LAWRENCE Sen. Julia Lynn was in no mood to discuss potential conflicts of interest based on intersection of her role as Republican leader of the Senate Commerce Committee and her work for a Lenexa company that earned more than $13.3 million from state contracts since 2016.
At the same time, Lynn didnt want to talk about her role in a private meeting during 2017 in which a major Kansas Department of Commerce data breach was discussed with Secretary Antonio Soave, agency attorney Bob North and one of Lynns executive colleagues at Allied Global Services, which was seeking contract work to help resolve the hacking scandal.
I see where this is going, Lynn said in the interview. Do I need to get an attorney?
The 14-year veteran of the Senate said influence she would have exerted in Topeka to drum up business for Allied Global Services shouldnt be questioned because Kansas law exempted members of the Legislature from conflicts of interest. Lynn has listed AGS as her employer on required annual statements of substantial interest, but she didnt take steps to recuse herself from situations giving the appearance she leveraged her Senate position for benefit of AGS.
