Today I filed the necessary paperwork to form a gubernatorial campaign committee. I am so pleased to appoint former Republican State Representative William A. Kassebaum as my treasurer. Bill and his family have a long record of moderate, bipartisan leadership in Kansas, which is exactly what Kansans want from their elected officials. I will make a formal announcement about my plans in the coming weeks. Until then, I look forward to engaging the people of Kansas in a discussion about our shared vision for our state. Click on the link below to sign up for campaign updates, and stay tuned!
http://davisforkansas.com/
Over the last year, I've blogged here about the problems Kansas faces. Kansas has slowly fallen into a mode of taking the fight to women with backwards laws that focus not on the good of our communities, but on punishing people based on gender. We've setup a governor ship that has managed our state so well that companies have fled to get away from us.
Paul Davis, our Democratic Senate Minority Leader hopes to change that.
Several sources said that Davis is polling and gathering resources for the race. He has also been mentioned as a challenger to United States Sen. Pat Roberts (R) or Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) in 2014. University of Kansas political science professor Burdett Loomis, who believes Davis will be the nominee, said the incumbent's poll numbers could provide an opening for a Democrat. Loomis disputes claims that Davis, who resides in the state's most liberal city, is a liberal.
"I would say he is a centrist Democrat and a fairly cautious one at that," Loomis said of Davis. "Of course that doesn't mean he won't be called a liberal who was an Obama delegate twice, lives in Lawrence and favors Obamacare."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
With that out of the way, let me speak my mind about Kansas, Brownback, and Davis.
I grew up and spent most of my life in Kansas, and I have devoted a great deal of my time and energy to this state, which frankly I find to be a beauty of nature; the state offers vast fields, beautiful views of the skies, and pretty plains. It may not be the scenic nature of the mountains or the joy of the beach on your feet, but it is still my home sweet home.
Over the last few years, however, the core concepts of what Kansas means has been corrupted.
Per aspera ad astra
Through Hardships to the Stars. The idea that through our trials, our state would reach the stars through valiant efforts to change and grow. As a child, I visited the historical site of Brown Vs. The Board of Education. And, for those that follow my diaries here, you can look back at our own fights with the state and others to reform for the rights of the disabled. In those cases - broad historical events and personal events of my own, I believed that through difficulty, Kansas could find itself.
The last few years in our state have been a time of great difficulty. Large employers worry about attracting top-tier talent to Kansas because of our social-agenda oriented government which steers away the brightest minds, who simply don't want to put down roots in a state like Kansas - meaning business who needs that talent also suffers. Our state income tax "scheme" moves to punish the poor by going so far as proposals that would tax rent and medical services while exempting taxes and providing tax credit schemes.
The State of Kansas is home of Conservative Powerhouses like The Koch Brothers, Koch Industries and others.
But we are also a home of hundreds of thousands of people who want what everyone wants - a better life for themselves and their children, a hope of prosperity, a desire for the improvement of ourselves and our fellow man.
The first time I met Paul Davis, I had an opportunity to speak to him for some time about the handling of education - specifically special education within our state. But through those conversations, I came away with more then just a handshake from a politician, I walked away from those meetings with a firm knowledge that whether something was popular or not, politically wise for him in this state or not, Paul spoke not just from his heart but from the ideas I believe best represent our state.
These times, these last few years, have been our time of difficulty. We have been subjected to a social policy experiment that has shunted a great burden on the poor and a lack of understanding of what our state values represent.
It is not impossible for a Democrat to win in a state like Kansas - where just recently, Kathleen Sebelius made her way to the governor's mansion. But it will not be an easy road. Many on the national scene write off places like Kansas as "unwinnable". National members don't want to invest money. Local students at universities, prime targets - stay home and don't vote because they believe the election is decided before it has happened.
So, to my friends who read this blog in Kansas, I tell you: if you want to change Kansas, I urge you to fight for the Kansas that believes that our future is "to the stars through difficulty". That no matter how difficult this fight will be, it should call all of us out of the woodwork, to invest in making sure that some like Senator Davis doesn't just get a fair shot - that he helps wake the vote from their surrender here in a State like Kansas.
Last week, we celebrated the birth of our oldest son, a beautiful, bright son that deals with autism. We do so in a state that once told us: "maybe you'd be better off to move out of state" in order to get services. Twenty years ago, I volunteered for facilities that handled cases of domestic abuse - now I live in a state where cities are being told not to prosecute those cases.
I'm prepared to put up a fight for my state - I'm asking those who live in this state, who love this state, and out of staters who care about the well being of those in this state to not let a race and a candidate like Davis go unsupported.
Kansas deserves leadership from the kind of candidates that believe in what Kansas should be, instead of people who live in terror of it changing.
To throw some support behind Davis, visit his website (linked above) or donate freely here:
https://rally.org/...
I maintain my belief, all fifty states. All House Seats. All State Seats. Every district, everywhere deserves to be a battle for the future of those who live there.
Go Get 'Em Paul.