Quick bit of advice for aspiring politicians: If you've posed for a mug shot on five different occasions, elected office may not be the right fit.
Russ Ptacek's five-minute piece on Clay County Auditor William Norris aired on KSHB Channel 41 last night. The segment opens with Norris, wearing a pink shirt and shorts, making a U-turn and bolting out of what appears to be a public building when he encounters Ptacek and a photographer. The Republican had good reason to run from Ptacek, whose detective work prompted Norris to admit earlier in the week that he had pleaded guilty to a charge of felony stalking in Grundy County in 2006.
Ptacek interviewed the victim, who dated Norris when she was 17 and he was 20, according to a report in The Kansas City Star. The woman told Ptacek that Norris harassed her at work and broke into her car. Norris told KSHB that he didn't know the woman.
Ptacek found other instances of alleged inappropriate actions by Norris toward women. A 2005 newspaper report in Trenton said Norris had been arrested for stalking a different woman. Last night's report on KSHB suggests that Norris may have posted a nude photo of a childhood acquaintance on the website The Dirty.
Before the 2010 election, the Star reported that Norris' claims that he was a CPA and a graduate of William Jewell College could not be verified. But a sufficient number of Clay County voters, who were eager to elect anyone with an (R) next to his or her name, didn't know or didn't care.
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