A Wichita City Council member and a Kansas House member got into a heated argument during an informal gathering Wednesday evening in Topeka.

City Council members and Sedgwick County Commissioners were in the state capital on Wednesday for Local Government Day at the Kansas Legislature.   Local officials were at the Statehouse to lobby on a variety of issues.

City Council member Brandon Johnson and State Representative Ford Carr were seated together at a table during an evening reception at the Celtic Fox when they got into a shouting match and then stood up to confront each other, and the incident was caught on camera.  Several other local and state leaders stepped in to separate the two, and House member Henry Helgerson of Wichita was shoved to one side as the argument continued.   The video shows Carr taking off his jacket and moving toward Johnson in an aggressive manner as they were leaving the room.

Johnson and Carr represent the area of 29th and Grove, which is a groundwater contamination site.   The City Council and Sedgwick County commissioners voted this week to approve matching funds of $125,000 each to tap into state funding that approved last year for health screening for residents in the area.

Johnson later issued a statement to KFDI’s news partners at KWCH:

“I’m not going to speak about the incident in Topeka. That event will be properly investigated, and the video, and those present can speak to the specifics of what happened and by whom. I don’t want that incident to in anyway distract from the genuine, positive efforts and progress we’re making to for residents to address the vitally needed testing and remediation at the 29th and Grove neighborhoods.”

There has been no comment from Carr at this time.