A Convington, Kentucky elected official, former elected official and one-time candidate admitted last week they conspired to violate campaign laws by, among other offenses, producing and distributing campaign materials that did not indicate who paid for them.  The fliers in question targeted Shawn Masters (pictured), an openly gay candidate for the Covington City Commission who eventually won his election.  All three defendants, one of whom is a sitting commissioner, received probation.

According the Cincinnati Enquirer, the judge in the case also made plain his distaste for the content of the fliers:

Kenton County District Judge Ken Easterling scolded the three during Wednesday’s arraignment.

 

“I think what you did is abhorrent to this political process,” Easterling told the three after they had entered their guilty pleas.

 

Easterling said he believes the pamphlets were an attempt to “stoke the fires of bigotry” because they targeted Masters’ sexual orientation.

 

He said the actions were “offensive to this court” and told the three “but for the agreement with the Commonwealth, you would be serving jail time.”