CHANUTE — Candidates for state and local offices on Tuesday answered prepared questions in a public forum in Chanute’s Memorial Auditorium.
T he election will be Tuesday and polls are open in Kansas from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Candidates on Tuesday were Republican Sen. Virgil Peck, Havana, of the 15th state Senate District and his Democratic challenger Jerry Reeves, Altamont; Republican state 2nd District Rep. Kenneth Collins, Mulberry and his Democratic challenger Melesia Rhodes, Arma; Republican state 7th District Rep. Dan Goddard and his Democratic challenger Vicki Pribble, both of Parsons; Neosho County Sheriff Greg Taylor, Stark, and his Democratic challenger Paul Ornelas, Galesburg; interim Neosho County Attorney Tiana McElroy, Fort Scott, and her Independent challenger Sheryl Bussell, Chanute.
The Senate candidates took the stage first, followed by all state House candidates, the sheriff candidates and finally the county attorney candidates. Each candidate was asked four questions. The Chanute Area Chamber of Commerce and Office of Tourism sponsored the forum and past president Ross Hendrickson moderated the forum.
Medicaid expansion and legalizing medical marijuana were among the questions asked of Peck and Reeves.
Peck is seeking his second term in the Senate. He is an insurance agent and formerly was a longtime member of the Kansas House. He calls himself a conservative who is pro-life, supports the Second Amendment and natural marriage. Reeves said he is pro-choice and supports a woman’s right to decide what’s best for her. He said marriage should be between two people who love each other, no matter their gender. He calls himself a moderate Democrat, a cultural progressive and a fiscal conservative. He thinks senators should work together more than they do to find compromise.
Peck said he supports health care for Kansans, but he said he’s not convinced that expanding Medicaid would be good for Kansas. He also questioned whether expanding Medicaid would help rural hospitals.
Reeves supports Medicaid expansion but he would like the Legislature to institute oversight for the effort. Some Kansans don’t qualify for Medicaid coverage and cannot afford health care through the Affordable Care Act. “There’s a gap,” he said.
Reeves thinks expansion would help rural hospitals.
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Reeves said he would support legalizing medical marijuana in Kansas, again with legislative oversight. Having this option can help Kansans with certain medical conditions and it could generate tax income. He’s not for recreational marijuana use at this time, but he’s open to listening to those who are.
On medical marijuana, Peck pointed to several Oklahoma counties that had medical marijuana operations raided in recent weeks. He suggested asking Oklahomans if medical marijuana was good for that state. He said no one has convinced him to support that initiative.
When asked about addressing the housing crisis in rural Kansas, Reeves said counties now have citizens moving away because they cannot find a decent place to live or decent child care. He thinks the Legislature should step in to help. Peck said addressing high property taxes could help housing. Many older Kansans are leaving homes or not maintaining them because of the high cost of taxes on a fixed income. Perhaps the state could work on incentives for people to move to and work in rural areas, he said.
House candidates also answered the Medicaid and medical marijuana questions.
Goddard said medical marijuana would help some veterans. If lawmakers legalized medical marijuana, he thinks they should put tight controls on it. He supports committee hearings and floor debate on the issue. He thinks lawmakers should eliminate emotion when discussing the issue.
Pribble supports legalizing medical marijuana. She agreed that veterans and others could benefit from its use.
Collins said medical marijuana could be good but lawmakers would have to implement a good plan of oversight. He said he would support the right bill.
Rhodes supports medical marijuana with some restrictions geared toward public safety.
Pribble said she supported Medicaid expansion as did Rhodes. Rhodes said expansion would help veterans with vision and dental care and help those with disabilities and others.
Collins said in his first term in office expansion was added to a gut and go amendment and he voted against it. Not too long after that Mercy Hospital in Fort Scott closed. He didn’t know if expansion would have saved Mercy. He noted that Pittsburg is getting a new 50-bed hospital.
Goddard said there are a lot of claims made on both sides of the issue. He said he has not made up his mind on if he would support expansion if it comes up in the legislative session starting in January. He would like to hear more facts so he could make an informed decision. He does think there should be a work and drug testing requirement for those on Medicaid.
The four were also asked about making child care more accessible and affordable.
Rhodes said the Legislature needed to address the matter. Some parents are paying $1,000 a month on child care and a small income tax break wouldn’t help them. Finding a day care can be a struggle and there are waiting lists for some day cares.
“We have got to do something. It has to be a massive plan. And we have to be able to make it affordable for our families,” Rhodes said.
Goddard suggested waiving licensing fees or making the process of operating a day care more friendly for providers.
In the sheriff’s race, candidates were asked about tackling the drug problem and having drug addicted inmates in the county jail.
Ornelas suggested that law enforcement should investigate cases more thoroughly and bring stronger cases to the county attorney. This could lead to convictions, especially for drug dealers. He said the county needs to have a K-9 to help with drug investigations. Counseling should be made available to inmates who suffer from addiction. Perhaps sentences could be reduced if they participate in counseling and get clean.
Taylor said he’s been working drug cases his entire career, starting with finding and dismantling methamphetamine labs. He said the court system has been a revolving door for the last 22 years with some cases never getting resolved. He said some defendants pick up more cases while waiting for their first case to be resolved. Resolving cases quicker could help. He said the jail and sheriff’s department have partnerships with the hospital, hospital clinic, mental health and the new county attorney to address inmate needs and drug cases.
Both candidates supported keeping citizens informed of activities in the sheriff’s office.
County attorney candidates were asked about handling diversions and the fees collected from them. Former County Attorney Linus Thuston faced questions and criticisms for his handling of diversion fees and offering diversions in serious felony cases. He recently pleaded to two misdemeanors, misusing a county credit card and falsifying the purchase price of a vehicle to avoid paying sales tax. He received jail time.
McElroy said she is concerned with how diversions were handled under Thuston. She said she will follow the law in what cases can be diverted and what fees can be collected. She also will be careful in holding those diversion funds in a separate account and make sure they are used for things allowed by law.
Diversion is beneficial for the county by saving court time and raising money that could be used on certain office expenses, saving the taxpayer-funded budget.
Bussell said there needs to be a clear policy on handling diversions. She suggested having a diversion fund board to help oversee the process.
Bussell said she likes jury trials and that if she offers plea deals, another issue from the previous county attorney, the bargains need to be reasonable. She would keep good communication with crime victims through the process.
McElroy said trials are fine but expensive and time consuming. They also place a burden on the court calendar. She said it’s not feasible to try all cases so cases must be resolved by plea. She said victims will have a voice in the process of plea bargaining.
McElroy said if elected her priorities will include earning the public trust for the office of county attorney. She understands why people lost faith in the office. She will be transparent and keep victims informed. She also will clean up an insane caseload. She said she will be financially responsible in her office. Bussell said she would work to restore trust in the office as well.
