Former state senator to challenge Featherston for House

0
1964

A former state senator from Overland Park is mounting a challenge against Democratic state Rep. Linda Featherston, who is completing her first term in the Kansas House.

Ed Roitz, a Republican who once ran the family’s petroleum marketing business, has filed to run for the House with an eye on running in the central Overland Park district now represented by Featherston.

Ed Roitz

Roitz now resides within House District 8 but will officially be moved into Featherston’s House District 16 after the Supreme Court finishes its review of the new legislative boundaries.

Data compiled by Wichita State University political scientist Brian Amos shows that it was 43% for former President Donald Trump in the old configuration. It’s now a 44% Trump district under the new boundaries approved by the Legislature.

Roitz represented the Pittsburg area in the state Senate from 1981-85 before leaving the statehouse to oversee the family business.

He also served more than 12 years on the Pittsburg City Commission, which elected him twice to serve as the city’s mayor.

“I’m proud of the fact I’ve got local government experience, especially with everything that I’m hearing about property taxes,” he said.

Linda Featherston

Roitz said he didn’t believe local governments at all levels should take advantage of increases in property appraisals to boost their budgets.

Roitz, who earned a degree in accounting from Pittsburg State, said he has now lived in Overland Park for more than 20 years.

Featherston, a piano teacher, welcomed Roitz to the campaign.

“I look forward to an issue-focused, clean campaign,” Featherston said in a text.

“I hope voters value the priority I’ve given to constituent services and the consistent advocate I’ve been for families and our high quality Johnson county public schools.”

Featherston was narrowly elected in 2020, defeating Republican Rashard Young by 67 votes.

This past session, Featherston put together a bipartisan coalition to back a bill increasing penalties for violence against health care providers.

What started as a stand-alone bill was later rolled into more controversial legislation related to immunity for health care providers that the governor vetoed while praising the elements dealing with health care violence.

Featherston raised $7,832 last year and had $7,560 cash on hand at the end of the year.