By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Kansas state Sen. Laura Kelly (D-Topeka) knows she must run fast in her campaign to become the next governor of the sunflower state.
Kelly, 67, announced her decision just a month ago, Dec. 15., the first female candidate in a field of 22 contenders.
The four-term senator and Minority Whip, made stops in Hays and Colby Saturday.
Saturday morning Kelly held a “Meet and Greet” hosted at the Hays home of former State Sen. Janis Lee. Then she traveled west on I-70 to Colby for Saturday afternoon’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate forum sponsored by the Thomas County Democratic Party.
Kelly told supporters she’s “been fighting a variety of things the past seven years and now I want to take the opportunity to lead Kansas out of those problems.”
“I have watched the Brownback tax experiment basically devastate our state revenues and therefore, basically most of our infrastructure in this state,” Kelly said. “We’ve seen cuts to our schools that have forced class sizes to increase. We’ve seen decreases in access to healthcare, even rural hospitals closing down. We have the highest sales tax on food in the entire country.”
Kelly believes Kansans sent a “very loud, clear message” in 2016 that “they wanted us to turn things around” with the election of many new and more moderate legislators. “We started that with the 2017 bipartisan repeal of Brownback’s tax experiment and then we actually overrode his veto to maintain that. So we’ve begun down the path toward restoration but we have a long way to go.”
The repeal included income tax exemptions for more than 300,000 business owners enacted in 2012 and 2013 by Brownback allies, resulting in budget instabilities.
The state budget and funding of K-12 education, up against a state Supreme Court ruling, will be the legislature’s priority once again in 2018.
Kelly is somewhat optimistic about the battle.
“We’re on the road to solvency and now actually exceeding expectations of the incoming monthly revenues. I think we’ll be able to look there to meet the court mandate. I expect we’ll know more in April and be able to make a better forecast. Things are looking pretty good right now and I’m expecting in April we’ll be able to balance things out.”
Kelly, whose husband Dr. Ted Daughety was medical director of the HaysMed Sleep & Neurodiagnostic Institute for a number of years, is an “ardent supporter” of Medicaid expansion. “We have left over $2 billion back in Washington that should have been coming here to help our hospitals and healthcare providers and to help our citizens. It would be my goal as governor, if the legislature doesn’t get it passed this year, to make sure we expand Medicaid and give them the resources they need.”
After 14 years serving in the senate, Kelly says she has a reputation of “someone who can easily work across the aisle to work with folks in the other party to promote good public policy.” She doesn’t believe her gender is much of a factor in the gubernatorial race. “I believe it’s my unique qualifications for the position of governor.”
Kelly is proud to have been a part of the legislature’s “concerted effort” over the past decade to streamline students through high school and technical school, making it possible for people to get well-paying jobs without needing to necessarily attend a four-year school. “They can get into one of our technical colleges, get a certificate and get into the work force.”
She previously worked as executive director of the Kansas Recreation and Park Association.
Kelly will face House Democratic Leader Jim Ward of Wichita and former Wichita mayor Carl Brewer, along with former state representative and Kansas agriculture secretary Josh Svaty, in the Democratic primary in August.