By Clinton D. Coen
In the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, the State of Kansas, and even in Washington DC, we have a problem with rampant legal corruption. Corruption, in and of itself, is not necessarily illegal; corruption is simply a moral depravity.
The problem deals with the pay-to-play policies of our governments. Politicians are allowed to vote to directly enrich campaign contributors. Many governments have laws in place that prohibit politicians from voting to directly enrich their campaign contributors, but we don’t have such laws in Wichita, Sedgwick County, or the State of Kansas.
We would benefit greatly from such laws. This would prohibit a large chunk of the crony capitalism that is rampant at the local, state and federal levels.
As an example, the developers and contractors associated with the Ambassador Hotel have donated to multiple city council members. There are numerous executives from the construction company that is working on the Ambassador project that have donated to campaigns, making for a substantial amount of money.
This is just one more reason to vote against the guest tax rebate for the Ambassador Hotel Project on February 28th. And, a reason to write your representatives about pay-to-play laws and prohibiting elected officials from voting to directly enrich campaign contributors.