Print edition: 
Candidates need to care about people
Racial equality and poverty remain unresolved issues. Volunteerism, the most reliable implementation of human resources, does not replace legislative solutions — education, training and compassionate care. Money spent wisely would reduce welfare rolls, unemployment and penal system budgets.
I want a candidate who has volunteered in the schools, cared for a troubled child and helped a family move off welfare. No politician will seek an understanding of these issues while doing the bidding of corporations.
We need to elect people of substance, hold them accountable and call into question courts that deny justice for all the people.
ANN EVERETT
Haysville
Evaluate records
When I was in college, my political science professor said that 88 percent of the voters in the United States vote for the same political party their fathers and grandfathers voted for.
This would seem to explain the surprising election results in some areas of the country. In many of these areas, the favored political party has done little for residents.
It appears that most voters make little effort to evaluate the record of people running for office and simply vote a straight ticket. It is no wonder that we have so many incompetent politicians in office.
DAVID McKAIG
Anthony
Strong advocate
My family has owned and operated our beef farm in the Smoky Hills for 53 years. During that time, we increasingly have been squeezed financially by government regulation. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed to regulate livestock as a greenhouse-gas source, even though livestock are at most a negligible source of these gases. Fortunately for our family's economic survival, Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, fought this proposal.
Tiahrt amended the 2010 appropriations bill to prevent the EPA from taxing gases emitted by cows and other livestock. Without Tiahrt's amendment, this fee could have put my family, and many other family farms, out of business. These regulations would have affected the entire Kansas economy, because the meat industry accounted for $10.8 billion in economic activity in 2009 and employs roughly 18,700 Kansans directly.
I am confident that as a senator, Tiahrt will continue to be a strong advocate for Kansas agriculture. Please join me in voting for Tiahrt for U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
KATHY SCHARPLAZ
Minneapolis, Kan.
Moran is pro-life
As a Wichitan from western Kansas and a devout Catholic, I am voting for Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays, for U.S. Senate on Tuesday. I know how hard he works for Kansas, and I believe in his commitment and his strong conservative principles.
Moran always has been and always will be pro-life. To claim otherwise is either irrational or a calculated political distortion. The bottom line is that you don't win Kansas' "Big First" District, one of the most conservative Republican congressional districts in the country, by 80 percent of the vote unless you are strongly pro-life.
KIMBERLY TRAFFAS
Goddard
Trust Pompeo
When voters meet 4th Congressional District candidate Mike Pompeo, they see him as an approachable fellow citizen, but one with extraordinary core qualities. He is a man they can put their trust in and support without reservation. They know he's in this contest for all the right reasons.
Let me encourage you to look through all the clutter on Tuesday and see the heart of the matter: Pompeo's whole life and this current campaign struggle exemplify all the qualities we so desperately need in our federal government.
The kind of courage and character he always has displayed will lead to productive and positive power in Washington, D.C. Simply put, Pompeo is the right man for the 4th District, for our state and for our nation.
CRAIG MAKI
Goddard
Schodorf proven
Thanks, Eagle editorial board, for endorsing state Sen. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita, for the 4th Congressional District seat (July 25 Opinion). I am reassured to know that the editorial board has exercised reason, good judgment and intelligence in this race.
I have been both annoyed and entertained by the barrage of TV ads by two men who apparently perceived this race was theirs to win or lose. It just doesn't wash when candidates spend millions of dollars of personal money or raise money from Washington, D.C., political insiders in an attempt to convince me of their ability to understand and solve our issues.
I want to be represented by the candidate who has taken the high road — a positive and issue-based approach to the campaign. Schodorf has proved to me for 22 years that she cares, listens and has the ability to help solve the 4th District's problems.
I hope the voters will show the same good judgment on Tuesday that the editorial board exercised in its endorsement.
ANN KOCH
Wichita
Pottorff responsive
The commitment to business by state Sen. Jo Ann Pottorff, R-Wichita, has served us well. I contacted Pottorff for help with an issue affecting my small business, and she was immediately responsive and helpful.
I find this unusual in that elected officials often forget who they are and whom they represent. That has not happened to Pottorff. She cares about our district, the people who live there and the businesses that keep the economy healthy.
On top of that, she voted to ease a tax on small business, providing incentives for employers to expand and create more local jobs.
She is a proven supporter of the needs of the business community and has a commonsense approach to government. Pottorff deserves your vote in Kansas House District 83.
JOAN ABOUD
Wichita
Free pass
As I read yet another reference to state Rep. Phil Hermanson, R-Wichita, having driven under the influence of prescription drugs, it struck me that the situation had been mentioned no fewer than five times in The Eagle. What I found very interesting was that Assistant Minority Leader Jim Ward, D-Wichita, pleaded no contest to traffic infractions, including refusal to submit to a breath test, and there was only a small article of fewer than 400 words about his 2007 arrest and a brief editorial.
Why was such scrutiny placed on one member of the Legislature and not another high-ranking member?
It also should be noted that as a member of the Wichita City Council in 1991, Ward was the only "no" vote on a "boozer fee" that was intended to strengthen the penalties for DUI offenders.
What happened to any follow-up article on Ward's no-contest plea to alcohol-related charges? Why the free pass?
Rep. RAY MERRICK
House majority leader
Stilwell
Flip incumbents
I would like Kansans to give serious thought to a couple of candidates for governor. One is Joan Heffington. I know we all figured that Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., was a shoo-in, but I still have questions.
At the taxpayer march on Washington, D.C., last September, the mantra was "Flip This House." We were promising pink slips to all incumbents. I know Brownback is running for a different position, but he is still an incumbent, and his record is not too exciting.
As for Reps. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, and Jerry Moran, R-Hays — again, we need to look at the patriots who have stepped up and thrown their hats (and finances) into the ring for a better America. We asked for volunteers, so we owe it to them to include them in our vetting process. There may be another George Washington or John Adams among them.
We can't let it continue to be about who has the most money. Please look at all the candidates before you decide.
MAUREEN FIKE
Hesston
See Hamlisch
Wichita's lovers of great music have the rare opportunity tonight to see and hear Marvin Hamlisch, who is one of the most gifted and prolific composers of the past 30 years. He has won virtually every major award that exists.
The Orpheum Theatre has pulled off a major coup in luring Hamlisch to Wichita. He is very particular where he goes, and he chose the Orpheum over several other offers.
Artists like Hamlisch are few and far between, and we should show him and other accomplished performers that Wichita really is the place to be.
CHARLES STARK
Wichita
