Endorsements: Stupid video raises immaturity issues involving 2 Kansas House candidates | Opinion

A very weird and disturbing video has surfaced in the waning days of campaign 2024, with implications in the races for two seats in the Kansas House of Representatives.

The brief video shows Kyler Sweely, the Republican candidate for Hutchinson-based House District 102, leaping onto the crotch of a clothed but seemingly unconscious woman lying on a bed in a Wichita apartment, egged on by another man shooting the video.

A second clip shows a grinning Sweely holding a pillow over the face of the woman, apparently feigning suffocating her in her sleep.

Together, the two video clips are about 10 seconds long.

A sitting state representative, Avery Anderson, a Republican in the Newton-based District 72, confirmed to a police investigator he was present in the apartment at the time with at least one other person, identified in the police report as Kyle Bruner.

The original report stated that Anderson was the voice in the video encouraging Sweely to jump on the woman, but Anderson later said that was a mistake in the officer’s report and filed an amended statement that Bruner took the video while Anderson was in another room.

Police have spoken with the woman in the video, a friend of Sweely’s who said it was nothing more than “just hanging out with friends and having fun,” after a double date. No criminal charges are currently under consideration.

But released publicly shortly before Tuesday’s election, the video has sparked strong reactions from the offices of both the majority and minority leadership of the House.

Democratic Minority Leader Vic Miller of Topeka called for a more robust investigation and for Republican leadership to denounce Sweely. “There is absolutely nothing funny or humorous about sexual assault, or attempts to simulate it,” he said in a statement.

Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins of Wichita accused Democrats of exploiting the video for political gains. “What I care about is this young girl being drug through the mud by a couple of vultures desperately trying to cling to power and relevancy,” he said in his statement.

Our perspective is that even viewed in the best possible light, this video raises serious questions about whether Sweely and Anderson possess the maturity and judgment required to responsibly serve as state legislators.

Kansans have a right to expect a higher level of personal conduct from their elected representatives than what we’re seeing here.

A recurring problem at the Legislature is a “frat house” mentality among some of its male representatives and senators. That has led to countless credible complaints from female staff and college interns about a pervasive atmosphere of sexual harassment and discrimination in and around the Statehouse.

The party-hearty attitude is fueled by the free flow of alcohol at lobbyist-hosted receptions nearly every night during session, and an informal code that “what happens in Topeka stays in Topeka.”

If this was some youthful indiscretion that happened years ago, as the woman in the video stated, it would be easier to dismiss. But the video was taken only about 15 months ago.

Fortunately, Hutchinson- and Newton-area voters have candidates they can vote for on Tuesday who can be counted on not to embarrass the institution of the Legislature or the office they hold.

The incumbent in Hutchinson, Democratic state Rep. Jason Probst, has an eight-year track record of quality service to his district. He’s kept his attention on business and been a strong voice for some of Kansas’ best legislative decisions of the past few years, including:

▪ Legalization of fentanyl test strips, that can be used by individuals to detect the deadly substance in street drugs and prevent overdose deaths.

▪ A Good Samaritan law that allows ordinary Kansans to render aid to victims of accidents and medical emergencies without having to worry about getting sued for trying to help.

▪ A contract deeds law to help prevent scammers from bilking homebuyers by selling them property they don’t actually own.

Probst has shown himself to be a thoughtful, hardworking, scandal-free and effective lawmaker, earning our respect and this newspaper’s endorsement.

The situation is a bit trickier in Anderson’s district.

His opponent, Heidi Hoskinson, is basically a name-on-the-ballot candidate recruited by the Democratic Party, mostly to give voters a choice where there wouldn’t otherwise be one.

Hoskinson doesn’t have a robust campaign and her only political experience is a Newton school board race where she ran and lost last year.

That said, she’s very well-qualified for the position. She’s vice president of enrollment at Bethel College in North Newton.

Her platform is pretty standard Democratic priorities: women’s rights, Medicaid expansion, property tax equity and protection of Kansas’ environment and natural resources.

She’s inexperienced, but intelligent.

Hoskinson said her reaction to the apartment video was “a feeling of disappointment” and “you know, sort of sadness.”

“I’m a single mother, and I have a high school age daughter, and I think about if my daughter was involved in a situation like that, how I would feel as a mom, and how I feel as a woman, being sort of thinking around what kinds of situations we find ourselves in and really having some empathy for the young ladies involved in the entire incident, not only the video,” she said.

Given the choice between an incumbent who played at least some role in a drunken house party that spawned a video embarrassing the Legislature, or the vice president of the local Mennonite college, we’ll endorse the college VP.

Voters in and around Newton should as well.

This story was originally published November 1, 2024 at 5:10 AM with the headline "Endorsements: Stupid video raises immaturity issues involving 2 Kansas House candidates | Opinion."