It was no surprise that Karl Peterjohn was chosen this morning to chair the Sedgwick County Commission for the year. Kelly Parks was leaving the chairmanship, Gwen Welshimer didn’t want it, and Tim Norton and Dave Unruh are on the outs with the other three commissioners. Still, it’s a noteworthy achievement for Peterjohn, who has served on the commission only one year and was aggressively opposed in his 2008 campaign by the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee. Since being elected, Peterjohn has been the swing vote on several issues, such as whether to fire the county manager.
Next week’s special election to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy looks closer than anybody expected and concerns more than Massachusetts, with Democrat Martha Coakley promising to be the 60th vote for health care reform and Republican Scott Brown (in photo) supporting a GOP filibuster. Despite polls suggesting Attorney General Coakley could finish strong, the race has been a warning for vulnerable Democrats facing re-election in November. As Time magazine observed, “this is Massachusetts, after all, where both senators, the governor, all 10 congressional members and a large majority of the state legislature are Democrats. It doesn’t get much bluer than the Pilgrim State. In other words, whatever happens, the big takeaway from the race will be: If Teddy’s seat isn’t safe, no one’s is.”
After being shamed by Gov. Mark Parkinson and various newspaper editorials for asking for increased funding for the Legislature, GOP legislative leaders wisely backtracked this week. The leaders proposed cutting legislative pay by 5 percent and rescinding a recent increase in the daily allotment that lawmakers receive for food and lodging. The leaders also announced that they would “furlough” lawmakers each Friday in January. It’s worth pointing out that most lawmakers typically don’t work in Topeka on Fridays during the early part of the session anyway — though now they won’t get paid for not working.
The Wichita City Council deferred until Feb. 2 the decision of whether to help WaterWalk land a $12 million, 130-room Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites. That’s no surprise, given the complexity of the proposed tax breaks and the number of questions raised. Still, the plan probably should prevail because, as was argued during Tuesday’s lengthy discussion, Wichita can’t continue to lose conventions and events such as the NCAA men’s basketball regionals because it lacks the requisite hotel rooms. If the private sector were going to step up and build more downtown hotels without public incentives, it surely would have happened by now.
