Overland Park councilman fined thousands for ignoring campaign finance violations

In 2019, an Overland Park city councilman spent $87.57 from his campaign fund at Men’s Wearhouse in violation of state campaign finance rules.

The shopping trip ended up costing a little more than that. Now the councilman and his campaign treasurer will split a fine of $540.

The fine was imposed by the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission after first-term Councilman Scott Hamblin and his treasurer, Tara Brune, skipped a hearing on the matter Wednesday.

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The commission opted to fine Hamblin and Burke $270 each for misuse of campaign funds and $5,000 each for failure to file reports.

The $5,000 fine can be dropped to $1,000 if the reports are filed and the fine is paid within 30 days.

Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article251009549.html