Daily Archives: Aug. 8, 2012

Senate leadership up for grabs

Aug. 8, 20125:18 p.m.

Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita

TOPEKA – Now that the balance of power in the state Senate is poised to shift farther to the political right, some senators will begin quiet campaigns to see who will lead this new version of the majority party.

The Senate’s current president, Sen. Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, was defeated by Republican Rep. Larry Powell in Tuesday’s election (unofficial results), and its vice president, Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, announced his retirement from the Senate a few weeks ago.

With more conservative candidates poised to form a strong majority, the body seems poised to select a conservative stalwart to lead.

Wichita Republican Sen. Les Donovan, elected in 1996, is the longest serving conservative in the Senate, and he has said he will run for president – or some other leadership position.

But he said whether that happens depends on the general election in November and who else steps up to be president, vice president and majority leader in the Senate. Donovan will face Democrat Diana Cubbage, a former teacher, in the November general election.

Meanwhile, Sen. Terry Bruce, a Hutchinson Republican elected in 2004, plans to run for majority leader. He said he hasn’t heard of anyone else seeking that spot yet. “I’m hopefully optimistic I’d be unopposed,” he said.

Bruce faces Democrat Mark Treaster, a former House Representative, in the general election.

Bruce said Republicans have no written rule about seniority determinning leadership, but he said Republicans will likely seek a “stabilizing force” who is diplomatic and has some experience in the Senate. Bruce said the overwhelming conservative victories in the primary put the pressure on conservatives to deliver.

“We’re in the spotlight now,” he said. “And we just have to prove to the state that they didn’t make a mistake and that we can head the state in the right direction.”

Senate president, vice president and majority leader play an important role in referring bills to committees that put proposed laws on track for a vote by the Senate. The senate president chairs the committee on organization, calendar and rules that appoints members of committees and the chairs of those committees. The committees are typically the first stop for newly proposed laws, and the chair can decide which of those new proposals will get a hearing and vote of the committee that sends the proposal on for a vote in the Senate, if the Senate’s leaders allow it.

The president is usually elected on the first day of the session, but the dirty work occurs in weeks leading up to that where members try to convince fellow senators to support them during a nomination vote at a caucus meeting in early December.

Sen. Susan Wagle ran for Senate President four years ago and lost to Morris, who was the incumbent president. She said she is looking into what role in leadership might be best for her.

“I think it will be quiet until November,” she said of the leadership races. “The majority isn’t secured until November.”

Wagle faces Patrick Cantwell in the November general election.

The president gets an extra $14,039 in salary, the vice president gets $7,165 more and the Majority leader, who ranks just behind president, get an additional $12,666.

The Senate’s current majority leader, Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, won his primary contest Tuesday. He wasn’t available to comment Wednesday. But he has been viewed as a moderate Republican, and it’s unclear if he could convince enough conservatives to keep him in a leadership role.

Donovan said he has heard Emler plans to run for president. “I think those odds have gotten a little smaller now,” Donovan said.

By Brent Wistrom | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments

Kansas Democrat leaders plan to push property tax issue

Aug. 8, 201212:12 p.m.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka

TOPEKA — With the primary over, House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, says Democrats are ready to start pushing their message that property taxes are too high and that electing Democrats is the only way to slow down Gov. Sam Brownback’s “very right wing social agenda.”

Davis said Tuesday’s primary, in which conservatives likely gained control of the Senate, represents “a hard right turn” in Kansas politics that is bad for public schools, workers’ rights and women’s rights, as well as the elderly, poor and disabled. He said Democrats will campaign heavily on a pledge to cut property taxes instead of going forward with conservatives’ plans to continue to cut corporate and individual income taxes.

“I think the property tax frustration is there,” he told reporters Wednesday morning.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, meanwhile said that less than 14 percent of voters turned out to vote in the Republican primary.

“I dare say that that is not a referendum on Sam Brownback,” Hensley said. “That’s what the general is about.”

Hensely said Democrats will challenge Brownback’s proposals to reform how the state finances K-12 education.

“We think the Brownback agenda will force school closures, teacher layoffs or higher property taxes,” he said, adding moderate Republican candidates didn’t stress that message enough in their races against conservatives who had strong backing from Brownback or the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.

Democrats say Brownback’s education plan, which largely fell apart during debate during the legislative session earlier this year, limits state funding for schools and leaves it up to local school districts to decide whether to raise property taxes to improve their children’s education or let education deteriorate.

Hensely said Democrats have candidates running for 31 of the 40 seats up for election in the Senate. He highlighted the race between Juanita Roy and Rep. Greg Smith in Johnson County and the race between Tom Hawk and Bob Reader in Manhattan as examples of competitive races.

Gov. Sam Brownback’s spokeswoman, Sherriene Jones-Sontag, said Brownback will continue to push forward with his “Roadmap for Kansas” goals of increasing net personal incomes, private sector employment, the number of high school graduates who are college or career ready and decreasing the number of kids living in poverty.

“Like in the primary, we look forward to a debate on the issues important to Kansans such as smaller government, repealing Obamacare and properly funding essential services like schools, social services, and public safety,” she said in a statement.

 

 

By Brent Wistrom | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments