Platform Issues

Over the next 5 weeks, I will use this space to define my political positions on issues affecting your November 7th vote for the Kansas House in Manhattan's 66th District. In that regard, I have used the metaphor of a 3-legged stool to describe the attributes of a great state.

It has been my observation working all over this country that these states have three primary components:

1. Solid infrastructure - roads, bridges, communication systems and the like; 2. Low taxes - good for business, attracts retirees, helps build middle class; 3. Great schools and universities - an economic and social development tool whose value cannot be measured.

Kansas has the opportunity to grow and improve in all three areas. We have the attributes to make a truly great state. But to get there I believe we must first take two large steps forward.

. On the revenue side, we can drive down individual tax rates by expanding our tax base. This can be accomplished through logical extensions of the existing Kansas economy, like production of commodity chemicals from renewable crops. Here is a rapidly growing industry in which we - the state and university - have little or no current participation.

. On the cost side, we need a BRAC-type commission looking into how Kansas government is organized. Our state was formed when cowboys rode horses to the county seat. It is high time we restructure government from those same counties and today's 300 school districts into an organization that is competitive in the 21st Century. Kansas has more units of government than all but 4 states in the Union. This has to be fixed for the 3-legged stool to stand.

So here you have the basis for my campaign. We can make Kansas government better. But to do so you must elect representatives with the intellectual capacity, career experiences and personal desire to make it happen. I trust you're with me.

First published in the Manhattan Free Press, October 4th, 2006.