"[4] His mother, Peggy O'Donnell, a teacher at the Sunrise Christian Academy, eventually served as a member of the Bel Aire city council.
O'Donnell was boosted by endorsements from two Republicans for whom he'd previously worked: former Kansas's 4th congressional district Congressman Todd Tiahrt and former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight.
[5] In city politics, O'Donnell expressed opposition to taxpayer-funded incentives for business developments, and argued for better roads in his district.
O'Donnell was Chair of Regulatory Boards and Commissions, a member of Ethics and Elections, and Vice-chair of Education Budget, Legislative Post Audit, and Public Health and Welfare.
[4] However, all of the legislation sponsored by O'Donnell died in the Kansas House or Senate, except for general statements of congratulations, support, and commendation.
[16] In August, O'Donnell, despite his legal difficulties, won his 2020 Republican primary for County Commission over Cindy Miles and Kathleen Garrison.
[24] In 2023, O'Donnell registered as a lobbyist with the Kansas Legislature, reportedly representing the interests of various major and minor Kansas-area businesses.
Both were apparently revised to eliminate reference to Genesis, immediately upon online publication of an expose' published in the Wichita Eagle, which cited the connections.
[28][29] Wichita police later announced it was dropping the investigation, "due to lack of evidence and elements of a crime," and owing to an uncooperative witness – refusing further comment.
[29] The incident, and police response, became a topic of controversy and debate during O'Donnell's campaign for Sedgwick County Commissioner against incumbent Tim Norton[29][30] In August 2017, allegations arose that O'Donnell took a school van from the Wichita-area Sunrise Christian Academy, to celebrate his 33rd birthday at a Kansas City Royals baseball game, over 200 miles away, where he was reportedly seen with 7 to 10 young men in the van.
[33][13] On the same day, Wichita businessman Brandon Steven confirmed that he was the subject of a federal investigation related to his involvement in high-stakes poker and the proposed development of Castle Rock Casino.
[27][7][40] A former employee of O'Donnell's campaign, KNSS-AM radio host John Whitmer, took the allegation further, filing an official complaint with the county election office – Sedgwick County's first official election residency challenge since O'Donnell had been disqualified in the 2007 Wichita City Council race (for not actually residing in Wichita).
[27][7][40] However, a panel of three Sedgwick County officials – Sheriff, District Attorney, and Chief Deputy Election Commissioner (all Republicans) – investigated and determined that Lopez was a proper resident of the district, and could remain on the ballot,[7] stating further that: The panel – criticizing the allegation as unfounded and made without due diligence by Whitmer – assessed investigation costs against him, as a deterrent to future frivolous claims.
[7] [40] During O'Donnell's 2020 bid for re-election to the Sedgwick County Commission, his campaign ran an attack ad against his general election opponent, Democrat Sarah Lopez, that portrayed her as an anti-police activist – showing a photo of her at a Black Lives Matter event.
It was distributed by the state Republican party, with text claiming Black Lives Matter is a "domestic terrorist organization.
"[41] Lopez dismissed the altered photos and denied all accusations in the mailer – noting that she was "quite against riots," and appreciated Chief Ramsay's role in preventing racial violence locally.
[43][45][46][47] Whipple, successful in his mayoral bid, began legal proceedings alleging illegal defamation, and in February 2020 – represented by the area's former U.S. Attorney, Randy Rathbun – brought suit against the person who produced the video, Matthew Colborn (who, at some point in these events, was O'Donnell's campaign manager[48]), and the group calling itself "Protect Wichita Girls."
In the process, Whipple's attorney issued a subpoena for e-mails between O'Donnell and Sedgwick County Republican Party Chair Dalton Glasscock.
[44] In October 2020, through Rathbun, Whipple amended the defamation and conspiracy lawsuit to include Commissioner O'Donnell and two other Wichita-area Republican politicians – Kansas State Representative Michael Capps and Wichita City Councilman James Clendenin – as defendants.
[46][49] The amended lawsuit further alleged that O'Donnell wrote the script for the false ad, Clendenin raised money for promoting it, and Capps attempted to hide their identities by creating a cover organization in New Mexico.
[48] O'Donnell continued to deny any involvement,[46] saying to KWCH-TV Eyewitness News, on camera (broadcast that October 14, 2020): However, nine days later, on October 23, 2020, a secret audio recording emerged of a meeting of the alleged conspirators, with their video producer, Colburn (who secretly recorded the meeting), discussing the attack ad project and cover-up.
[51][21] The revelation prompted immediate condemnations from throughout the Wichita area,[53][54][55] including calls from three of his four fellow County Commissioners (mostly Republican) for O'Donnell to resign, and withdraw from the re-election race.
[53][54][56] Similar demands were made by the Sedgwick County Republican Party,[53][57] which announced on social media, October 24, 2020: The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, and its political action committee (which had previously backed O'Donnell), concurred.
[71] [1] The state's principal newspaper, Wichita Eagle – despite endorsing some Republicans (including Congressman Ron Estes[73] and O'Donnell's fellow commissioner David Dennis[74]) in the current election – responded immediately with an editorial, saying "we're supposed to trust him?"
dismissing O'Donnell's "last-gasp maneuver" as "business as usual" for a "disgraced elected official" – accusing him of "once again avoiding the truth" and resorting to an "attack" – urging the public to "send a loud-and-clear message" by rejecting him at the polls.