Wichitopekington

Parkinson

Gov. Mark Parkinson’s office confirmed today that he has been in contact with the parties in the Hawker Beechcraft labor dispute and is urging them to settle their differences and keep the company in Wichita.

Parkinson, who earlier floated a financial incentive package aimed at heading off the possibility of the company moving its 6,000 Wichita-area jobs to Louisiana, has contacted both Hawker Beechcraft chief executive officer Bill Boisture and Machinists Union business representative Steve Rooney, said gubernatorial aide Amy Jordan Wooden.

“The Governor has spoken with Mr. Boisture and Mr. Rooney and encouraged them to keep their lines of communication open,” Jordan Wooden said in an e-mail response to questions from Wichitopekington. “He told them that if they can reach an agreement that is acceptable to both the company and the majority of the union members, the state’s incentive package is still available.”

Exactly what is in the incentive package is being kept confidential by the governors’ office and the parties in the labor dispute, but U.S Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, said he thinks it’s less than 10 percent of the $400 million in public aid Louisiana is rumored to have offered to get the company to move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s capital city.

The Kansas incentives are contingent on company management agreeing to keep about two-thirds of the jobs it now has in Kansas, and the union and management agreeing to a long-term labor contract.

On Saturday, the Machinists’ 2,600 members voted down a proposed contract with give-backs including a 10 percent salary cut and increased co-payments on health benefits.

Boisture has said no further talks are planned with the union, which continues to work under a contract due to expire in August.

But local officials, who expect to be asked to provide some of the money for the state incentive package, say they are optimistic that the two sides will eventually return to bargaining.

Tiahrt

Outgoing Rep. Todd Tiahrt said Tuesday that he’ll “sleep well at night” if Mike Pompeo wins his seat in Congress.

In fact, in a six-minute endorsement speech Tuesday, he said that three times.

Tiahrt, R-Goddard, the 4th District’s representative since 1995, lauded Pompeo’s business experience and commitment to cutting corporate taxes and regulations that he said strangle job growth.

“We know from history, especially the last two years, that you can’t do it from the government down. You have to do it from the ground up, to grow an economy,” Tiahrt said.

Tiahrt gave up his seat in the House to run for Senate, saying he had decided it was time to go “up or out.”

He lost in a hard-fought Republican primary to Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Hays.

Pompeo, a Republican national committeeman, also survived a bruising primary, besting four rivals for his party’s nomination.

In the Nov. 2 general election, Pompeo faces Rep. Raj Goyle, D-Wichita.

After the news conference, Tiahrt said when he leaves Congress in January, he plans to start his own business in unmanned aerial vehicles, an industry he nurtured with millions of dollars in congressional earmarks during his time in office.

Kassebaum Baker

Fourth District congressional candidate Mike Pompeo announced Thursday that he has landed an endorsement from former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker.

In a written statement, Kassebaum Baker said she thinks Pompeo, a Republican national committeeman, would provide “thoughtful and dedicated leadership” in a fractious Congress.

“An us vs. them mentality is not a solution,” she said in the statement. “I believe Mike Pompeo has the background to bridge differences. I don’t agree with all of his positions but I do believe he has the ability to be a part of governance necessary for meeting the challenges ahead.”

Kassebaum Baker, the daughter of Kansas political icon Alf Landon, served in the Senate from 1978 to 1997.

In the Republican primary, she had endorsed one of Pompeo’s opponents, state Sen. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita.

In the Nov. 2 general election, Pompeo is running against Rep. Raj Goyle, D-Wichita.