District 87 House candidates have differing views on taxes, Medicaid

Two Wichita residents running for an open House seat in District 87 say they want to use their financial backgrounds to help the state combat its budget problems.

Jeremy Alessi and Roger Elliott are running in the Republican primary on Aug. 2. The winner will face Democrat Tonya Howard, a Wichita teacher, in the November election. Incumbent Rep. Mark Kahrs is not seeking re-election.

Elliott, 66, is a retired commercial banker and former vice president of CornerBank. He said he and his wife moved to the district two years ago. His political experience includes 12 years on the Andover school board.

Alessi, 40, ran for House District 92 in 2014 but lost to Democratic Rep. John Carmichael. He rented an apartment in District 87 in May. He is an investment adviser who has served on the city’s cultural funding committee and the county’s public building commission.

Political views

The two candidates classify themselves on different sides of the Republican spectrum.

Elliott said he is a moderate.

“I am a Republican who leans towards the middle on certain issues,” Elliott wrote in his responses to The Eagle's Voters Guide questionnaire. “I would seek compromise and not continue the gridlock which has crippled our state.”

Alessi said he is a traditional Republican.

“I am a life-long Republican that believes in Republican ideals,” Alessi wrote in his Voters Guide responses. “I prefer a smaller government imprint on your rights and your money.”

Budget

Both Alessi and Elliott said their backgrounds would help them deal with Kansas’ budget, which they point to as an area of concern.

Alessi said he has been a budgetary adviser on the individual, business, institutional and government levels. He calls the way state Treasurer Ron Estes runs his office a “model of efficiency” and hopes to make government more efficient through the accounting side.

“My thinking on (the budget) is to see what we can do about putting a common-sense approach together to … accomplish what I accomplished on the Public Buildings Commission and save the taxpayers some money, but do it through areas of redundancy,” Alessi said.

Elliott said he will use his background in banking and economic development to help with the state’s budget. Cash flow is king, he says, and transferring money from restricted funds such as the Kansas Department of Transportation is ill-thought.

“Instead of filling potholes, KDOT is filling shortfalls, so we’ve got to stop that,” Elliott said. “It’s a restoration to conservative fiscal policy, and that is watch your debt, balance your tax policy and use common sense.”

Elliott said the current course Kansas is on is “to the right of right.”

“I saw the need to make some changes with the experiment which has not worked, and I understand budgeting and the efforts that go behind a conservative fiscal policy, and it’s time to restore that conservative fiscal policy,” Elliott said.

LLC exemption

The “experiment” Elliott refers to is the 2012 tax law, which cut income taxes across the board and eliminated income taxes for the owners of certain businesses, such as limited liability corporations. He said the “three-legged stool” for state revenue – sales, property and income taxes – needs work.

“(The stool) is out of balance currently with the sales tax being too high and the income tax not being where it should be,” he said.

Elliott wants to put LLCs back on the tax rolls and said he has talked with very few people who oppose that. They recognize that it is not fair for them not to pay taxes, he said.

Alessi, however, said people he has spoken with say the LLC exemption has had a positive impact on their businesses.

“I’ve heard more positive anecdotal stories about what this has done for (business owners), rather than negative anecdotal stories at the doorstep,” Alessi said.

Education

Alessi said he would like to see teachers get raises based on the school district’s percentage of money spent in the classroom instead of simply raising the percentage of the state’s budget that goes toward education.

Elliott said he wants to look at ways for districts to be more efficient.

“I think you have to look at the size of the district and figure out what the funding formula should become to adapt to a 6A district versus a 1A district, and the needs of those certainly aren’t the same,” Elliott said.

Medicaid

Alessi and Elliott have taken opposite stances on Medicaid expansion.

Alessi said there are inefficiencies regarding Medicaid spending and how the program is run. He said he opposes state expansion of Medicaid.

Elliott said he supports the state’s expansion of Medicaid and disagrees with Gov. Sam Brownback’s cuts to the program. He said he sees Medicaid as a way to expand coverage and create jobs in the state, though he said he hears mixed feelings from physicians.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "District 87 House candidates have differing views on taxes, Medicaid."