6A = THEUNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
STATE
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
Candidates clash over gun rights
Shallenburger. Sebelius vary plans for state gun control
The Asssociated Press
TOPEKA — The gubernatorial campaigns of Republican Tim Shallenburger and Democrat Kathleen Sebelius clashed Monday over how many Kansans should be allowed to carry concealed guns.
Sebelius said she would allow the state to license retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed guns, while Shallenburger supports proposals to allow most Kansans to carry concealed weapons.
Nicole Corcoran-Basso, a representative for Sebellius, said the Democratic nominee's position was in keeping with her general support for gun rights as guaranteed by the federal and state constitutions.
She said Sebelius would not seek any changes in current gun laws.
Shallenburger representative Bob Murray said Sebelius "dances around the issue of concealed-carry."
Shallenburger has the endorsement of the National
Rifle Association, which also supports broad legislation.
"That puts him pretty solidly on that side," Murray said.
Corcoran-Basso rejected Murray's description of Sebelius' position on gun rights.
"We are very clear on our position." she said.
Sebelius did not vote on concealed-carry proposals when she served in the Kansas House in 1987-94.
The issue came to a vote in 1997, when Shallenburger was House speaker and a sponsor of concealed-carry legislation. Abill that Shallenburger favored passed, only to be vetoed by GOP Gov. Bill Graves.
Corcoran-Basso said Sebelius developed her position after talking with law enforcement officers. Sebelius worried a broader concealed-carry law would hurt public safety, the spokeswoman said.
"Some people could be trained on how to use a gun, but will they be trained on when to use a gun?" she said.
Murray said Shallenburger believed all Kansans ought to be able to protect themselves.
Corcoran-Basso said Sebelius did not own a gun. Murray said Shallenburger owned two, but he declined to be more specific.
The Associated Press
Westar revises executive compensation
TOPEKA — Westar Energy Inc. has revised the compensation agreements of its 13 top officers, scaling back the amounts they would reap if they left the company under a change of management.
Westar, the state's largest electric utility, also plans to review the internal policies governing how its management and directors oversee corporate operations.
"Compensation has been a subject of discussion circulating, not only around Westar Energy, but companies around the country," Wittig said.
Both steps were approved by Westar's board of directors during a telephone conference call Monday and were to be publicly announced yesterday. Westar officials, including chairman and chief executive officer David Wittig, discussed them Monday in joint interview with The Associated Press and The Wichita Eagle.
Wittig said heand Doug Lake, Westar's executive vice president, proposed the changes to Westar's board because of the national debate over corporate accountability.
At issue were "change of control" agreements reached by Westar and its top executives in
the fall of 2000 outlining the compensation for those who left following a change in Westar's management. At the time, the company was pursuing the ultimately unsuccessful sale of its utility operations to Public Service Company of New Mexico.
The revisions that were approved Monday cap the money executives could receive; prevent them from claiming some stock earnings immediately; and eliminate provisions under which the company would buy executives' homes if they moved for a new job.
Another dynamic is the national business climate. In September 2000, Westar's stock was trading on the New York Stock Exchange at $21.25 a share. The price at the close of regular trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange was $10.09, down 41 cents.
"I believe the company is better than it was in the fall of 2000." Wittig said Monday. "Having said that, I think it's not been reflected in the stock price."
Westar's announcement came only three days before the Kansas Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities, planned an administrative meeting to discuss Westar's finances. The commission had two weeks
of hearings in July into the company's operations.
But Wittig said the timing o Westar's announcement was dictated more by its board's discussions.
"I think it's important that people understand that the board takes its job seriously," he said. "This is something we've been talking about."
He said he did not know how long the review of Westar's corporate governance policies would take and that it would be influenced by the federal government's actions on corporate accountability.
"We want to try to be on the cutting edge here," he said. "We do not want to be catching up to everybody."
Westar critics, including large industrial electric users and the Citizens' Utility Ratepayers Board, which represents residential and small-business customers, have suggested that Wittig and his top executives are paid too much, given the company's performance.
According to a document the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in May, he received $16 million in compensation combined for 1999, 2000 and 2001, most of it
They've described the compensation contracts as golden parachutes.
"We want to try to be on the cutting edge here. We do not want to be catching up to everybody."
David Wittig
Westar chairman and chief executive officer
as stock. His base salary totaled about $1 million for those three years.
Previously, Westar has said the compensation agreements were in line with others in the utility industry. Wittig and other executives also have suggested market forces are largely to blame for the stock's decline.
CURB and other critics suggested that the agreements were excessive and worth millions of dollars to each Westar official. The company has not offered precise figures for how much the agreements are worth.
One provision in the agreements set targets for departure payments to top executives, as minimums of what they could receive, based on performance. Now, the target would act as a cap, Wittlg said.
Wittig said the company dropped the provisions on buying executives' homes because "It became such a brouhaha."