Dozens of people attended a political forum at Wichita’s Tabernacle Bible Church on Sunday that featured candidates for state Legislature.
Candidates weighed in on various issues such education, job growth, Medicaid expansion and the state's public employee pension system, KPERS. Former teacher J. Michelle Vann, a Democrat running for Kansas Senate District 31, told the crowd it's important to fully fund the state's education system.
"If we don’t invest in our children, if we don’t invest in our public education, we will pay in the penal system," she said.
Vann's opponent, Republican Carolyn McGinn, did not attend. Republican Jim Price is running for the Senate District 25 seat. He says there's too much spending on education at the administrative level.
"That's not how we educate kids," he said. "We educate kids by supporting the teachers, by getting involved everyday."
Price's opponent, Wichita School Board member Lynn Rogers, says it's important to understand how the budget works. He says administrators do not get raise unless teachers get raises. If elected, Rogers says one of his goals include bringing more jobs to Kansas.
Marco Giorgi, the independent candidate for House District 87, told the crowd that government can do a good job, but is starved of revenue. Referring to the state’s income tax exemption for small business, Giorgi said he wants that changed.
"I propose that we should allow these 330,000 LLCs the opportunity to be the excellent corporate citizens we know they want to be by shouldering their portion of the burden, getting back on the tax roles and generating their revenue," Giorgi said.
Giorgi's Republican challenger, Roger Elliott, did not attend the forum. However, Tonya Howard, his Democratic opponent, was present.
Candidates also agreed that they did not want to see guns allowed on college campuses next year. Beginning July 1, 2017, anyone who is 21 or older and qualifies to carry a concealed handgun under Kansas law, can take firearms onto campuses.
UPDATE: A previous version of the web copy reported Tonya Howard did not attend the forum. Howard was in attendance.
--
Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
