Laura Kelly will move the state forward as governor

Sam Brownback is a nice person who should have never been elected governor of Kansas.

And you can say the same about Kris Kobach. He is a nice person that we should not elect governor of the state.

When Brownback first ran for governor, and won the election, he was able to do so on his name recognition alone along with a rich campaign warchest that he had built up during his time as a U.S. senator.

At that time, Kansas voters were given very few details about how Brownback would govern; only that he planned to cut state taxes.

That did not turn out very well for Kansas as the Brownback years will long be remembered as the time that the state government almost went broke.

Brownback, in fact, jumped the sinking fiscal ship for a U.S. ambassador job and with Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer serving as governor, the State Legislature has been able to turn the state’s fiscal ship around a little.

Now comes Kris Kobach, the current Kansas Secretary of State, who has won the state Republican Party’s nomination for governor.

Kobach is a nice, friendly person, just like Brownback. And while Kansans really did not know who they were getting when they elected and re-elected Brownback as governor, the same cannot be said about Kobach.

If Kansans elect Kobach and the state goes broke, then it’s totally the voters’ fault.

Kobach says every time that he is asked on the campaign trail that the only trouble with Brownback’s tax plan was that Brownback didn’t cut state spending quickly enough. He says he would have cut spending first, then cut the taxes.

Kansas voters can only take Kobach at his word that he plans to return to the Brownback plan of cutting state taxes and also cutting state spending much more than Brownback did.

While that sounds all well and good, the fact is, dear Kansans, that the state funds for good roads, good social services and good schools all depend on a steady stream of state tax revenues.

If you thought the Kansas roads and highways were getting bumpy under Brownback, you haven’t seen anything yet like what Kobach plans.

If you thought public schools were underfunded during the Brownback years, you haven’t seen anything yet like what Kobach plans.

And if you thought the state turned its back on the poorest and most needy of its citizens during the Brownback years, then you haven’t seen anything yet like what Kobach plans.

Kansas cannot be turned into something it is not, regardless of what a charismatic gubernatorial candidate wants to tell you.

That was another lesson from the Brownback years. The state does not have enough industry to carry the bulk of the state tax load. The state cannot also rely heavily on income and/or property taxes to carry the bulk of the state tax load. It takes a fair and balanced approach to all three of these tax streams.

Laura Kelly, the Democratic Party’s candidate for governor, understands that the state must have a balanced approach to state funding and that it cannot cut one of the three areas too deeply without throwing the state into a financial tailspin like Brownback did.

Kelly is a well-known, experienced and trusted state lawmaker who knows how to work with both Democrats and Republican colleagues for the betterment of the state.

Kelly reminds me of former Kansas state senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum (a Republican) in the way she shows respect for all other people and seems to be fair and always have the best interest of her state at heart – without drawing undue attention to herself.

Kelly, by the way, says she will not increase state taxes and will let her state government experience and common sense guide her in working with the State Legislature to solve the the issues at hand.

I also find it interesting that every former governor of Kansas still living (Republicans and Democrats alike) except Brownback, support Kelly for governor.

I like Kobach as a person but I really like and trust Kelly’s plans for governing the state better.

And finally, in my view, a good governor should be like a good umpire on the baseball diamond: They do their job well and you hardly ever notice them….

That’s how I expect Kelly will serve as governor.

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141
 

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