A legislative panel on Wednesday voted to replace a plaque commemorating the state Capitol restoration that featured just former Gov. Sam Brownback’s name.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley asked the state Capitol Preservation Committee to replace it with a marker that reflects more of the people involved in the massive project.
Hensley said he had been concerned about the north wing plaque since it was installed when the Capitol restoration project was dedicated in 2014.
“I didn’t feel as though the plaque was as inclusive as it should have been,” Hensley told the panel. “There were actually four governors involved in the Capitol restoration project plus a number of other individuals that I believe deserve credit.”
Hensley had a new plaque made that included other names, including Brownback as well as former Govs. Bill Graves, Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson. The new plaque also includes the names of the construction manager, the architects and the director of legislative administrative services at the time.
Hensley noted there are similar plaques in school buildings that include the names of school board members, the school district superintendent and the construction contractor, among others.
“I think this is more appropriate and more inclusive in terms of giving credit where credit is due,” he said.
The plaque, which was paid for by the construction manager and the architect, cost $995, Hensley said.
During the committee meeting, no one spoke out against Hensley’s proposal, although there has been grumbling behind the scenes that replacing the marker was a shot at Brownback.
It was noted that the Brownback-oriented plaque was not approved by the committee. However, a Brownback assistant brought the idea of a plaque before the committee in late 2013, but it wasn’t acted on.
Hensley left it up to the committee to decide whether the existing plaque should remain or whether it should be replaced.
“I don’t really have any strong opinion one way or the other,” Hensley said. “I just feel like that this plaque needs to be displayed because, as I said, it’s more inclusive.”
Statehouse officials recommended that the new plaque replace the old one. The original plaque will be offered to the Brownback family. If the offer is declined, it will be kept by the Kansas Historical Society.
