Fresh Vision OP, with a membership ranging from two to six people, and the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission. KGEC had ordered Fresh Vision to file paperwork as a PAC following the group’s expenditure of more than $100 to champion the 2021 mayoral candidacy of Faris Farassati with mailers and a website. The Overland Park city council member, who agitated against certain building development incentives, finished a distant third in the election.