A lawsuit filed by Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple now names three elected officials he accuses of making a campaign commercial that he claims defamed him.
The lawsuit has been updated to name Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell, Kansas Representative Michael Capps, and Wichita City Council member James Clendenin, accusing them in a lawsuit of conspiracy to defame then-candidate Whipple's run for Wichita mayor. Another party, Matthew Colborn was previously named and accused of producing the ad.
The lawsuit claims that the men conspired to create a political ad that implied Whipple had sexually harassed women. However, quotes used in the ad were taken from a Kansas City Star article that claimed sexual harassment by Republican lawmakers in Topeka. The article was written before Whipple, a Democrat, was elected into the Kansas House.
The lawsuit named O'Donnell as what was described as the "driving force behind the conspiracy," and alleges the script was "written by O'Donnell."
In an interview with KSN Wednesday, O'Donnell said, "I had nothing to do with that video, I've said that since day one — I was trying to support Mayor Longwell with the billboard campaign." O'Donnell said the lawsuit is political in nature and claimed he plans to countersue not only Mayor Whipple, but co-defendant Matthew Colborn as well.
The lawsuit names Clendenin as the 'principal fundraiser' and to 'add credibility to the effort.' Clendenin told KSN Wednesday he was not aware he was a defendant in this lawsuit,
The lawsuit also alleges Representative Capps wrote a check to Colborn Media for five-thousand dollars and used the money they raised through his charity named The Fourth and Long Foundation. When KSN spoke with Capps in November of 2019 — soon after the ad initially aired — he denied any involvement, saying "I had absolutely nothing to do with the production of this video, the fundraising of this video, the promotion of this video, I've never touched this video."
Whipple is seeking an amount in excess of $75,000.
