(WICHITA, Kan.) — Sedgwick County will elect a new district attorney for first time since 1989 and the two candidates vying for the job are highly qualified. Mark Bennett and Kevin O'Connor have both worked as prosecutors under current Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston.
As the two try to set themselves apart, there are claims being made. FactFinder 12 took a closer look at the latest newspaper ad placed by Marc Bennett. We found most of the claims to be true, but also in need of further explanation.
Claim:
O'Connor has left D.A.'s Office twice and now wants to come back at the District Attorney.
What we found:
O'Connor left in 2001 to work for Justice Department, but was asked to return to help prosecute the Carr brothers. Current District Attorney Nola Foulston disputes our findings. She says she didn't invite O'Connor back but rather he wanted to return to Wichita. But O'Connor says Foulston is incorrect and he was indeed invited back to help with the case.
Claim:
Since 2010, O'Connor has had four jobs, including working for Brad Pistotnik and as a criminal defense attorney.
What we found:
O'Connor worked for Pistotnik and Patterson law firms. He also worked as a special prosecutor for Butler County and Kansas AG's Office.
Claim:
O'Connor was found to have committed prosecutorial misconduct by the Kansas Supreme Court.
What we found:
The court said he went too far in case of Billy McCaslin, but ruled the misconduct was not severe enough to reverse the conviction.
O'Connor points out that a Kansas appeals court found Bennett mischaracterized evidence in a 2011 case and ordered new trial. That case is still pending.
Claim:
O'Connor has felon convicted of threating a judge on his campaign team.
What we found:
That statement is misleading. The man Bennett refers to walked in a parade for O'Connor and is not a campaign "team" member.
That same ad points out that Wichita attorneys support Bennett over O'Connor. It claims that 90 percent in a Wichita Bar Association survey found Bennett ethical, respectful, and professional.
That's true, and O'Connor did get lower marks in the survey among attorneys.
