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MONDAY. NOVEMBER 5,2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
POLITICAL FIBER
Your guide to the 2012 election
MICHAEL AUCHARD
mcauchard@politicalfiber.com
Make sure you are an informed voter with this guide on local politicians and their priorities if elected
The following is a description of the possible ballot items that Douglas County residents will encounter on Tuesday. Lawrence and Douglas County are divided into multiple districts, so it's a good idea to check your voter information on the Kansas Secretary of State's website to determine which districts you're eligible to vote for.
FEDERAL OFFICES
UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE, 2ND DISTRICT
Lynn Jenkins, Topeka Republican
jenkins spent nearly 20 years as a certified public accountant; she has served in both the Kansas House and Senate and is a former Kansas State Treasurer. She currently serves on the House of Representatives' House Committee of Ways and Means.
According toher website, Jenkins' main goals are to increase job and economic growth in Kansas, support a strong national defense and improve transparency.
Jenkins
Congress — all while maintaining a fiscally responsible government. She believes future cuts in spending will trim trillions of the current administration's budget. Unlike her opponent, Jenkins does not support President Obama's overhaul of medical insurance practices in America known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Tobias Schlingensiepen, Topeka
- Democrat
Schlingensiepen states that his top four priorities are jobs and the economy, education, fiscal responsibility and, according to his campaign's website, "making certain that everyone — including wealthy
corporations share." He is a former pastor in the First Congregational Church and a chaplainwiththe Topeka Police Department. He says he would invest in educa
Schlingensiepen
tion, foster a business-friendly environment, punish companies who send jobs overseas, expand Kansas' energy industry, promote the healthcare industry and support the Kansas farmer. Schlingensiepen is a proponent of election reform and would like to distance corporate lobbyists from elected officials. He has attacked jenkins multiple times on this issue.
Dennis Hawver, Owzawkie - Libertarian
Hawner's main goals as a politician are to end any "unconstitutional wars", sending anyone who funds these wars to prison. He believes downsizing government by 50 percent across the board — from military spending to aid for low-income families — as well as cutting taxes by 50 percent. He wants to repeal the Patriot Act among others to give "more freedom" to citizens. He wants political figures to have a smaller role in American society.
STATE OFFICES
STATE SENATOR,
2ND DISTRICT
Ronald B. Ellis - Republican
Ronald D. Ellis
A retired teacher from Meriden.
Ron Ellis is now a cattle rancher in Jefferson County. Ellis is antiabortion and a fiscal conservative.
He has previously worked for the campaigns of Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, U.S. Rep Lynn Jenkins and former senator Gov. Sam Brownback.
Marci Francisco - Democrat
State Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, is seeking her third four-year term in the Kansas Senate. She serves on several committees, including the Democratic Party precinct committee and the Way and Means Committee.
Anthony R. Brown, Eudora -
Republican
Brown says his goals are to reform the economy to benefit hard-working companies and reform the state's government to be more "efficient and effective." He is a proponent of "family, traditional values and caring teachers," according to his website. He says these are the "keys to our children's success, not government mandates." He is a Marine Corps veteran and a former schoolteacher. Brown and his opponent have dueled on multiple tax laws. Brown says his opponent "hurt low-income Kansans" when he voted for a one-cent tax increase in 2010.
Tom Holland, Baldwin City - Democrat
Holland says his four main goals for Kansas are to create jobs and protect wages, restore state funding for K-12 public schools, promote tax policies that benefit hardworking Kansas families and lower property taxes. Holland has served as both state senator and member of the state house of representatives. He is also a local business owner.
Holland is against Gov. Brownback's tax cuts toward education, while his opponent favors them. "I know that education is the future," he says, "and I will fight to keep it strong."
STATE SENATOR, 19TH DISTRICT
Casey W. Moore - Republican
Casey W. Moore = Republican
Casey Moore, whose motto is "more jobs, less government," is a conservative political novice. He's been a pastor and identifies himself as "an alternative to a liberal legislator." According to his website, Moore wants to reduce the regulation of small businesses and "intrusive nature of government."
Anthony Hensley - Democrat
Anthony Hensley Democrat
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, is the state's longest-serving legislator. He's served in the Kansas Legislature since 1976.
Hensley is a public school teacher and has voiced concerns about the effect Gov. Sam Brownback's tax cut plan would have on education and social services funding.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 10TH DISTRICT
Erica Anderson - Republican Erica Anderson has been endorsed by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce PAC. She is antiabortion, and according to her website, she supports a more efficient and effective government and will oppose legislation that infringes on Second Amendment rights.
John Wilson - Democrat
John Wilson works for a nonprofit that works to reduce childhood obesity. According to his website, he supports restoring cuts to public education, creating a fairer tax code and legislation that would require contractors to hire at least 70 percent of their workers from
STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 42ND DISTRICT
Kansas
Connie O'Brien - Rebulican Seeking her third term, state Rep. Connie O'Brien of Tonganoxie has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association and Kansans for Life. In 2009, she supported legislation to create a new coal-fired plant in Holcomb. O'Brien also supports incrementally eliminating Kansas' income tax.
Harold D. Fevurly Jr.
Democrat
Harold Fevurly Jr. is a former Pleasant Ridge school board member and is now a facilities and grounds director. Fevurly is a self-described moderate and says education funding is his top priority.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 44TH DISTRICT
Patrick Bengtson, Lawrence - Republican
Bengtson's policies revolve around improving K-12 and higher education, expanding Medicaid while still keeping the Kansas market competitive. He also supports restructuring the state's tax codes. He is a 2009 graduate of the University of Kansas Law School. He says on his website he got in to politics after watching his father struggle to navigate the complexities of modern American medical care with a health condition.
Barbara W. Ballard, Lawrence Democrat
As the current incumbent, Ballard was first elected to the Kansas State House of Representatives in 1992. She has served on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Committees on Social Services Budget. Ballard served as Dean of Students at the University of Kansas, Assistant Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs, and Associate Director of the Dole Institute of Politics. When interviewed by PoliticalFiber, Ballard said what set her apart from her candidate was her wealth of experience. She cited healthcare, education and public safety as her top priorities.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE, 46TH DISTRICT
energy supplies," the site says.
Paul Davis - Democrat
Ken Corbet - Republican
Paul Davis - Democrat
Paul Davis is a lifelong Lawrence resident and he received his undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas. Before serving in the legislature, he worked as assistant director of government affairs for former Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius, as well as for the legislative and Ethics Counsel at the Kansas Bar Association. He has served in the Kansas House of Representatives since 2003 and in 2008 was elected Kansas House Democratic Leader.
Corbet is a member of Gov. Sam Brownback's Council on Travel and Tourism and also serves on the Dean's Advisory Council at Kansas State University's School of Agriculture. According to his website, Corbet's top three priorities are growing the economy by reducing income taxes and minimizing the role of government, supporting the second amendment, and defending an anti-abortion agenda.
Ann Mah - Democrat
Mah has been a state representative since 2002, and she is a Democratic Party precinct committeewoman. Previously, Mah taught high school science, was an engineer for Southwestern Bell and she is now the owner of Discover! Strategies.
BOARD OF EDUCATION 4TH DISTRICT
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