By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Republican candidate for governor Dr. Jim Barnett is crisscrossing the state to introduce his running mate — his wife, Rosie Hansen.
He made a stop in Hays on Thursday.
If elected, the duo would be the first couple to serve together as governor and lieutenant governor. Barnett said he wanted someone who was correct on the issues and could step in at a minute’s notice to fulfill the role as governor. Hansen said she works well with her husband and sees the partnership as an advantage.
Hansen grew up on a small farm near Americus, Kansas. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas, a law degree from the University of Minnesota, master’s in public administration from Harvard University and was a National Security Affairs Fellow at Stanford University.
She spent the majority of her career working for the U.S. State Department in the Foreign Service Office. She traveled to Kuwait just after Gulf War ended to help set up U.S. Embassy, worked in Sarajevo, Bosnia, as the war coming to an end and in Kabul, Afghanistan, among other posts. Bombs were still flying and snipers still present when she started work in Bosnia.
Hansen worked closely with many government agencies and foreign governments on the management of the embassy operations so others within the embassy could get their jobs done.
“In places like that, a new problem comes up everyday, and if you are not good at problem-solving and managing those types of situations, you are not going to be very effective at your job. That is what I enjoyed, building things and solving problems, and that is what I realized I could bring to state government.”
Hansen said Kansas has suffered in the last seven years from not having a functioning state government. An opportunity to rebuild Kansas’ government was why she said she agreed to step up and run with her husband, which she was initially reluctant to do.
Under Barnett’s and Hansen’s One Kansas platform, they would like to see money go back into Kansas Department of Transportation for infrastructure improvements, the medical and mental health systems, and education. Barnett and Hansen support Medicaid expansion in Kansas for humanitarian and economic reasons.
“What has happened with Gov. Brownback and now Gov. Colyer is that they have raided KDOT and every other fund they could, taken the money out of every cookie jar they could find and now we are harmed as a state,” Barnett said. “We don’t have money in the state for roads. Our mental health system has been systematically dismantled, and we have a privatized Medicaid system called KanCare that sends money out of state to for-profit institutions.”
Colyer championed KanCare. Barnett noted United Health Care’s CEO’s last salary was $66 million. United Health Care is a contractor under KanCare.
“They take 8 percent off the top plus administration costs while our hospitals are struggling to stay open,” Barnett said. “One has closed, and 30 are on the critical list. Our hospitals are not being paid, and Kansans do not have access to health care when we are sending that kind of money out of state.”
There is no accountability for the money, according to the Post Legislative Audit, Barnett said. No data is available to see what value Kansans are getting from these companies, he added.
Rebuilding a functional Department of Commerce is also key, Barnett said.
“We need a Department of Commerce that has a governor leading it and a secretary leading it who understands that our state is different regionally,” he said. “This part of the state is different than the southeast, which is different than Johnson County for instance. The last time we approached economic development on a regional basis was when Bill Graves was governor, and that is very short-sighted.”
Hansen’s extensive global background should prove helpful as the Kansas tries to market ag and other products internationally. Barnett expressed concern about what is happening in Washington with trade and tariffs and how this will affect ag trade.
Barnett and Hansen’s vision for Kansas schools follows some of the goals already set by the Kansas Department of Education. These include kindergarten readiness, social and emotional support and growth for children, and career readiness.
Barnett supports technical programs to train Kansans for the tens of thousands of jobs in Kansas that require advanced training but do not require a college education. He said this will help to attract and retain young people in the state.
Barnett wants to get Kansas out of court. The Kansas Supreme Court is set to rule later this month if the Kansas Legislature’s plan to add about half a million dollars in funding to Kansas K-12 education over the next five years is adequate. The state of Kansas has been in and out of court for years on the funding issue.
Barnett suggested in his One Kansas plan, $600 million in education funding be added to the budget over three years. However, a study commissioned by the Legislature this spring suggested the state needed to increase funding by $2.1 billion.
“It would be my prediction that the court will not accept this,” he said of the Legislature’s plan, “and it is going to take a governor who is going to lead through appropriate investment in education and long-term appropriate investment in economic development for the state to we have enough money to do this.”
The state may see a budget surplus next year as a result of changes in the federal tax code. The Legislature made a failed attempt to float a tax cut in the spring as a result. Other candidates in the race are supporting a tax cut. However, Barnett said Kansas needs to pay its bills.
“We need to shore up KPERS, refund KDOT and invest in education and invest in a functional mental health care system across the state. That is where Kansas has a chance to put money back in the bank and invest,” he said.
Barnett said he recognizes economic development is the most important factor in Kansas if the state wants to raise money for schools, roads and health care. Barnett would like to grow tourism as an economic driver.
“Tourism is the economic engine still parked in the garage in Kansas,” he said, “but it is also for our state’s image. We are looked at as a fly-over state with black eyes. We have black eyes around the nation as a state that can’t stay out of court for schools or put money back for roads. We need to market Kansas in a way that changes our image.”
The last major issue in their campaign platform is young professionals.
“We educate and raise all these great young people, and then they leave. What can we do?” he said. “Jobs are part of that.”
He said Kansas needs to have job opportunities that can support families.
“What do young people look for? They look for communities that bring a sense of community and a sense of something bigger in life that they are working on. Communities [need to] have good schools and access to health care and have quality of life issues,” Barnett said.
Barnett commented briefly on a controversy surrounding his Republican opponent Kris Kobach. Some people objected to Kobach riding in a vehicle with a replica machine gun during a recent parade.
Barnett said although he supports Second Amendment rights, he said “the stunt was insensitive and inappropriate.”
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