Print edition: 
State Sen. Jean Schodorf says that lack of jobs is at the heart of Kansas' economic problems, and she wants to use the 4th Congressional District office to do something about it.
And she doesn't care who she has to work with to get it done.
Even Democrats.
Bipartisan cooperation is a concept that hasn't gotten a lot of play in the ongoing Republican Party primary battle for the open 4th District seat. But Schodorf said she thinks the highly polarized environment in Washington politics is "very divisive and it's hurting the country."
"I'm not out to 'get' President Obama," she said, adding that she'd rather work on fixing problems that affect Kansans. "I want to be part of the solution, not the party of 'no.' "
In the state Senate, Schodorf is chairwoman of the Education Committee and the longest-serving member of Ways and Means — panels that have handled some of the Legislature's most contentious issues in recent years.
She was among those voting to temporarily increase the state sales tax in an attempt to avoid further cuts in school funding and state services.
Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, said Schodorf is clearly aligned with the more moderate Republican faction in the Senate but added, "I don't sense there's a lot of resentment" from more conservative colleagues.
"She's more of a traditional Republican and been very supportive on issues where we have to get a budget out," Morris said. "Even though those votes are very hard, when we needed her she's been there.... She's been a good team player."
Schodorf said she hopes to carry that to Congress.
"At the federal level, everything is so big, but I still think coalitions can be built and people can work together to solve problems, especially for our state," she said.
She said her model lawmaker is former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, whom Schodorf describes as having a quiet manner but "a will of iron" underneath.
Schodorf offered that assessment before Baker — the daughter of Kansas political icon Alf Landon — endorsed Schodorf's candidacy about a week ago.
"It was not my intention to become involved in a political campaign," Baker said in a statement. "However, I've grown increasingly concerned about the tone of the debate, particularly the assertion by candidates that our country's problems have simple solutions, that being an outsider is an asset, and that an inflexible partisan posture is a successful approach to government."
Bringing jobs back
Schodorf said the biggest problem she hopes to tackle is creating jobs in the 4th District.
To that end, she said she would hire a staff member and set up a section in the congressional office to help small towns and businesses cut through the red tape required to access federal business development loans and grants.
"We would be a clearinghouse to provide information and work with rural areas for economic development... bringing jobs and helping make Kansas more competitive," she said. "Unless you have an insider or someone who knows how to do it, it's practically impossible to connect with Washington officials."
Schodorf's concern for rural Kansas stems from family ties. She grew up in Independence, and she and her brother — well-known TV announcer Bill Kurtis — run the "Little House on the Prairie" museum on family farmland near there.
In addition to helping local businesses seek economic development assistance, Schodorf said she'd work to try to bring back jobs that have been outsourced to other countries such as Mexico, India and China.
She said she would sponsor "a labor-business summit and have an open dialogue about what both sides can do about bringing jobs back."
Health care, energy
On health care, Schodorf said she wants to fix the recently approved national health care law rather than repeal it, separating her from her Republican competitors for the seat.
"If you repeal it, it won't solve the problem, leaving 47 million people who don't have insurance," she said.
She likes the provision of the new law that allows young adults to remain on their parents' insurance to age 26 and its ban on insurance companies denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. She opposes the law's coverage mandate, which she said could be a burden for business.
Many Republicans have contended that limits on financial damages for malpractice would reduce costs by cutting unnecessary medical tests doctors perform to protect themselves from lawsuits.
Schodorf said it's time to test that theory, by studying actual medical costs in states that have such limitations to see whether they really do work.
On energy, Schodorf said she thinks the ongoing Gulf oil spill incident will move the country toward alternative sources of energy, and she thinks the time is ripe for Kansas to be a major player on wind, solar, nuclear and biofuels.
"This oil spill is so horrendous, it has shocked people into realizing we have to make changes," she said.
She said she would prefer to use incentives to spur business to switch to alternative fuels voluntarily.
She opposes the proposed cap-and-trade system for reducing carbon fuel use and supports continued deep-water drilling for oil.
"I'm not against the drilling part, but safety has to be No 1."
'Pretty independent'
A seat in Congress would be a long throw from where Schodorf started in the mid-1980s. Her first elected office was on a Citizen Participation Organization, a neighborhood board that advised Wichita city officials on street lights and similar issues.
In 1989, she was elected to the Wichita school board, where she served 12 years.
In 2000, her neighbor, then-Sen. Pat Ranson, knocked on her door.
"She said, 'I'm retiring and would you consider running for the seat,' " Schodorf recalled. "I was speechless."
Schodorf agreed and squeaked out a narrow victory over the Democrat, then-Rep. Doug Johnston.
Ranson, a longtime leader of the Republican Party's moderate wing, said she's glad she recruited Schodorf to replace her.
"She's pretty independent, that's what I like," Ranson said. "She's not flashy, she's not 'out there'... She's very careful."
As a campaigner, "she doesn't try to run from her voting record and doesn't go around promising everything," Ranson said.
