Candidates talk issues at NARFE forum

With the primary having established the final ballot, candidates for state and local offices participated in a forum Thursday at the Heritage Center.

The forum was sponsored by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees and moderated by Richard Fry of the political group the November Patriots.

Up first was the Kansas secretary of state. Democratic candidate and incumbent Chris Biggs said since being appointed to his position in March, he has worked to expand the transparency of the office and streamline its operation to save money.

He has also worked to enforce the laws as entrusted to his position. And with that in mind, he said he could not support the proposed changes to the duties of the secretary of state’s office being proposed by his opponent, Republican Kris Kobach, to combat what Kobach calls a statewide voter fraud problem.

“I’m here to tell you people — the only fraud we have is saying we have mass voter fraud,” he said.

Kobach did not attend the forum.

Janet Waugh, the Democratic incumbent from the 1st District in the Kansas State Board of Education, was also on her own at the forum, as a Republican opponent for her had not yet been chosen by the party. She said if re-elected, she plans to make sure that funding for education that is allocated by the Legislature is directed to the right resources to make sure that the quality of a Kansas education remains high, even as the educational system nationwide continues to change.

The two candidates for the Kansas House of Representatives 40th District seat — incumbent Melanie Meier, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Sandra Bohne — also answered questions submitted by audience members.

“We need to be prepared for hard decisions,” in balancing the state’s budget, Bohne said.

That means looking at each department and cutting when necessary, she said, while at the same time boosting economic development in the state.

Meier also emphasized job growth as part of a statewide recovery from the recession. However, she also said that cuts to state services in order to meet the state requirement for a balanced budget is a short-term solution to a long-term budget problem.

“Kansas needs a rainy-day fund,” she said.

The two candidates also answered questions related to a ballot question in the judicial district that includes Atchison and Leavenworth counties regarding the selection of judges. Bohne said she would be worried if the measure were to pass, switching the selection process for judges in higher courts from an appointment to an election, that the seats could then be “bought” by special interest groups.

Meier had similar concerns and supported confirmation of Kansas Supreme Court and appellate judges by the state Senate, though she said she was glad that the voters will get to decide which system they would like for the selection of district judges.

Both also weighed in on referendums, which would allow questions to be placed on a ballot given a valid number of petition signatures. Meier said she has talked to area farmers, who say the practice can allow special interest groups to control election issues. Bohne said referendums could cause a financial strain for county clerks, who must pay to print ballots.

On Nov. 2 in the 41st District, Democrat Nancy Bauder and Republican Jana Goodman will be vying for the seat that was formerly held by Marti Crow, who chose to retire instead of seeking another term.

Bauder and Goodman were asked about state tax money being used for programs that benefit undocumented immigrants. Both said they would not support the idea.

“Illegal is illegal,” Bauder said.

They were also asked what they thought was the biggest challenge facing the Legislature. Again, they agreed that getting jobs to the state was important.

“What we need to do is lower taxes and lower regulations,” Goodman said.

The two candidates vying for a chance to represent the 42nd District, Republican incumbent Connie O’Brien and Democratic challenger Jim Pittman, were the final state candidates to answer questions.

O’Brien said she could support eliminating the Kansas income tax and switching to a different system, the consumption-based FairTax. She also answered a question about the state’s smoking band. She said she did not support the ban because of the number of loopholes in it.

Pittman, a former smoker, said he did support the ban. As for taxes, he said the did not know enough about the FairTax proposal but did agree that if elected he would look at how the state generates revenue.

“We need comprehensive tax reform,” he said.

In the final race, Tim Goetz answered questions affecting the county, including how to attract tax dollars for projects in the northern portion of the county. Goetz is the Democratic candidate for the Leavenworth County Commission in the 1st District. His opponent, Republican Bob Holland, did not participate in the forum.