TOPEKA, Kan.  - A Topeka mayoral candidate who wants to rid the city of its code enforcement department has been fined $1,000 for failing to maintain a vacant home he owns.
     Under the sentence imposed Friday in Topeka Municipal Court, Randal Trackwell has 60 days to fix the home or he could face two months in jail. A judge will assess progress on the home during a hearing set for April 12 - 10 days after the general election.
     The Topeka Capital-Journal (http://bit.ly/14n2ud9) reports that the 66-year-old Trackwell plans to appeal. He says Topeka code enforcement officers stole lumber he purchased to fix the two-bedroom home and were unclear about what needed to be done.
     Trackwell calls the codes department "property police" and describes it as something a communist nations would have.