JEFFERSON CITY - The Missouri Republican Party today filed an ethics complaint against Democrat state Sen. Frank Barnitz regarding use of state property for campaign purposes. This filing is the latest example of unethical conduct in connection with Barnitz campaigns.

The complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission alleges that Barnitz’s campaign has used property of the state of Missouri to bolster his current election campaign. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Barnitz’s campaign used state photographs in his campaign literature before he had paid for them and has used a University of Missouri-Rolla fax machine to file a contribution report.

In 2001, Barnitz’s committee paid $200 to the Ethics Commission to resolve a violation. And, in an April, 2005, special election, Barnitz’s campaign benefited from phony attack mail pieces put out against his opponent using the names of non-existent committees. Those scurrilous attack pieces are the subject of another pending Ethics Commission complaint, and the role of Barnitz and his campaign in the creation and/or distribution of those mail pieces is an open question.

“Frank Barnitz needs to come clean with the citizens of Missouri,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party. “He must immediately stop using state resources on his campaigns, and provide a full account of any information that he has about the planning and distribution of the false and deceptive campaign mailers that benefited his April, 2005 campaign. The voters of this state can’t support a candidate who they can’t trust, and they can’t trust someone with the history of Frank Barnitz.”

A copy of the complaint is available upon request.