Candidates answer questions in the 41st District primary

Voters in Tuesday’s Republican primary for the 41st District of the Kansas House of Representatives will have two candidates to choose from.

The winner of the primary race between Jana Goodman, 59, and Louis Klemp, 72, will face Democrat Nancy Bauder in the November general election. Goodman has political experience serving as a Republican precinct chairwoman and a Republican state delegate. Klemp served eight years on the Leavenworth County Commission. He served one four-year term representing the county’s 1st District and another term representing the 2nd District.

The Times asked Goodman and Klemp the same five questions. Their answers follow.

1 What do you see as the top issues for the state Legislature?
Goodman: The bad economy. To stimulate economic growth and create private sector jobs, the last things Kansas needs are tax increases and government overspending.

Clearly, illegal immigration is a major economic and law enforcement problem in our country.  Kansas must become a model for preventing illegal immigration and associated voter fraud.

Military veterans and members of law enforcement deserve our support. I was surprised to learn that Kansas ranks dead last in providing assistance to veterans and their families. The latest state budget makes further cuts in an already inadequate veterans’ budget. In addition, Kansas correctional officers are the lowest paid of area states. It’s time for leadership from Leavenworth in these areas.

Klemp: School finance (good education)/balanced budget with no tax increases and working to lower property taxes/initiative and referendum/illegal immigrants.

2 What is the best way to balance the state’s budget during the tough economic times?

Goodman: People in Kansas homes know how to balance their budgets. The Kansas House in Topeka needs to figure how to do the same thing. We need a “kitchen table budget” (zero-based in politics-speak) that avoids waste, prioritizes expenses and cuts government down to size. Only by reducing government spending can Kansans take back control of their money and their lives.

Klemp: Reduce spending as any person or business would do, as what would we have to do to stay afloat.

3 Do you believe the state should change the way education is funded? And if yes, how?

Goodman: I have taught math in high school in Kansas, as well as at the University of Kansas. In Kansas, the education bureaucracy is overwhelming teachers and stifling creativity in the classroom. In spite of spending more and more money on education every year, Kansas schools are not improving. Doing less with more is not what is needed from education administrators. We want smarter schools — not more expensive ones.

Klemp: Yes. The state has received a formula and it should be followed. The school districts can lobby for the local option budget at any level, but it must be voted on by the people.

4 Would you have voted for the state’s smoking ban, and why or why not?

Goodman: I personally don’t like smoking. However, tobacco is a legal product. The smoking ban is a restriction on freedom. What’s next? Double-stuff Oreos? Laws and taxes restrict personal freedom. In all areas, this should be done only with great caution.

Klemp: No. The only requirement by the state should be a sign designating the establishment as a smoking or non-smoking establishment. Anything run by the state needs to be non-smoking.

5 Would you have voted for the recent increase in state sales tax, and why or why not?

Goodman: I will never vote for any tax increase. The 1-cent sales tax hike actually amounts to a 15 percent increase. Most people’s incomes are certainly not going up 15 percent. This was the largest tax grab in state history. During a recession, tax increases are the worst possible course of action. As the new representative in Topeka from Leavenworth, I will never forget that every single dollar the government spends comes out of the pockets of real Kansans.

Klemp: No. I feel it was not needed. I also did not like the breakdown of .3 to the schools for three years and .7 to the Kansas Department of Transportation for 10 years.