Good morning everyone:
Sixteen days and counting before the Aug. 7 primary.
Lots to cover this Sunday morning on news you may have missed but need to know. Let’s go around the horn.
Governor’s race
Kansas News Service has a nice series of stories this week that examines the stylistic differences between the gubernatorial candidates, the choice Democrats face in their gubernatorial primary and capsules on each of the candidates. The stories are all worth your time.
The Associated Press last week reviewed Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s claims that Kansas is the sanctuary state of the Midwest. Kobach has often made this statement in arguing that he’s the best candidate in the governor’s race to curb illegal immigration in Kansas. The AP’s analysis suggests that Kansas might not be the sanctuary state that Kobach claims.
Kobach also picked up some headlines last week in the Salina Journal where he talked about taxes, immigration and education.
He also spoke to the Emporia Gazette where he labeled himself as the “consistent conservative,” criticizing Gov. Jeff Colyer, Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer and former state Sen. Jim Barnett.
What’s interesting about the Gazette’s piece is that he criticized Selzer and Barnett, two candidates who’ve generally been in Kobach’s media shadow.
Kobach said Selzer’s work as insurance commissioner doesn’t define him as a conservative. Pretty sure that’s the first time this correspondent has seen Kobach take a shot at the insurance commissioner.
There’s also the fuss over the ACLU sending out postcards against Kobach, something he turned around and used against Colyer.
Colyer, meanwhile, launched a 105-county tour on Saturday. Here’s WIBW’s coverage.
Colyer also made news last week when his spokesman said Kobach was lying about an immigration bill that the governor voted on when he was a House member. It was an issue that came up in a recent Johnson County GOP debate. We’ll leave this Topeka Capital-Journal story to sort out the details for you.
For leisurely reading, McClatchy newspapers on Sunday morning published it’s profiles of Colyer, Kobach, Barnett, and Selzer. For what it’s worth, McClatchy grouped Barnett and Selzer together in its coverage.
Meanwhile, here’s some assorted coverage of Selzer’s visit to Great Bend and a discussion he had with the Leavenworth Times where he talks about why he wants to be governor and his plans for growing the state economically.
Barnett discusses his agenda with the Emporia Gazette and the importance of expanding Medicaid with the Abilene newspaper.
Farm Bureau Endorses Marshall
After balking at first, the Kansas Farm Bureau on Friday came out in support of Congressman Roger Marshall for re-election.
“After seeking clarification from Rep. Marshall on the importance of representation on the House Agriculture Committee, we stand ready to re-elect the congressman for a second term,” Rich Felts, Kansas Farm Bureau president said in a statement.
“Congressman Marshall has played a key role in the House-passed farm bill and we are excited he was named a conference committee conferee earlier this week.”
The Farm Bureau had been worried that Marshall might lose his seat on the Agriculture Committee because of interest he’s expressed in wanting to serve on the Ways and Means Committee.
Marshall also will serve on the conference committee that will sort out the difference between the House and Senate versions of the farm bill.
School staffing trends
The Kansas Association of School Boards last week published an interesting analysis of trends in school staffing.
KASB found that school districts have added more than 9,500 positions since 1998 while enrollment has increased by more than 22,000.
Mark Tallman, the organization’s lobbyist, said that the biggest staffing increases were for instruction and student support.
Tallman reports that more than 7,000 new positions were added for instruction, including about 1,300 for early childhood learning.
Districts added about 2,200 positions for student and instructional support such as counselors, nurses, speech pathologists, libraries and curriculum support.
Tallman points out that the number of positions grew with increased funding in about 2000 and after the 2005 school finance court case.
However, he writes, they were cut after the Sept. 11, 2001 recession, during the great recession of 2008 and when the state moved to block-grant funding a couple years ago.
Insurance commissioner race
Some light reading on the Republican primary for state insurance commissioner, which pits state Sen. Vicki Schmidt against former Republican lawmaker Clark Shultz. Here are pieces on Schmidt and Shultz from the Topeka paper and another piece on the race from the Hays Daily News.
The KU flag issue
The debate over the art exhibit with the paint-smeared American flag at the University of Kansas isn’t ready to subside just yet.
Last week, Republican state Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Republican candidate for Congress in the 2nd District, announced she was launching a petition drive to have the flag removed from campus.
Initially, the flag flew outside Spooner Hall, but after a political outcry the exhibit was moved to a museum on campus.
That hasn’t been enough for some politicians such Gov. Jeff Colyer and Secretary of State Kris Kobach who want the art exhibit gone. And, now Tyson is collecting signatures to have it removed.
“I’m encouraging all Kansans to sign a petition demanding KU remove this display from the university,” Tyson said in a statement last week.
“This desecrated flag should never have been displayed and it’s time to remove it once and for all,” Tyson said.
Redistricting: A look ahead
The 2012 legislative session boiled over in dissension when the Kansas Legislature couldn’t agree on how to draw new election districts. The job was ultimately left up to a panel of three federal judges.
Now, the Lawrence Journal-World’s Peter Hancock takes a peak at what redistricting – at least for the state’s four congressional districts – will look like after the 2020 census.
Hancock hypothesizes that part of the 3rd District – now represented by Republican Kevin Yoder – would have to be moved into the 2nd District to account for population shifts.
He also raises that the prospect that Wyandotte County and Johnson County could be put into separate congressional districts.
The issue is cast in the context of the ongoing governor’s race although it could be argued that the 2020 legislative elections might have just as much influence over redistricting. In two years, all the Kansas House members and the Senate will be up for re-election, making the issue even more relevant then.
Earlier this year, The Associated Press analyzed how this year’s legislative races would affect redistricting. For political junkies, it’s a story you should read.
The Other Ron Estes
Little by little, we’re getting to know more about the Ron Estes who’s running against Congressman Ron Estes in the Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District.
We’re not big on linking to opinion pieces on this site, but here’s some perspective from a Wichita Eagle columnist who sizes up The Other Ron Estes as the “most reluctant, reserved candidate for Congress you can imagine.”
For what it’s worth, The Other Ron Estes lent his campaign $2,078 and had $240 in the bank at the end of the reporting period on June 30. Congressman Estes, meanwhile, had $576,000 on hand as of June 30.
Kansas job growth
The Kansas Labor Department last week reported that the state recorded its 10th consecutive month of private-sector job growth.
The department said the state added 1,600 private sector jobs in June from May and 1,900 jobs overall. The state’s unemployment rate was at 3.4 percent, unchanged from May but down from 3.6 percent in June 2017.
Here’s some coverage from the Capital-Journal, the Lawrence Journal-World and the department’s announcement.
The two Ad Astras
The Topeka Capital-Journal had this interesting piece about the strife within the Kansas Democratic Party and how it might be coming to an end.
However, that led to a lobbying firm with a name similar to the one mentioned in the C-J story to issue a clarification, specifying that it’s not the same one mentioned in the story.
The consulting firm in the C-J story is the Ad Astra Group. The lobbying firm, run by Cheryl Semmel and Dodie Wellshear, is Ad Astra Government Relations.
“Our firm has not nor does it have any affiliation with Ad Astra Group, the company profiled in the…article,” the firm said in a statement.
“We understand that the similarity in business names has created some confusion — especially for those who may have seen the headline or for those who may not be familiar with our firm and its partners.”
So, Congressman Ron Estes isn’t the only one with the problem of sharing a similar name.
