Dem escapes punishment for meltdown in Kansas bar

TOPEKA — A six-member House Select Investigating Committee on Wednesday split votes along party lines and failed to reprimand, censure or expel Rep. Ford Carr for his behavior that included an altercation in a Topeka bar.

Instead, the committee of three Democrats and three Republicans voted 5-1 to write a report for the House about the committee’s failure to reach agreement, potentially recommending Carr, a Wichita Democrat, be admonished. Rep. Mike Amyx, D-Lawrence, was the lone no vote. The committee will reconvene to approve the report before it is sent to the House, as there was some disagreement about asking for an admonishment of Carr.

It wasn’t the result Carr expected.

Pointing to a complaint he filed against Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, Carr said the only options presented were dismissal, reprimand, censure or expulsion.

“It angers me,” he said. “None of these were options when it was Rep. Hoheisel.”

Carr said he expected the committee to split votes 3-3 and send the complaint to the House, where it would require a two-thirds vote to take action. Admonishment had never been on the table, he said.

Whatever the term used, Carr said the committee’s determination won’t change him.

“I represent my people the way I represent my people,” he said. “I am in no way going to alter the way I represent my people.”

He added, referring to the fact he retained his seat after last year’s election: “The people have already spoken. I am going to continue to be me.”

Carr has contended that racism and lack of acceptance for a Black man who operates in a different culture fueled the complaint and investigation, all of which the complainant denied immediately in a statement to the committee.

Rep. Leah Howell, a Derby Republican, filed the complaint alleging that Carr broke a House rule about using disorderly words while debating legislation. Listed in her complaint were multiple instances that she said indicate Carr’s behavior is not in line with the decorum and conduct required of a Kansas representative.

“I want to clarify that this complaint is not about retaliation, partisan politics or personal conflicts,” she said. “Contrary to accusations that this complaint is racially motivated, the color of skin and political party have absolutely nothing to do with my decision to file this complaint.”

Howell pointed to an altercation at the Celtic Fox in Topeka in which video surfaced of Carr and Wichita City Councilman Brandon Johnson loudly arguing and calling each other names. When Rep. Henry Helgerson, an Eastborough Democrat, tried to intervene, he was knocked to the floor, although he refused to press charges. Howell, who is married to a Wichita city councilman, said she considered Carr’s words at the Celtic Fox to be threatening. She focused on several incidents that she said make a pattern.

“I will argue that accusing colleagues of racism, calling one of them a racial slur, lying to this committee and that infamous public display of repeated use of racial slurs and aggression by what should be described as an act of battery against two other elected officials can be collectively classified as not only misconduct, but a pattern of violent rhetoric and behavior,” Howell said.

Rep. Susan Humphries is part of the House Select Investigating Committee that considered Wednesday whether to reprimand, censure or expel Rep. Ford Carr. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Carr, during his 15 minutes speaking to the committee, disagreed with Howell’s assessment of what happened in each of the instances she described.

“Not by any stretch of anyone’s imagination is it OK for someone white to explain to me my culture and what I should be doing,” he said. “It is not your place to tell me what I’m supposed to do culturally as a Black man.”

He also explained to the committee the cultural difference between the words “n-----” and “n---a,” the second of which he said he was using in conversations the committee and complainant highlighted.

“Not once did I use the word n-----,” Carr said. “That’s not a word that we use in my culture. That is erroneous.”

Carr also brought out his birth certificate and pointed out that his race was identified as “Negro” on the Kansas document.

Rep. Susan Humphries, R-Wichita, and others on the committee questioned Carr extensively about a comment he made in 2023 on the House floor about a “House Negro,” which brought Carr an admonition from GOP leadership. But the committee ultimately agreed that incident didn’t apply to its considerations Wednesday, except seeing his behavior as part of a pattern.

Ultimately, the committee agreed that expulsion was off the table, commenting that such a move was usually connected to a criminal act. Members debated the difference between censuring and reprimanding, but a vote on reprimanding split 3-3 on party lines.

Even the idea of writing a report caused some contention, as Humphries waffled at the idea of writing a report that didn’t show any concerns with Carr’s behavior.

“I seconded the motion, but I’m not comfortable with a report that does not say that we made a finding,” Humphries said. “We made a finding that we are not going to dismiss, reprimand, censure or expel. Is there any agreement on this committee that there was behavior that was inappropriate?”

“Maybe you don’t want to say it publicly,” she added.

The committee didn’t indicate when it would reconvene to approve the report.