Though she may deny it, Kansas Sen. Julia Lynns resignation Friday from her job with Inclusion Works is a pretty clear admission that, at the very least, her role as chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee could have worked to the benefit of her former employer.
Since 2016, the state has awarded Allied Global Services, the parent company of Inclusion Works, more than $13.3 million in government contracts.
Lynn, a Republican from Olathe, has participated in meetings discussing state contracts with AGS, which provides information technology services. Of special note is a 2017 meeting that included Lynn, AGS officials and Antonio Soave, Kansass Commerce Secretary at the time, to discuss a possible contract to deal with a data breach into the departments system.
PEEL BACK the layers and the stench grows stronger.
Back in 2017, Soave was caught awarding state contracts to friends and business partners during his 18 months in office.
When Soaves actions came to light, Gov. Sam Brownback demanded his resignation.
Democrat Sen. Anthony Hensley followed up by asking for a formal investigation into Soave, which failed by a 3-5 vote among members of the Legislative Post Audit Committee.
Lynn torpedoed the audit, saying it was a rush to judgment, and persuaded members to drop any further review.
Its over. Hes gone. The department has moved on, Lynn said at the time, hoping fellow lawmakers would also forget she chaired the committee that vetted Soave when he sought the appointment.
Republicans suggested if Soave had committed a crime, then the Attorney Generals office should be the one to follow up. Which it did not.
And thats really a shame, because when the Kansas Bureau of Investigation finally got involved in 2018, it discovered Soaves friendly contracts were the least of his crimes.
During his tenure, Soave also ordered staff to transfer the financial, personnel and contact information of more than 10,000 Kansas companies to Capistrano Global Advisory Services, of which Soave was chairman and CEO before and after his stint as Commerce secretary.
The result? Not only state contracts for Capistrano but a data breach of untold proportions.
Investigations by the KBI are ongoing.
GIVING AGS an unfair advantage to state contracts is in the same vein of Soaves awarding sweetheart deals to his friends and business associates.
Sen. Lynn crossed an ethical line by not recusing herself from considerations involving her employer of six years.
Lynn, however, has defended her actions, claiming only state employees have to worry about such guidelines.
