The Kansas Democratic Party has picked yet another failure candidate to run for Governor. Topeka Capital Journal's Tim Carpenter unearthed some concerning information regarding Tom Wiggans and his shady business practices. StayRed has gone to the trouble of highlighting some of our favorite portions of the story. It appears as though Mr. Wiggans thinks Kansans will overlook his questionable business practices. Sorry, Tom, our people aren't going to fall for this. Truly a new low for the Kansas Democrat Party.

Tim Carpenter

Topeka Capital Journal

A Democratic candidate for Kansas governor led theCalifornia pharmaceutical firm that settled for $12.7 million a lawsuitalleging company executives engaged in securities fraud by hiding frominvestors damaging research on a new drug hyped by management as amedical marvel and financial sensation.

Thomas Wiggans, of Olathe, launched his campaign for governor inNovember by pledging to apply his "common-sense business practices" tostate government.

He was chief executive officer of Connetics Corp. throughout theeffort to shield Wall Street analysts from tests demonstrating an acnegel under development by the company in Palo Alto, Calif., causedcancerous skin tumors in more than half the laboratory mice treatedwith the medication.

The lawsuit alleges Wiggans and other senior executives at Conneticsconcealed health risks of Velac gel for nearly a year after researchfinanced by the company identified the drug as a carcinogen in 2004.While the company remained silent on the study, Wiggans sold $2 millionin Connetics stock. Other company executives also shed holdings inConnetics. Public disclosure of the acne gel's shortcomings in 2005decimated the company's value.

Among the largest institutional losers in the crash was theTeachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma. A series of shareholders filedfederal lawsuits. Their claims were consolidated into a class-actionsuit in San Francisco.

Seven days before Wiggans announced his candidacy in Kansas, afederal judge in California put her signature to final pieces of thedeal ending a three-year legal battle waged by investors againstConnetics, Wiggans and three of his corporate lieutenants. Thesettlement doesn't require the defendants to take formalresponsibility, and Wiggans didn't mention the case when he launchedhis bid for the Democratic nomination for governor.

When contacted Thursday by The Topeka Capital-Journal, a spokeswomanfor Wiggans said the case was settled to end the protracted litigation.

"There was a settlement reached, agreed to by both parties," saidcampaign spokeswoman Amy Jordan-Wooden. "There were no findings ofwrongdoing. Tom is not liable."

She said Wiggans' ability to maneuver through the difficultenvironment demonstrated skills required of the next governor toextricate the state from the recession.

"He is uniquely and best suited in the race for governor," she said.

Wiggans, 57, is competing against Herb West, of Paola, for theDemocratic nomination for governor. The Republican candidate for theGOP nomination is U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Topekan who ran forpresident two years ago. Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson said hewouldn't seek election to the office in 2010.

David Kensinger, campaign manager for Brownback, said Wiggans andcolleagues at Connetics made decisions that cost outside investorsmillions of dollars.

"He is exactly the sort of person the Democratic Party claims towant to protect us from - except in Kansas, where the Democratic Partywants to make him governor," Kensinger said.

Larry Gates, chairman of the Kansas Democratic Party, saidsettlement of the lawsuit wouldn't tarnish Wiggans' bid for office. Hesaid voters were more interested in who can advance policy thatpromotes economic prosperity in Kansas.

"Tom Wiggans created economic value for his shareholders, for his employees," Gates said.

However, the chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party said Wiggans'leadership at Connetics should be part of the campaign debate.

"It is difficult to imagine Kansas Democrats would actually nominatea corrupt pharmaceutical executive from California for governor," saidGOP chairwoman Amanda Adkins.

The acne drug blocked in 2005 by the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration was never released to the public, because the companycouldn't prove the efficacy and safety of Velac gel. In the earlyresearch, 56 percent of laboratory mice contracted skin cancer from theproduct. The plaintiffs' medical specialists suggested a 2 percent to 3percent incidence of cancer in mice might not be alarming, but anythingabove 20 percent would be "clearly significant."

In settling the class-action lawsuit, Connetics and the four nameddefendants - Wiggans, Gregory Vontz, John Higgans and Lincoln Krochmal- weren't required to admit fault.

Wiggans, a fresh face in Kansas politics who has never sought publicoffice, has avoided interviews since stepping forward Nov. 17 as acandidate for governor. He has been preparing for an introductorycampaign tour of the state in January.

In a statement announcing his candidacy, Wiggans highlighted his 12 years of leadership at Connetics.

"It's been an extremely rewarding career and I am very proud of thepositive impact I've helped make in the lives of many people in Kansasand elsewhere," Wiggans said in the statement.

Wiggans was Connetics' ninth employee and climbed the ladder from 1994 to 2006 to become president and chief executive officer.

He left in December 2006 when the company was sold for $640 millionand after a Connetics executive involved in clinical trials on Velacgel was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission withinsider trading for dumping stock before the market implosion. Thatexecutive and a business accomplice were fined more than $1 million bythe SEC.

Jordan-Wooden, of the Wiggans campaign, said Connetics cooperatedwith the SEC during investigation of trading violations by theemployee, who was eventually fired. She said the SEC didn't take actionagainst Connetics or Wiggans.

A native of Fredonia, Wiggans moved back to Kansas in January. Hebegan his career after earning a pharmacy degree at The University ofKansas.