A Logan County commissioner who won his seat two years ago in a write-in victory after he was defeated in the primary has been charged with one felony count of election bribery by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.
District 3 Commissioner Clinton L. Kvasnicka, who represents western Logan County, is scheduled to make a first appearance in Logan County District Court at 10 a.m. Feb. 17.
If found guilty of election bribery, Kvasnicka would face a prison sentence of between 11 months and two years and 10 months, according to the complaint filed against him.
In the complaint filed Jan. 8, Kvasnicka is accused of offering use of his stock trailer to Debbie Roxan Stravel in exchange for a vote on or about the date of the Republican primary in 2012.
In the Aug. 7, 2012, primary, Kvasnicka was defeated by Doug Mackley by a vote of 82-58, according to records kept by Crystal Rucker, county election officer.
Kvasnicka ran in 2012 as the incumbent, after he defeated Mackley by two votes to win the Republican primary 70-68 in 2008, Rucker said. Before that, Mackley had held the post for a number of years.
Conflict on commission
According to a Hays Daily News article, Kvasnicka’s first term on the commission was not without conflict. At one point after an anonymous letter critical of Kvasnicka circulated in the community, fellow commissioners Robert “Nick” Scott and Carl Uhrich asked him to resign.
After his primary defeat in 2012, Kvasnicka launched a write-in campaign during the November 2012 general election. Mackley was one vote ahead until provisional ballots were counted, and Kvasnicka was determined the winner with 126 write-in votes to Mackley’s 122.
Source: salina
