8A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2006
STATE
Larry W. Smith/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ken Canfield, founder of the Kansas City-based National Center for Fathering, stands with members of his family as he announces his candidacy for the Republican gubernatorial nomination Tuesday at Clark Elementary School in Wichita.
GOP candidate joins race
BY ROXANA HEGEMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WICHITA — Ken Canfield, author of several books and articles on fathering, jumped Tuesday into the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
Canfield came back to the Wichita elementary school he attended as a child to make the announcement in the first stop in a statewide tour that will take him to nine cities over the next two days. The Wichita native lives in Overland Park.
"It is true I have not been involved directly in the political process ... The bottom line: I am not a politician," he said about cheering 75 supporters who gathered in the Clark Elementary School gymnasium. "But what I bring to the mainstream is something new and fresh — that ingenuity, that drive, that pioneering spirit that I learned."
Canfield, 52, founded the Kansas City-based National Center for Fathering in 1990. The private, nonprofit group provides training and support for fathers to become mentors
for their children. The program was praised by First Lady Laura Bush during her visit to Kansas City last October.
Canfield has written several books and articles on the subject, including "7 Secrets of Effective Fathers" and "The Heart of a Father." He was one of the founding members of former Vice President Al Gore's private-sector Father to Father initiative.
In a statement, he said, "The reason I'm running for public office is simple. Kansas families and businesses are seeking a governor who can provide the vision and leadership to guide our state to a more prosperous future."
While short on specifics, his first campaign stop touched on some of the issues framing his campaign better schools and a better business climate to promote growth.
"If we are going to grow as a state, we are going to have to be pro-growth, pro-business," he told supporters.
Canfield said he wants to take Kansas schools from good
to great.
"To do so we must examine how we allocate resources to our schools to insure that the maximum amount of resources are invested in our teachers, and encourage parental involvement in our children's education," he said in a letter posted on his Web site.
At the same time, he said, the state must develop a tax policy that encourages growth.
"The principle of simple and low tax rates are necessary for our economy to be strong and vibrant," he wrote.
Pressed for specifics on how he was going to balance his stated goals of better schools with low business taxes, Canfield replied that it is a complex, challenging issue. He said this early in the campaign he had not yet formed a position on whether the state was spending enough on education or studied the thick budgets.
Canfield joins a growing field of Republicans hoping to unseat Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who is expected to run again.
Moore
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
"This is an inspiration to me, it really is," Moore said to open his speech. "You are the students who really understand the need of a quality education, and are helping others get the same, I see this great leadership."
Primarily discussing money and our nation's problems with it. Moore touched on the increasing national debt, now at $8.1 trillion, dwindling social security funds and public schooling spending. His voice cracked when he retold stories of U.S. troops' economic struggles.
Moore's speech lasted less than half an hour, but he had time to touch on many subjects, starting with the "debt tax" and closing with a story about passing legislation requiring the
ty, but had a hard time believing everything he said.
"He's looking for some things that aren't reality," Cullors said. "The whole 'putting your money where your mouth is' part, when the national deficit is $8.1 trillion, I don't know how much more you can put out."
United States to cover the travel expenses troops acquire while on their two-week "Rest and Recuperation Leave Plan."
Kasey Cullors, St. Louis junior, was glad to see the congressman speak at the Universi-
"Whatever you think of our situation in Iraq, we have an obligation to support our troops and their families," Moore said.
He also expressed distaste toward the death gratuity benefit, or the money those left behind receive upon losing a family member, which is $12,000. Moore is pushing to raise the payment to $100,000.
Renate Mai-Dalton, director of the multicultural scholars program and associate professor of business, said all in attendance would benefit from Moore's speech.
"The least we can do is put our money where our mouth is," Moore said of supporting American soldiers. "A measure of value is not always what people say, but where we spend our money."
"We consider our students as leaders on campus," Mai-Dalton said. "It's good for our students to hear from outside the campus on the direction our country is going. We're not in our own little world in Kansas."
Edited by Kathryn Anderson
Fountains awash in Wichita
Mike Hutmacher/THE WICHITA EAGLF
Wichita Parks Department worker Bart Young hoses down one of the fountains in the Park Villa pond in Wichita Monday.
WEP ▼ WA