To the editor:

During a trip home for the July Fourth weekend, I read an open letter to the voters from State Rep. Bob Brookens that was so misleading I felt a public airing of the facts was in order.

Brookens claims in his letter that special interest groups finance his opponent and that he is being targeted because he did vote to eliminate the corporate income tax. Public campaign finance reports however show that Brookens has taken from several political action committees during his two years in office. PACs are formed for the sole purpose of distributing money to candidates that agree with their positions. In other words, they are special interest groups.

Over four reporting periods and thousands of dollars accepted and spent, nearly all of Brookens campaign donations came from special interests. Among his contributors are multiple donations from the Kansas Bankers Association PAC, the Kansas Beverage Association PAC, the Prairie Band Pottawatomie Nation, and QC Holdings, which operates several payday loan companies.

Anyone can view these reports by going to http://www.kansas.gov/ethics and searching under campaign finance.

At the time of his advertisement, his opponent had not filed a finance report, and thus I am uncertain how he is able to determine that she is supported by “special interests” while he is not.

It is interesting to me that Brookens did not note his support of the largest sales tax increase in state history and his support for a budget that spends $200 million more than last year while rejecting a proposed balanced budget that increased spending for education and the elderly without a tax increase.

I hope this information helps to clarify facts for voters as they decide which candidate can best represent their values in Topeka.

James Meier
Lawrence