University Daily Kansan
Thursday, October 31, 1974
5A
Kansas governor's race dominated by personalities
To many Kansas voters the race for Governor is a clear-cut contest between personalities.
The fight is between clean-cut Vern Miller, Democratic attorney general famous for his hard-hitting drug raids, and bearded Robert Bennett, a virtual unknown despite his experience as president of the Kansas Senate.
The campaigns seem to be focused on personalities rather than issues mainly because Miller wants it that way. Miller has refused to "argue personally in public" with Bennett because "it would be a waste of time and the public doesn't want to hear bickering."
"I rather doubt I can out-argue Bennett, because he's a slick talker and he's not too responsible with his statements," Miller said.
To some the only issue in the campaign is whether Miller is in any way well-qualified enough to be governor. This fear is doubtless accentuated by the fact that Miller has brought very few concrete governmental issues into the campaign aside from a proposed controlled spending lid.
Miller lists as the major campaign issues, his effectiveness in controlling drug traffic in Kansas, his spending lid, his qualifications and his proposed changes in administrative agencies.
On the other hand, Bennett has discussed a number of serious issues and how he plans to treat them. Some of these issues are additional property tax relief, change in agricultural land valuations, revenue-sharing with local government, help for the elderly, and more efficient government.
One wonders whether Miller's fear of debate stems from an absolute incomprehension of issues.
On the issue of governmental experience, both candidates are clear. Bennett has spent 10 years in the Kansas Senate after 10 years as mayor and councilman in Prairie Village.
"We feel there's more to state government than that. You can't raid or arrest a school problem. You can't get to some of the problems we have in reducing or holding the line on property taxes by hiring a bunch of special agents.
"He's not a bad sheriff, but neither was Wyatt Earp and nobody wanted to elect him governor."
But Miller says his qualifications for Governor are equal to anyone's, "because I recognize the fact that I don't have the answers to all the problems, and I'm going to call on the experts for advice. Then I'll make up my own mind on what's best for the people of Kansas in the best way I know how."
As a result of this alleged humility on Miller's part, he has made definite decisions on how to handle agency heads if he is elected. He plans no wholesale change at all, because, "Gov. Docking has some very qualified people."
Miller said, however, that he has no qualms about his ability to attract and select competent administrators, because he would match his top attorney general staff members with any in the country."
The only real governmental issue in this campaign is a proposal by Miller for the spending lid. He says this is important because it only makes sense to him to have the governor and legislature agree on an amount of revenue likely to be available and spend only that much.
Bennett said Miller's proposed lid sounded like a potential gubernatorial cop-out.
"The spending lid could easily be used to avoid the responsibility the governor has to veto the irresponsible legislation," Bennett says.
"Any governor who shirks the responsibility to veto a bad bill shouldn't be seeking the office."
Miller hasn't spent much time worrying about these "slick" accusations, however. Instead, he's been emphasizing his downhome quality and common touch rapport with average people.
“When I think of all the things a governor can do for others, it's humbling,” Miller
says, "But I think the people ought to know that the governor is their personal friend.
"I want people to come visit the executive mansion and look around. That's what it's for. It belongs to the people."
Miller's down-home, home-baked quality may not be entirely a put-on. Visitors to his office last year said he decorated it with signs such as "Burn Vern," "Stop Vern," and "Super Sheriff." He didn't take offense at these signs because he thought they were affectionate demonstrations of appreciation for him, the visitors said.
A less frequently considered issue that is nevertheless important to University-related people is the candidates' stands on state education.
This is an issue on which Bennett has been unclear and Miller practically unheard. In 1973 Bennett was quoted as saying that in order to obtain additional state support for higher education, professors must "leave their ivory towers and vine-covered halls and grovel with the common man."
Although professors talked and talked about the common man, Bennett said, they were actually ignorant of him. Finally, he said that until the University could convince the common man that education was worthwhile, it wouldn't receive support.
More recently, Bennett has taken a kinder stand on education.
"I firmly, and with a great deal of sincerity, apologize. . . (for legislative action induced when). . . a strong and militant band cut the budget for higher education.
"Now at this point in time, most of us are willing to hearken to the desires of people involved in higher education. I strongly hope that we can put higher education at the proper level at which it should be in this state."
"We must maintain a healthy system for funding higher education now that it is facing some very important and serious problems," he said. "Decreases in enrollment and increases in instructional costs have placed the universities in a cruel economic squeeze."
But Miller's stand doesn't seem any better. In fact, it seems that he doesn't know what he would do.
Perhaps the only real strong issue in this campaign is the personalities of the candidates.
At any rate, the outcome remains
unknown, despite the claims of Miller enthusiasts.
"I think we're closing the gap," Bennett said. "Right now, I don't think we're as far behind as some polls might indicate, and I
don't think we're as close as others show."
What does Miller say?
"If I get elected governor, it will be unreal."
Robert F. kennett
Absentee voting easy
Bv JAN HYATT
When the polls open at 7 a.m. on election day, Nov. 5, thousands of Kansans already will have cast their votes. They will be the voters who have taken advantage of absentee voting procedures provided by state election laws.
Kansas statutes allow registered voters who will be absent from their home counties during the entire time that polls are open to vote by absentee ballot for city, school, county, state and national officers. They also may complete a questions submitted ballot, such as the one listing five proposed amendments to the state constitution to be included in this year's Kansas election.
In addition, people who have moved from one Kansas precinct to another within 30 days prior to an election or who qualify to vote in Kansas as former state residents may vote by absentee ballot.
This procedure would be used mostly by voters who are taking extended leaves from their residences. For example, University of Kansas students who are Kansas residents but not registered in Douglas County could write to the county clerk in their home counties or ask parents or
For the coming general election, voters have until Nov. 1 to apply to county clerks for absentee ballots. The voter may do this himself or he may send any qualified voter living in his precinct to apply in his behalf. The application may be made by mail. The voter states his precinct or voting district, resident address and the address to which the ballot should be mailed. He also must state that he will be absent from the county on election day.
friends to file for them.
Delbert E. Mathia, Douglas County clerk,
said last week that KU students from other
Kansas counties often came to his office just
before an election asking for absentee
ballots for state and national offices to mark
and send to their home counties. Mathia
said he usually gave them the ballots, but he
couldn't assure them that the election
boards in their counties would accept their
votes.
"The surest way to get an absentee ballot is to write to your home county election officer," Mathia said in advice to KU students.
The county clerk mails the absentee ballots and an envelope bearing the same number as the ballots to each applicant. The absentee voter marks the ballots, places them in the envelope and fills out the form on the envelope that asks for his residence address, his current mailing address and certification that he personally has marked the ballots. Then he mails the envelope back to the county clerk, using his own postage stamp.
Resident voters not on extended leave who know they will be absent on election day may choose another procedure provided by the statutes for absentee voting. From 8 a.m. Oct. 29 to noon Nov. 4 they may apply at the county office and immediately receive ballots and an envelope. They may vote upon receipt of the ballots or take them home to mark. They may return them in person, by proxy or by mail anytime before the polls close on election day.
In Douglas County, Mathia expects 450
absentee voters in the November election. He said about half would use the first procedure requiring him to mail them ballots and the other half would come into his office during the week prior to the election and immediately receive ballots.
The clerk keeps a list of the names and resident addresses of all absentee voters. On election day he gives the supervising judge of each precinct a list of the absentee voters in that precinct. The election board checks each voter's name against the list to guard against attempts to vote twice. The complete list in the clerk's office is open to public inspection at all times so that challenges to an absentee voter's eligibility can be made.
For KU students who are Kansas residents, absentee voting is no more a bother than dropping a post card to their home county clerks and buying a postage stamp to return the ballots. For most out-of-state students, the procedure is similar because other states' laws allow absentee voting by mail. However, absentee voting can become a major obstacle to them if they intend to apply for Kansas residency and the right to pay state resident tuition fees.
Question 13 on the application for resident classification asks "Did you vote in Kansas in the last election?" Kansas voting is considered to be one of the signs that a student is establishing ties with this state.
The student intending to apply for eligibility to pay resident tuition fees should register to vote in Kansas sometime during the six-month residency prior to enrollment required by state statutes on resident fees eligibility.