Democrats Call For Kansas Speaker To Withdraw Or Stepdown

Legislative Democrats are putting more pressure on Republican House Speaker Mike O’Neal to remove himself from a lawsuit against the state.

House Minority Leader Paul Davis, of Lawrence, told The Topeka Capital-Journal that more Democrats are beginning to believe that O’Neal should either remove himself and his law firm from the lawsuit or step down as speaker.

Davis suggested Democrats might file a formal complaint with the House against the speaker.

O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, said Wednesday that Democrats can’t cite any rule or law that he’s violated. He calls the attacks on him “very partisan.”

The speaker is representing businesses, trade groups and insurance funds in a lawsuit in Shawnee over a financial maneuver used to help balance the state budget last year.