Endorsements for Kansas Senate
The following are The Eagle editorial board’s recommendations for the Aug. 2 primary for Kansas Senate. Endorsements for U.S. Senate and House, Sedgwick County Commission and District Court judges will be published Sunday. We offer these recommendations as information to consider as you make up your own mind about the candidates and issues. Additional candidate information can be found in The Eagle’s online Voter Guide at Kansas.com/politics. Kansas House endorsements are online at Kansas.com/opinion.
Kansas Senate
District 16
GOP primary
The best choice for voters in this district spanning Butler County and east Wichita is Troy Tabor II, an Andover City Council member and web developer who has been involved in local, school district and regional planning. He sees many recent legislative actions as detrimental to K-12 education, roads and Kansans’ health, and says the 2012 tax cuts were poorly thought out and implemented. “We have to stop the ship from sinking,” said Tabor, whose priority would be ensuring taxes are “fair and sufficient.”
Sending Tabor to Topeka would send a message, as two-term incumbent Ty Masterson is Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman and an architect (and denier) of the state’s fiscal debacle. Masterson shepherded an unbalanced budget to passage this year, also co-authoring the unconstitutional school block grant law in 2015 and other bad bills. He represents an ideology and special interests more than his district and those who support public education, and he should be held accountable.
The winning Republican will face Democrat Gabriel Costilla on Nov. 8.
District 25
GOP primary
William Eveland is the better of the two Republicans in this near-west and south Wichita district hoping to succeed one-term Michael O’Donnell. Eveland, an accountant, criticizes the Legislature’s performance and the unfair state income tax exemption on pass-through business income. In his Eagle Voter Guide questionnaire, he said: “You cannot attack schools, deplete the infrastructure, and decimate public services and expect companies to come to a dying state.”
The other Republican candidate is Jim Price, a libertarian-minded defense contractor and past candidate for House and City Council who has had two criminal convictions, a bankruptcy and other legal problems.
The winner will meet Democrat Lynn Rogers in the general election.
District 26
GOP primary
The clear choice in this southwest Sedgwick County district is Garden Plain farmer and one-term incumbent Dan Kerschen. He is a reliable conservative and voted for the 2012 tax cuts (while in the House) that got the state into its fiscal mess, but also has exercised his own well-informed good judgment. He voted against the unconstitutional school block grants and the bill to make it easier to impeach Supreme Court justices, and he supports changing the business tax loophole and considering the proposed revenue-neutral KanCare expansion. Kerschen said his priorities in another term would include helping write a new school finance formula and finishing up the state water plan.
His challenger, Byron C. Dunlavy, is a politics-loving 18-year-old conservative who lacks Kerschen’s knowledge of the issues.
Democrat Benjamin Poteete will be on the Nov. 8 ballot.
District 27
GOP primary
Political newcomer Lori Graham is narrowly the better choice among two like-minded conservatives in this district, which includes west Wichita, Andale, Colwich and parts of Goddard and Maize and where longtime incumbent Les Donovan is retiring. Her advantage is her fresh perspective, which is as a small-business owner and software developer for the aviation industry. Among her frustrations with the 2016 Legislature is its failure to implement more of the efficiency study. Graham’s impatience to eliminate the state income tax seems at odds with the state’s dismal budget picture. She also supports educational savings accounts, a reform unlikely to ease K-12 budget problems. But Graham comes across as a solution-seeker who could make an effective senator.
The other Republican is Gene Suellentrop, whose voting record and committee roles during his four House terms (including, briefly, as House budget chairman) have made him part of the problem. He showed leadership on the (flawed) 2014 school-finance law and a 2015 attempt to reduce the food sales tax, and he has a lot of insight into tax and budget issues. But Suellentrop irresponsibly called last month for the Legislature to let the Supreme Court close schools and then missed the special session, and has done too little to fix or even acknowledge the budget mess he helped make.
The winner will face Democrat Tony Hunter in the fall.
District 28
GOP primary
Former Deputy County Treasurer Jo L. Hillman is the pick in this south Wichita district, which includes Oaklawn, Planeview and part of Derby. She has been frustrated to watch the governor and Legislature “subvert public education,” hike sales taxes, curb income tax deductions, raid highway funds and borrow money while continuing to exempt pass-through business income under the 2012 tax reform. She would repeal that and perhaps other tax exemptions, and expand Medicaid and seek other federal funding. Hillman decried the property tax cap the state imposed on local governments and sees herself as “someone who could bring people together.”
She is challenging three-term incumbent Mike Petersen, whose votes for the 2012 tax cuts, the 2015 sales tax hike and the 2016 unbalanced budget are part of a record mostly in line with the governor and legislative leaders but out of step with the demographics of his district. Petersen, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, expressed frustration with how many highway dollars have been swept to other uses, and he showed leadership on a law to curb metal theft. But his views on the state’s finances and school funding clash with reality.
The winner faces Democrat Keith Humphrey in the general election.
District 30
Democratic primary
Her experience as a community activist makes Anabel Larumbe the more qualified of the two like-minded young candidates in this district, which includes Eastborough and parts of east Wichita and Andover.
Larumbe has been involved in grassroots efforts on the issues of poverty, voting rights, worker rights and immigration. She supports Medicaid expansion, a higher minimum wage and increased school funding. “It is very important that someone is listening to my community,” she said.
The other candidate, 18-year-old Nathan Tokala, lists education and Medicaid expansion as his priorities. He understands the issues, and especially the state’s difficulties in retaining talented young people.
On Nov. 8 the winning Democrat will take on Republican Susan Wagle, who is Senate president.
District 31
GOP primary
Former Sedgwick County commisssioner and three-term incumbent Carolyn McGinn is the clear choice in this district, which includes Harvey County and northern Sedgwick County. McGinn has stood out in the chamber – and nearly alone in her caucus – for her smart questions, independence and common sense. McGinn opposed the unconstitutional block grant bill and the sales tax hike last year and the unbalanced budget this year. Because she’s a former Senate budget chair and sees the fiscal disaster for what it is, she would like to re-examine the tax exemption for some business owners and pursue a “fair tax code.” Her strong record of support for public schools will be needed as the Legislature tries to write a new finance formula and answer another state Supreme Court ruling. The Legislature needs not only McGinn, but many more lawmakers like her.
Her conservative challenger is Renee Erickson, principal at Wichita’s Brooks Middle School and a member of the Newton school board. She favors lower taxes, less regulation and getting more education dollars into the classroom. She cannot match McGinn’s experience and knowledge of the issues the state faces.
The winner will face Democrat J. Michelle Vann in the fall.
This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 12:04 AM with the headline "Endorsements for Kansas Senate."