As the clock winds down on the Legislature, there’s a move in the Capitol to remove Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s power to fill vacancies in statewide offices.
Republican state Reps. Blake Carpenter and Francis Awerkamp have been working on legislation that would turn the appointment authority over to the state’s political parties.
The legislation comes into play at a time when one Republican statewide officeholder is running for the U.S. Senate and another has been mentioned as a possible candidate.
Carpenter said in an interview that two bills have been introduced, one a constitutional amendment abolishing the governor’s ability to fill vacancies for the offices of attorney general and secretary of state.
A second bill would remove the governor’s ability to replace open seats for insurance commissioner and treasurer. The insurance commissioner and treasurer are treated separately because they are not constitutional offices, Carpenter said.
He said the intent is to have the party of the elected outgoing officeholder fill the position at a state convention of delegates. He compares it to how precinct committee members choose a replacement for someone from their party in the Legislature.
“This changes the process to more or less how we fill the legislative seats. It’s not a totally foreign concept,” Carpenter said. “It’s about balancing the equation so if there’s a Republican governor — and let’s say we have a Democrat treasurer — I think the Democrat Party should have the ability to select a person back into that spot if they want. Same with the Republicans.”
The legislation — not expected to be considered until next year — comes at a time when two Republican statewide officeholders could be running for the U.S. Senate next year.
Treasurer Jake LaTurner has already announced for the Senate, and Attorney General Derek Schmidt has been mentioned as a candidate. If either of the two Republicans were elected to the Senate, the Democratic governor would get to fill the vacancy.
Something similar happened during the administrations of former Democratic Govs. Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson.
Sebelius appointed Democrat Dennis McKinney as treasurer to replace Republican Lynn Jenkins after Jenkins was elected to Congress. Parkinson named Democrat Chris Biggs as secretary of state after Republican Ron Thornburgh stepped down.
Sebelius also got to name Democrat Steve Six as attorney general after Democrat Paul Morrison resigned awash in scandal.
The bill could help LaTurner or Schmidt dodge criticism that by running they would give Kelly an opportunity to fill their position with a Democrat. Carpenter called that more of a “side effect.”
“This process gives both parties a fair shake instead of whoever is holding the governor’s mansion,” Carpenter said. “If your party is holding that office, your party should be able to keep that office.”
