Kansas Senate Republicans oust leader from post amid wrong-way drunk driving charges

Kansas Senate Republicans ousted Sen. Gene Suellentrop as majority leader Friday — the first major political penalty paid by the Wichita Republican after he was charged with leading police on a drunken wrong-way chase down Interstate 70.

The extraordinary vote by the GOP caucus marked an all-out attempt by senators to separate themselves from Suellentrop, who has become politically toxic amid revelations he allegedly taunted a police officer after his arrest and had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit.

“It reveals that alcohol, a controlled substance, can destroy lives and careers like I’ve said on the floor,” said Sen. Virgil Peck, a Havana Republican. “He’s still a friend, but like I said, he’s made a grave error in judgment and he’s got to pay.”

Suellentrop, 69, had tried to maintain his grip on power since his arrest on March 16 by surrendering the bulk of his formal duties. But he retained the title of majority leader and the added pay that goes with it, and some Republicans said he was continuing to influence legislation behind the scenes.

Still, for awhile, the strategy appeared to work. Senate President Ty Masterson and Senate Vice President Rick Wilborn held off on publicly condemning their high-ranking colleague, saying Suellentrop deserved due process.

But the release on Thursday of an affidavit by a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper, which alleged Suellentrop had called the officer “donut boy” and threatened that he could “take” him in a confrontation, proved too much for Republicans, and his remaining support rapidly collapsed.

Republicans voted to remove Suellentrop during a closed-door caucus meeting early Friday evening. Masterson said the vote was 22-4 supporting a decision to “non-retain” him. While Suellentrop is no longer majority leader, he remains a senator.

“These are just heavy issues. We become friends with people in these chambers on both sides of the aisle,” Masterson told reporters, adding that “it’s kind of a sad day when you see that.”

Masterson said he had personally asked Suellentrop to resign his leadership position.

Growing discontent

The decision to remove a sitting majority leader mid-session appears without precedent in recent Kansas history. Suellentrop was just four months into what would normally be a four-year term as majority leader.

Masterson said that Assistant Majority Leader Larry Alley will serve as acting majority leader for the remainder of the legislative session and that Republicans will choose a new leader at the conclusion of session. Additionally, Masterson said Suellentrop’s staff members are assigned to the office of the majority leader, not Suellentrop personally.

The meeting of Republicans came on the last day of the legislative session until early May, creating a self-imposed deadline on Republicans to act ahead of the lengthy break. Suellentrop, who had been in the Senate earlier in the day, didn’t attend the gathering.

The first significant sign the ouster was afoot came Friday morning, when Masterson told reporters Suellentrop should step down as majority leader. The changed stance was significant, given the two men had been business partners on a small commercial building near the Capitol until the previous week.

It also served as a signal to rank-and-file Republicans, many of whom had held their tongues since Suellentrop’s arrest, that they could safely break with the majority leader. A few senators had previously called for Suellentrop to step down, but it became clear the landscape had shifted when Sen. Rick Kloos, a Topeka Republican in his first term, urged Masterson to hold a closed-door gathering to decide Suellentrop’s fate.

“We’ve all been patient, and with the new revelations yesterday I just felt it was time,” Kloos said Friday. “I don’t care when the vote is, just today.”

Sen. Kristen O’Shea, a Topeka Republican, joined the growing list of senators calling for Suellentrop’s resignation Friday.

“I have been frustrated that even though we’ve asked, we haven’t been able to have conversations about it,” O’Shea said. “Where’s our voice as a caucus? I’m ready for us to have a voice.”

‘A sad day for our party’

As caucus members quickly filed out of the meeting to head home, they expressed sorrow and frustration. Several said it would have been better for the party if Suellentrop had resigned on his own or if the caucus had acted sooner.

“It’s a sad day in Kansas, a sad day for our party and it shouldn’t have come down to us having to make the decision,” said Sen. Rick Hilderbrand, a Galena Republican.

Hilderbrand said his opinion on Suellentrop’s continued leadership role changed when the allegations were no longer “hearsay” and charges were filed.

O’Shea, Kloos and Sen. Brenda Dietrich — all from Topeka — said the release of the affidavit was the deciding factor in pushing for Suellentrop’s ouster.

“I would have resigned,” said Dietrich. “But I live in this community and this is the community where all of his actions would have taken place. … But he didn’t do that.”

Suellentrop faces a felony charge of fleeing and eluding law enforcement, in addition to several misdemeanors and traffic infractions. His next court date is expected in June.

Prosecutors and law enforcement allege the senator drove the wrong way on Topeka highways at high speeds for at least 10 minutes while intoxicated, leading police on a five minute pursuit. Officers eventually deployed stop sticks to deflate his tires, according to dispatch audio, bringing his vehicle to a stop on I-70 near downtown.

A Highway Patrol trooper wrote in an affidavit that Suellentrop was unresponsive to commands and had to be removed from the vehicle. He declined a Breathalyzer test, but police obtained a search warrant for his blood, which had an alcohol content of 0.17 — twice the legal limit of 0.08 — three hours after his arrest.

Suellentrop allegedly called the trooper “donut boy” and appeared to bemoan the circumstances that led to his arrest, saying “all for going the wrong way.”

The trooper said the senator was slightly aggressive, and at one point recounted that he had played high school sports and said he could “take” the officer in a fight.

Suellentrop remains a senator representing Wichita, but if he is convicted of a felony, he would have to step down.

“We are going to move forward,” Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican, said. “It’s a very unfortunate, very sad situation.”