2020 Primary Voters Guide (07-19-20)

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Vote for Experience. Vote for Community. Vote for Sara.

√ Vote for Safa Taliaferro

Douglas County Commission District 2 www.sarafordouglascountykansas.com

Paid for by Sara Taliaferro for Douglas County Kansas. Leslie Soden, Treasurer.

PRIMARY VOTERS GUIDE

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DOUGLAS COUNTY

COMMISSION

2ND DISTRICT DEMOCRATS

Stories by Dylan Lysen lll

dlysen@ljworld.com

T

wo County Commission seats are up for election this year: the 2nd District seat, which represents the eastern portion of the county, including Eudora, Baldwin City and some eastern parts of Lawrence; and the 3rd District seat, which represents the western portion of the county, including Lecompton and some western parts of Lawrence.

In the 2nd District, three Democrats are squaring off in a primary, including incumbent Nancy Thellman.

In the 3rd District, Commissioner Michelle Derusseau is not seeking reelection, and there are two primaries — one Democratic and one Republican — with two candidates each.

Reid: County must listen to its residents

Taliaferro seeks Thellman wants to fix problems to keep working in a new way on big projects

The Douglas County Commission’s decision earlier this year to approve a $29.6 million expansion of its jail after voters rejected such a project in 2018 left Shannon Reid feeling the county leaders were not listening to their constituents.

Reid, 35, said she chose to run for the County Commission to make sure community members’ voices are represented. Reid is

Sara Taliaferro wants to bring a thorough process of problem solving to the Douglas County Commission, a skill she said she’s developed through her work in the community over the years.

Taliaferro, 57, said she’s been working as a community member on issues of homelessness and affordable housing for 25 years, including serving on a City of Lawrence task force for

Douglas County Commissioner Nancy Thellman has unfinished business.

Thellman, who is running to earn a fourth term on the County Commission, said she wants another four-year term to continue working on mental health and criminal justice initiatives.

“It’s clear change takes time,” Thellman said, noting the county’s ongoing construction of a

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> TALIAFERRO, 6C

> THELLMAN, 6C

3RD DISTRICT DEMOCRATS

3RD DISTRICT REPUBLICANS

Portillo touts Willey: County her research needs to heal on justice issues its divisions

McDermott: Thacker wants Jail plan wasn’t to be a voice good leadership for rural areas

Watching the Douglas County Commission in January vote to approve a plan to expand its jail as many residents voiced opposition to the project made Shannon Portillo realize she had to act.

Portillo, 35, a University of Kansas associate professor and administrator who has extensively studied criminal justice, said she chose to run for the County Commission so she can bring her

During the 2016 election cycle, Karen Willey said she noticed the fractured nature of politics and realized she needed to do something to bring people together.

Willey, 44, who currently serves on the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission as a county appointee, said she chose to run for the Douglas County Commission this fall so she could try to bring

A Douglas County church leader hopes to make up for lost time on criminal justice issues if she is elected to the Douglas County Commission this fall.

Pam McDermott, 54, said she chose to run for the County Commission because she opposes the county’s plan to expand the Douglas County Jail. She said the County Commission’s decision to approve the $29.6 million

Ron Thacker wants to make sure rural communities of Douglas County have a voice on the County Commission.

Thacker, 52, lives in rural Douglas County in Lecompton Township. He said he noticed many of the candidates running for the County Commission this fall reside in Lawrence, which could make the county’s governing body city-focused.

> PORTILLO, 7C

> WILLEY, 7C

> MCDERMOTT, 8C

> THACKER, 8C

ELECT

Paid for By: Overstreet for DA, Samantha Peterson Treasurer

Brandon

HOLLAND Kansas House brandonholland.org

A WORKING MAN FOR WORKING KANSANS Paid for by Brandon Holland for Kansas. Derek Holland, Treasurer

Cooper Overstreet Stands For: No New Jails l Ending i the h Failed F il d War W on Drugs D Eliminating Cash Bail Transparency in the DA’s Office

Cooper Overstreet is Douglas County’s

Real Progressive Prosecutor

PRIMARY VOTERS GUIDE

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Get to know the candidates for Douglas County sheriff

By Mackenzie Clark mclark@ljworld.com

Although it’s unclear what will come next for the Douglas County Jail and local law enforcement, one thing is certain: There will be a new sheriff in town. Also, the next Douglas County sheriff will almost certainly be decided in the Democratic primary election on Aug. 4.

Three candidates, all longtime employees of the sheriff’s office, have filed for the seat; no Republicans have thrown their hats in the ring. Recently retired Sheriff Ken McGovern was first elected as a Republican in 2004, and he never faced an opponent through three subsequent elections. He retired in June, a bit earlier than planned, and county Republican officials nominated longtime law enforcement veteran Randy Roberts to take the helm until the next elected sheriff is sworn in. Roberts will not officially become sheriff until Gov. Laura Kelly has finalized his appointment; Jenn Hethcoat, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, said she anticipated that would happen this week.

A hot-button issue surrounding the sheriff’s office over the past few years has been an expansion of the Douglas County Jail, which county commissioners approved in January. The nearly $30 million plans have lately come back into question, though, as the previously overcrowded jail’s population has diminished during the coronavirus pandemic. Topics of racial bias, law enforcement brutality and officer accountability have also dominated public discourse locally and nationwide in recent months after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., sparked a wave of ongoing protests across the country.

The sheriff oversees a budget of approximately $15.68 million, and over the past few years the agency has employed roughly 200 people on average, according to

that has dropped by about 100.

Armbrister said if the current numbers can be maintained, that’s manageable, but that he’s seen some “unArmbrister Flory Woods fair situations” arise in more salary data from the county. The crowded times. He said he thinks office has two main divisions: op- the jail should be a peaceful, fair erations, which includes patrol, and safe environment for both investigations, warrants and so the staff and the inmates. He on; and corrections, which is in said he understands why county commissioners approved the excharge of the jail.

Here’s a look at each of the pansion and why it’s now being revisited, and he thinks the situthree candidates: ation could be improved by reallocating space within the jail as it Lt. Jay Armbrister Undersheriff pick: Capt. Sta- currently stands.

Amid recent calls to “decy Simmons Armbrister, 44, of Baldwin fund the police,” Armbrister City, has worked for the sher- has said he would rather call iff’s office for almost 22 years, it “refunding social programs,” suggesting putting money into since August 1998.

Armbrister said he started as housing, mental health, social a corrections officer in 1998 af- services and drug programs, ter earning his associate degree and to “kill this failed ‘war in a Pittsburg State University against drugs’ stuff, because auto mechanics program. Af- it has absolutely put us in the ter two years in corrections, he predicament we’re in.”

On the issue of officer accountwas assigned to the patrol division for 11 years, serving as dep- ability, Armbrister said law enuty patrol supervisor the last 2 forcement is not a profession that 1/2 years of that span. He then can have any “bad apples.” Any was a detective for more than corruption or accusations of crimsix years until his promotion to inal activity must be investigated by an outside agency, he said. lieutenant in corrections.

With issues of racial and One of Armbrister’s top priorities as sheriff would be the bias-based policing, and remental health of first respond- garding people of color and the ers, as well as inmates and Black Lives Matter movement, “anyone else who finds them- Armbrister said that “we as law selves in crisis.” As he puts it, enforcement need to sit down he’s “walked the path and come and shut up and listen to what back into the light” after a diag- these people have to say.”

He said that creating a citizen nosis of post-traumatic stress injury in 2015, and he wants to review board or advisory board to help others do the same. He’s review complaints against law encurrently in charge of peer sup- forcement is one of his top goals, though he said he would be seport for the department.

Armbrister works full-time in lective in who was named to the the jail, including times in the board. He would want members recent past when the number of to have completed the sheriff’s inmates exceeded the current office’s citizens academy, for incapacity of the facility. During stance, so they understand how to the past year, the 186-bed jail’s be culturally competent with law population has hit 240; recently, enforcement as well.

He also said he supports a database to track officer misconduct.

He doesn’t want to “hire someone else’s problem,” and if an officer’s badge is tarnished, that person shouldn’t be able to work in law enforcement anymore, he said.

Deputy Dale Flory Undersheriff pick: Lt. Clark Rials Flory, 45, of Baldwin City, has been with the department for almost 24 years, since September 1996.

Flory became a corrections officer in 1996, then graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in 1998. He has worked in five major divisions within the department: corrections, transports, court security, warrants and patrol. He is a member of the dive team, and he’s conducted numerous investigations as a background investigator for the department. Flory has said he wanted to serve on the “front line” of law enforcement until he felt the time was right to become the leader of the sheriff’s office.

Flory has said his campaign platform involves four main priorities: social justice, mental health, transparency and the jail expansion, which he strongly opposes. He said he doesn’t believe the jail expansion is necessary.

In addition, Flory said that staffing at the jail as it currently stands has been difficult for the sheriff’s office; if expanded, the jail would likely need to add about 60 additional staff members, he said. Instead, he has said he believes the county ought to spend the $30 million planned for the jail project on things such as education, food subsidies, health care and job training.

Flory has said that if elected, he wants his undersheriff, Lt. Clark Rials, to lead a social justice committee that would get the community involved and “keep us on track.” Rials, who is Black, views things through a different lens and can offer a different perspective and different experiences, Flory has said.

Flory said he also wants to bring Beyond Diversity training to the department. It’s an intensive two-day training program that many leaders in Lawrence Public Schools and Lawrence Memorial Hospital have completed.

“We need to interrupt the implicit bias and racism across the board,” Flory has said, referencing all aspects of the local criminal justice system. In addition to law enforcement, he said that the entities of the courts, the district attorney’s office, probation and parole all need to come together to fix the bias and work toward reform.

Regarding transparency, Flory has said he believes that anything that can be shared with the public should be — “One hundred percent, the public needs to know.” He said law enforcement is entrusted with taking someone’s liberty away from them, and if complaints about officers are substantiated, they should be well known to the public. He would also support a database of officer misconduct.

Flory said he would be in favor of a citizen review board to examine complaints against law enforcement, and that he would want a vetting process to determine which applicants should serve on that board. He would also want the board’s membership to be diverse, he’s said. He said he hopes any member of the public who witnesses legitimate law enforcement misconduct would file a complaint about it.

Flory has said his campaign for sheriff is a team approach, and that the office needs forward-thinking leadership.

Capt. Doug Woods Undersheriff pick: Lawrence Police Department Capt. Troy Squire Woods, 52, of Lawrence, has been with the department for 33 years, since January 1987.

He started as a corrections officer, then became a patrol

> SHERIFF, 8C

Born, Raised & Serving in

Douglas County

My name is Douglas “Doug” Woods and I am a Democratic candidate for Sheriff of Douglas County, Kansas.

WoodsForSheriff.com Political advertisement paid for by Doug Woods for Sheriff, Curtis Barnhill, Treasurer

Karen

WILLEY for County Commission District 3

Karen Willey, PhD, Planning Commissioner, Entrepreneur, Firefighter, Farmer, Community Volunteer, and Mom

ENDORSED BY: Bill Anderson Nancy Boyda Julia Butler Tamara Cash Paul and Stephanie Davis Marci Francisco Al Hack Steven Hertzog Thad Holcombe Eileen Horn Pat Kehde Steve Lopes Lleanna McReynolds John and Erin Paden Jacqueline Smith Dan Watkins

Leadership to advance Equity Economics Environment

karenwilleyforcountycommission.com facebook.com/karenwilleyforcountycommission Paid for by Karen Willey for County Commission, Coleen Davison, treasurer

EXPERIENCE

COUNTS! The issues facing Douglas County are complex and require solutions that are based on knowledge, innovative leadership and experience working in local government. That is why I am running for re-election.

As your County Commissioner, I have a long record of effective leadership— nimble in a crisis and strategic for the future. I listen, learn and rely on facts.

I am dedicated to effective systemic change, as evidenced by my years of collaborative work, including improving our Food System, Behavioral Health System, and Criminal Justice System. There is more work to do.

Born and raised in Lawrence, I have lived in the Second District for 20 years.

I know how to get things done, working with leaders of Lawrence, Baldwin City, Eudora and Lecompton to keep our county moving forward. I am a proven leader with the time, energy, drive and experience to continue serving you.

I ask for your vote on August 4th! www.NancyThellman.com Political Advertisement Paid for by Re-Elect Commissioner Thellman, Wendy A. Murray, Treasurer

PRIMARY VOTERS GUIDE

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Meet the candidates for Douglas County district attorney

By Mackenzie Clark mclark@ljworld.com

The next Douglas County district attorney, who will almost certainly be decided in the primary election Aug. 4, faces renewed cries for a hard look at the local criminal justice system.

Three Democrats — two newcomers, Cooper Overstreet and Suzanne Valdez, and incumbent Charles Branson — have filed, but no Republicans have thrown their hats in the ring. Branson was first elected in 2004, and he has not faced an opponent in any election since.

A few overarching issues have dominated the candidate forums in this race. Among them are a planned expansion of the Douglas County Jail, which has lately come into question as the previously overcrowded jail’s population has diminished during the coronavirus pandemic; racial issues and accountability of law enforcement; and equitable treatment of all defendants in criminal cases.

The DA oversees a budget of approximately $2.55 million, and over the past few years the office has employed roughly 40 to 50 people, according to salary data from the county. Here’s a look at each of the three candidates in the order in which they filed:

Cooper Overstreet Mass incarceration and unfair treatment of minorities and the poor have inspired Lawrence defense attorney Cooper Overstreet to run for Douglas County district attorney, he told the Journal-World.

Overstreet, 32, recently left the Swain Law Office. He said it’s fair for people to wonder how he would prosecute cases, given his work experience.

However, he said that just as it’s his responsibility to provide his clients a zealous defense, he would advocate for victims and survivors as a prosecutor.

to ensure no misconduct had occurred.

Overstreet said that “every attorney in a small practice is constantly budgeting to ensure Overstreet Valdez Branson the lights in the office stay on,” Overstreet has said that sta- and the margins are relatively tistics show when someone is thin, especially compared to booked into jail, even for just a the budget that the state has for few days, their lives and their prosecution. As DA, his budfamilies can be irreparably getary focus would be to shift harmed. One of his main cam- funds away from “inefficient paign platforms is that pros- and outdated methods of prosecutors in his office would not ecution” and into prevention request that judges require de- and harm reduction, he said.

Overstreet is originally from fendants to be held in custody on cash bail, except in cases Augusta, a small town outside of individuals who his office of Wichita. He came to Lawcould prove are real threats to rence in 2006 to get his bachelor of arts in history and politipublic safety.

He also said the public would cal science from the University be “hard pressed” to find a sim- of Kansas and then attended ple drug possession case that KU’s law school, graduating he will charge because it’s time in 2014. He lives with his wife, to stop criminalizing drug ad- Kelly Overstreet, who is a docdiction; he would instead treat toral student in KU’s School of Public Administration, and it as a public health crisis.

He opposes an expansion of their 1 1/2-year-old daughter. the Douglas County Jail. He’s said he believes county jails are Suzanne Valdez Throughout her campaign, the front door to mass incarceration in the United States. Suzanne Valdez has often spoHe has also voiced concerns ken of her desire to talk with about disproportionate repre- community stakeholders and sentation of racial minorities activists to work collaborativein the jail, pointing to a June ly to solve problems in the loreport to the Douglas County cal criminal justice system.

Valdez, 51, teaches prosecuCriminal Justice Coordinating Council that showed that as of torial ethics as a full-time proMay, Black people constituted fessor at the University of Kan25% of the jail’s population de- sas School of Law. She is also spite making up just 6% of the a special prosecutor for the Wyandotte County DA’s office, county’s overall population.

Another point he has pushed handling cases that involve is that law enforcement officers conflicts of interest for that ofand prosecutors shouldn’t in- fice’s staff.

Valdez has told the Journalvestigate themselves. He favors the concept of a citizen review World that she thinks clarboard that would “have teeth,” ity and leadership are needed meaning resources made avail- in the DA’s office, and she able to investigate allegations would work to put clear poliof misconduct by law enforce- cies in place and ensure that ment. He also said he’s in favor cases move through the system of a conviction integrity unit, quickly.

Valdez said she thinks one of which would review past cases that the DA’s office has handled the key tensions in the Douglas

County Jail expansion issue has been safety of personnel and of inmates; however, she said the past 30 years have shown that if you build jails, you fill them, and she does not support an expansion.

As a Hispanic woman, Valdez said she and her family members understand and have experienced systemic racism.

She said she values alternatives to incarceration because it’s a problem that disproportionately affects marginalized communities. One way she said she would aim to improve racial disparities in the criminal justice system as DA is by hiring people of color and others who have experienced racism and bias firsthand as prosecutors.

She has said she thinks the alternatives to incarceration the county has put in place over the last few years are insufficient and that they create too many barriers for defendants, becoming more like probation. In addition, she said she believes some of the DA’s diversion programs are too burdensome to defendants, which can result in revocations, “and then the book’s thrown at you.”

Valdez has said that prevention options are “low-hanging fruit” in Douglas County. This community is full of activists who want to move things forward, she said, and she would put her energy into bringing people to the table to discuss what prevention programs should look like and how they would function. Incarceration would be a last resort, she said.

Valdez served as chair of the state Crime Victims Compensation Board for nine years until she retired in March. In 2018, the board distributed about $3.55 million to victims of crime, according to its annual report. Valdez said she is able to manage a budget, to know “where every cent goes” and to ensure that victims have what they need.

Valdez got her undergraduate degree in business

administration and management from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She graduated from KU’s law school in 1996 and joined its faculty in 1999. She has four daughters and a son, and she is married to Stephen McAllister, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas.

Charles Branson Charles Branson, the 15-year incumbent district attorney, has said he believes his experience working within the system is what’s needed now to create change.

Branson, 50, said that when he first took office in 2005, he transitioned the DA’s office from what he saw as one that processes cases into one that solves problems. He has made a point that the office is just one piece of the local criminal justice system, though, and it must work with judges and law enforcement to change the way things are done. He said it’s a difficult position, and it’s not a place to learn on the job.

In considering whether to prosecute cases, Branson said he looks at what’s in the best interest of the public and the victim, as well as what kind of accountability is appropriate for the offender. He said his office only charges about one-third of the cases that law enforcement officers bring, and he exercises discretion in those decisions.

For instance, he noted that last year, he stopped charging simple marijuana possession cases.

In recent years, Branson’s office has launched or had a hand in launching several alternatives to incarceration, such as pretrial release, enhanced diversion programming, behavioral health court and drug court. He said he does not support an expansion of the Douglas County Jail, and that some of the alternatives to incarceration are still relatively new and could continue to lower the

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DOUGLAS COUNTY TREASURER

Longtime tax clerk wants to Deputy treasurer says he has set employees up to succeed ‘right experience’ for top job Morland said. “I’m excited to put people in positions where they can be the strongest employee.”

Morland is one of two Democratic candidates runMorland ning in the Aug. 4 primary election to fill the seat that will soon be left by longtime county treasurer Paula Gilchrist. The county treasurer’s office oversees residents’ motor vehicle registrations and property taxes.

By Dylan Lysen dlysen@ljworld.com

A 17-year veteran of the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office believes if he becomes the office’s next leader, he can put employees in the best position for them to succeed.

Timothy Morland, 44, a registration and tax clerk, told the JournalWorld he has knowledge and experience he can leverage if he is elected the next county treasurer.

That knowledge includes knowing strengths of the office’s staff members, he said.

“I’m going to make sure the staff is able to work to their strengths,”

> MORLAND, 9A

By Dylan Lysen dlysen@ljworld.com

Douglas County’s deputy treasurer believes he’s ready to take over the top spot.

Adam Rains, 32, who has served as the deputy treasurer for about five years, said his experience in the office makes him a good fit to fill the position that will soon be left by longtime county treasurer Paula Gilchrist. He is one of two Democratic candidates running to fill the seat in the primary election on Aug. 4.

“I’ve been the No. 2 guy for the past five years, and I love it,” Rains said. “For me, it’s just stepping into

that next position.

I believe I have the right experience and right knowledge.”

The county treasurer’s office oversees residents’ motor veRains hicle registrations and property taxes. Rains told the Journal-World that he wanted to continue using technology to improve county residents’ tax-paying experience.

As technology continues to improve, that also means Rains wants

> RAINS, 9A

DOUGLAS COUNTY REGISTER OF DEEDS

Second-in-charge wants to keep Record keeper touts her passions improving, modernizing office for history and land management

By Dylan Lysen dlysen@ljworld.com

The man who is second in charge of Douglas County’s Register of Deeds Office said he has plans for the department if he is elected its new leader.

Kent Brown, 34, who has served as deputy register of deeds since 2015, said he wants to become the next register of deeds to continue his work of bringing the office into the 21st century, he said.

“I have been doing this for a

while,” Brown said. “I realize the more I do it, the more passionate I am about it (and) I want to continue the work I have started.”

The Register Brown of Deeds Office is responsible for recording various information related to the ownership of

> BROWN, 9A

By Dylan Lysen dlysen@ljworld.com

A public servant with experience in record keeping and a love for land management wants the Douglas County Register of Deeds office to be more accessible for both personal business and historical information.

Kim Murphree, 61, who has served as a records manager for the Lawrence Police Department for the last 18 years, said she believes she has the right experience in record keeping,

understanding of real estate and love for Douglas County history to be the next register of deeds.

“I’m excited and very passionate about the history Murphree of Douglas County and being the custodian of the historical record,” she said.

> MURPHREE, 9A

Endorsements Kay Pesnell, Current Register of Deeds • Lawrence Board of Realtors • Sue Neustifter, Previous Register of Deeds George Catt • Danielle Davey • Ryan Desch • Nathan Dixon • Deb Drummet • Michelle D. Fales Greg Haehl • Tom Harper • Stephanie Harris • Brandy Horner • Tyler Lindquist • John Rau Craig Weinaug • Brenda Welsh • Erin Wyatt • Jeff Wyatt • More endorsements at votekentbrown.com

Experience • • • •

Deputy Register of Deeds since 2015 10 years of industry experience 2 years as title agent researching Register of Deeds records 15+ years of management experience

votekentbrown.com facebook.com/votekentbrown linkedin.com/in/votekentbrown

Education • • • • •

Masters in Business Administration from Baker University B.A. in English with a Business Minor from the University of Kansas Certified Deputy Register of Deeds Certified Public Manager Leadership Lawrence Class of 2020 Paid for by Kent Brown for Register of Deeds Debi Waggoner, Treasurer PO Box 1988 Lawrence, KS 66044

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Reid CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2C

one of three Democratic candidates running for the County Commission’s 2nd District seat.

“I’ve been feeling disheartened with the county’s leadership in remaining stuck in that project despite voters’ voices,” she said.

In January, all three commissioners voted to approve the expansion project, despite many residents speaking out against it. However, the future of

Taliaferro CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2C

homeless services. She said in her experience, people often have ideas for fixing problems, but have not considered enough perspectives to have a deep and lasting impact.

“When you have a complex community problem, there isn’t going to be one single or one little checklist of things you can do that is going to change systems,” Taliaferro said.

Taliaferro is one of three

Thellman CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2C

behavioral health campus in Lawrence. “Some of the work I’m most interested in and concerned about is taking a lot of time to work through.”

Thellman, 62, is one of three Democratic candidates running for the commission’s 2nd District seat.

She was first elected to the commission in 2008.

One of the major criminal justice issues in Douglas County is the County Commission’s plan to expand

SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

the plan is now up in the air, as the commissioners chose to reexamine the project because of the effects the coronavirus pandemic is having on the jail’s space and operations.

Regardless, Reid said she has experience with criminal justice she believes would be helpful to further discussions on the project.

Reid works for the Willow Domestic Violence Center, where she serves as the coordinator for the organization’s court advocacy program. In that role, Reid helps survivors of abuse navigate the legal system, which has helped

her understand what barriers people face and what contributes to them being put in jail.

Using that knowledge, she said she would like to put the county’s funding and efforts toward social services — such as behavioral health treatment and recovery — which may help decrease the number of people who are being put in jail and render the project unnecessary.

“I feel, as a county, we haven’t done much to address some of the solutions because the community has had to spend so much time and energy pushing back on

this one issue,” Reid said.

“Prevention is where our money should be spent.”

The pandemic is also having an effect on the county’s revenue streams.

While the county does not yet know the full extent of the issue, it is preparing to see a decrease in tax revenues because of an economic downturn associated with the pandemic.

Reid said she still has a lot to learn about dealing with the county’s financial responsibilities. However, she said the pandemic requires the county’s leadership to refocus the funds the county does have.

“There needs to be an immediate refocus of funds and looking at things, like the jail expansion project, and realize that money should be immediately shifted to other resources,” she said.

One area Reid said she would like to further invest in is affordable housing, which she said could also serve as a preventive measure to decrease the inmate population at the jail.

As for rural land use, a common issue for the commissioners, Reid said she’s looking to hear from rural landowners to understand

their perspectives. She said she doesn’t have personal experience dealing with rural land use, but she thinks the commissioners should consider examining many areas, including environmental impact, before allowing new development.

Prior to her current position, Reid worked for other nonprofit organizations in New York City and Lawrence, including the United Way of Douglas County.

She has spent most of her life in Lawrence, graduating from Lawrence High School in 2003. She currently lives in Lawrence’s Prairie Park neighborhood.

Democratic candidates running for the County Commission’s 2nd District seat.

If elected, Taliaferro said her method of problem solving — which she said includes listening to personal stories of people affected by an issue, looking for themes in patterns of those stories, speaking to all stakeholders and then creating a list of novel solutions — would be beneficial to the county.

“As a commissioner, I want to offer our community a much different way forward for our problem solving,” she said.

One of the issues she hopes to address is the

county’s plan to expand its jail, which many in the community have opposed.

Taliaferro said she does not support the $29.6 million project, and the community needs “a complete reset” on the issue.

She said the county needs to consider more issues before an expansion project, including creating more alternative-to-incarceration opportunities for people in the justice system and providing more affordable housing and behavioral health services.

“We’re not doing enough to divert people on a more restorative path that doesn’t

take them to jail in the first place,” Taliaferro said.

Housing and mental health also are issues Taliaferro said must be addressed during the coronavirus pandemic. As the county expects to receive funding from the federal government for pandemic relief, Taliaferro said the county needs to invest some of it into behavioral health and housing support.

As for land use, a common issue for the commissioners to consider, Taliaferro said each land use case often has many interrelated decisions. She said she believes the Lawrence-Douglas

County Metropolitan Planning Commission does a good job considering the broader community needs when discussing land use and the joint city-county master plan, Plan 2040, offers strong guidance as well.

However, Taliaferro noted many land use cases, such as when the county issues conditional use permits, come with rules that the county is meant to enforce. But she said the county has been lax on that enforcement, which she believes needs to be fixed.

“They have these rules in place but haven’t been enforcing them, so they’ve

argued themselves out of addressing it when it becomes a problem because they never have before,” she said. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”

Taliaferro is originally from Lawrence, but when she was young her family moved to Pennsylvania, where she graduated from high school and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. She attended KU for graduate school and currently lives in Lawrence.

She is now the owner and illustrator for Happy Beetle Studio, which provides natural science illustrations for books and journals.

its jail, which Thellman voted to approve in January. However, Thellman said the commissioners, including herself, seem to be “pivoting” away from the controversial $29.6 million project.

“That’s an ongoing and important conversation,” Thellman said, referring to the commissioners’ call to reexamine the project because of the coronavirus pandemic. “I want to be a part of that.”

In recent months, Thellman and the other commissioners have called on criminal justice leaders to find new ways to decrease how many people they

book into the jail because of a lack of space in the facility due to the virus.

They said the facility could see a massive increase in people being booked into jail as stay-at-home orders for the pandemic are lifted, causing a “crisis” at the facility.

During those discussions, Thellman has repeatedly said new solutions to the crisis could help the facility’s inmate population in the future, making the expansion project no longer needed.

“This is our best opportunity to take this crisis and turn it into a radical shift in how our community is

doing things and maybe save our community from having to pay for a revision and expansion of the jail,” Thellman said at the commission’s June 17 meeting.

The coronavirus will also likely affect the county’s budget and operations, as county leaders are planning to see at least a decrease in sales tax revenue. Thellman said the aftermath of the pandemic will likely affect the county for years.

But she pointed to her experience, noting she has been helping craft the budget for more than a decade.

She said that includes dealing with the fallout of

the Great Recession in the late 2000s, which could be valuable when dealing with a recession caused by the pandemic.

“I’m not happy with the recession conversation coming back, but I’m comfortable with it,” she said.

“I know how we made it through the Great Recession, and I feel like I have something solid to offer for this next season.”

Thellman said one of the original reasons she chose to run for the County Commission in 2008 was her concern about the use of rural land. She said it’s an issue that is often overlooked, but she has spent a lot of

time focusing on it, including serving as co-chair of the body that created the new city-county land use master plan, Plan 2040.

She said she would like to serve a fourth term to focus on an “open space program,” which aims to promote concern about rural and agricultural space and to protect land that has yet to be developed.

Prior to taking a seat on the County Commission in 2009, Thellman was an ordained Presbyterian minister and nurse. She has lived most of her life in Lawrence and currently lives in Grant Township, north of Lawrence.

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background in that field to the conversation — specifically, to show expansion of the jail is not needed.

“All the research and evidence says that’s not the right thing for our community,” she said of the project. “We need to make better policy choices for our community, and we really need to think about criminal justice reform.”

Portillo is one of two Democratic candidates running for the County Commission’s 3rd District seat. The winner of

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local people together to overcome those fractures and do what’s best for the county.

“How do we take that neighbor-to-neighbor, working past our big fractures, into local policies?” she said, noting she has participated in leadership training. “That is right up my alley.”

Willey is one of two Democratic candidates running for the County Commission’s 3rd District seat. The winner of the Democratic primary for the seat will face off with one of the two

DA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4C

jail’s population as they grow and expand. He said he also wants to continue looking at adding new enhanced diversion programs.

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the Democratic primary for the seat will face off with one of the two Republican candidates in the general election in November.

Portillo has experience specifically studying the Douglas County Jail and the local justice system. She provided research for a study on those issues that faithbased activist group Justice Matters commissioned earlier this year.

The group argued that the study shows that the county should invest in long-term alternatives to incarceration rather than building more jail cells.

Portillo said she agrees with that conclusion.

“We need to focus on social services in our

community, and that will lower the need for jail expansion,” she said.

Portillo is also putting that knowledge to use for the state, as she is serving as co-chair for Gov. Laura Kelly’s commission focused on issues of racial equity in justice.

Focusing on community justice is a theme for Portillo’s view on governance. When dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and the expected economic downturn associated with it, Portillo said she wants to make sure the commission is accountable to all county voters.

The county expects to receive about $25 million of federal aid funding

for the pandemic later this year. Portillo said she specifically wants to make sure COVID-19 recovery funds are used for criminal justice and economic justice, such as providing funding for affordable housing. She also said the county may need to consider decreasing its sales taxes.

“Economic justice is going to be very important … so we can really make sure folks can recover economically throughout the community, ” she said.

Portillo said her guiding principles when dealing with land use issues would remain the same. She said she wants to make sure the County Commission is

listening to residents in the community when it comes to what they want to happen with rural land use.

Portillo, who is Mexican American, said she also wants to make sure the County Commission considers more diverse leadership, which she could provide. The commissioners appoint many people to community boards and committees to work on a variety of issues throughout the county.

“Having more diverse representation on the commission will also lead to more diverse representation to boards and other appointed positions throughout the county,” she said.

Portillo is the assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs at KU’s Edwards Campus in Overland Park and an associate professor for the university’s school of public affairs and administration in Lawrence. She moved to Lawrence when she was 16 to attend KU, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a doctorate in public administration from the university.

Portillo’s first position in academia was at George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Va. She returned to Lawrence in 2013 to work for KU, earning tenure in 2015.

She now lives in western Lawrence.

Republican candidates in the general election in November.

If elected, Willey said she wants to make sure the County Commission is working with all residents of the county.

She specifically wants to make sure communities that have historically not been well served by county policies are included in the conversation.

Getting that done requires a commissioner who not only has strong advocacy qualities, but “hard leadership” skills, she said. While Willey believes advocacy is important, she said leadership is also needed to improve policy and spur progress.

One of those difficult issues is the county’s current plan to expand its jail, which has been controversial in the community. The $29.6 million project was approved by the current commissioners in January, despite many residents voicing opposition to the plan.

Willey said the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has changed the reality of the project.

She said the pandemic has given the county another opportunity to consider even more alternatives to incarceration that could make the expansion project no longer needed, adding that she’s “thrilled and excited” about that development.

“My hope is we can depopulate the jail in the near term, in response to COVID, so that we can learn enough that we don’t have to expand the jail,” she said.

The pandemic is also likely going to have effects on the county’s revenues because of an economic downturn. Willey said she believes the economic downturn could affect the county’s revenue for years to come, and the next elected commission will likely be dealing with the budget decision more than previous commissioners.

She said the commissioners will need to find cuts in the budget, but she also wants to make sure the county continues

to invest in “upstream” issues, such as affordable housing and mental health services.

“We have to be really sensitive that if we have a community that’s making less money, then we have to support those people who need to be supported,” Willey said.

“But we also have to be sensitive that we are still asking for their tax dollars.”

Willey also has experience dealing with land use issues through her Planning Commission work. She said there should still be discussions between the county and Lawrence about making sure the urban areas grow efficiently. But she is also aware of rural

residents who view subdividing and selling some of their land as a financial opportunity.

“We have a lot of cultural tensions around land use in the rural areas, and those (issues) are going to need somebody who can listen to those concerns and understand where all sides are coming from,” she said.

Willey has lived her entire adult life in Douglas County, and she currently lives on a farm in Willow Springs Township, which is in the southern portion of the county. She also currently serves as a volunteer firefighter for county Fire District No. 3, which serves Willow Springs Township.

Branson said his office has recently joined GARE, the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, and that it is using the toolkit from that organization to examine its policies to ensure that team decisions don’t have disparate impacts on minority

groups or any segment of the population. He also said his staff has completed training in implicit bias, but that staff members also need to intentionally take race into consideration to ensure that they are creating equity in a deliberate manner.

In addition, Branson’s office has recently been working to establish a restorative justice program to bring together victims and offenders and repair harm that the offenders’ behavior has caused. He said the program is designed to be sponsored by his office but led by

community leaders in order to offer the community better control over the outcomes of cases and to hopefully increase satisfaction with those outcomes.

Branson has an associate of science degree in accounting and business administration from

Hutchinson Community College and a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Kansas. He graduated from KU’s law school in 1995. He is married to Kathy Branson, an administrator at West Middle School, and they have a son and a daughter.

Charles Branson transformed the way that Douglas County helps victims of sex crimes.

In the past, the criminal justice system has focused more on the offenders, treating the victims almost as an afterthought. Under our Constitution, persons accused of crimes have attorneys to represent their best interests, but victims have often been left to try to understand a confusing and sometimes frightening system on their own.

In his time as District Attorney here’s what Charles has done: • Trained staff in trauma-informed sexual assault investigations and prosecutions.

• Increased the number of victim-witness coordinators in the office to serve victims.

• Added a dedicated domestic violence prosecutor.

• Maintained access to free counseling for survivors.

For more information on what Charles has done visit www.bransonforda.org/for-survivors

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McDermott CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2C

project in January, despite Douglas County voters rejecting a larger version of the project in May 2018, spurred her into action.

“Time is a valuable resource, and we have, in my opinion, lost five valuable years of making progress on some justicerelated issues,” McDermott said, referring to the time the county spent discussing a jail expansion.

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“It’s all Douglas County, so I’m not trying to discount the people of Lawrence, but the City of Lawrence provides a lot of the things for them that more rural people need the county for,” he said.

“We lose focus on that, I think. In my mind, it’s a traditional urban-versusrural struggle.”

Thacker, who is also the Douglas County Republican Party chair, is one of two Republican candidates running for the County Commission’s

Sheriff CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3C

supervisor in March 1998 before becoming a detective that August. He was promoted to lieutenant in March 2005, and his rank was reclassified to captain in March 2013. Since then, he’s worked as a supervisor for multiple divisions on both the operation and corrections sides.

If elected, Woods has said that he would

SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

McDermott is one of two Republicans running for the County Commission’s 3rd District seat.

The winner of the Republican primary for the seat will face off with one of the two Democratic candidates in the general election in November.

McDermott said the county should have instead been looking for ways to decrease inmate population, rather than expanding the jail. If elected, McDermott said she would oppose any expansion project until more studies on ways to decrease

inmate population at the jail are considered.

She noted the commissioners have recently “backed off of their aggressive move forward,” referring to the commissioners’ decision to reexamine the issues because of the effects of the coronavirus on the facility’s inmate population, among other things. However, McDermott said she believes the commissioners only chose to do so because of local protests and unrest around criminal justice.

“I don’t want the people of Douglas County to have to endure that level

of frustration,” she said.

“It’s not good leadership.”

As the coronavirus has affected almost all aspects of life, McDermott expects it will also affect how the county will operate.

McDermott said she believes the county will need to adjust its spending in its annual budget to deal with the shortfalls.

“I imagine the county government will have to look at spending and adjust their budget just as every household, including mine, will have to do,” she said.

However, McDermott said she still has some

learning to do about the County Commission.

When it comes to rural land use, a topic that comes up often for the commissioners, McDermott said she will need to do some research on the issues.

“I don’t presume to know what’s best for the entire county, and I would be in favor of more public and open discussion about land use,” she said.

McDermott works as community life director at Morningstar Church, and her husband, John McDermott, is the church’s pastor.

Through their work for the

church, which they opened in 1992, McDermott said she and her husband have built their lives around the idea of loving their neighbors, which is a worldview she said she would use as a commissioner.

“I am viewing my running for County Commission as an opportunity to serve my community in a different way than I have previously,” McDermott said.

McDermott is originally from Massachusetts, moving to Lawrence to attend the University of Kansas in 1983.

3rd District seat. The winner of the Republican primary for the seat will face off with one of the two Democratic candidates in the general election in November.

Thacker is one of the only County Commission candidates who supports the idea of expanding the Douglas County Jail, which the county estimates to cost about $29.6 million. When asked if he supported the county’s controversial plan to expand its jail, Thacker said “yes and no.”

While he supports expanding the facility, Thacker said he did not like how the County Commission went about the

project. He said he specifically opposed the county’s original plan in 2018 to create a new sales tax to fund the project, which voters rejected in 2018.

The county’s current plan calls for using up to $9 million in funds it set aside for the initial cost of the project and then taking on debt to pay for the remainder, which would be paid off through an ongoing sales tax Douglas County voters approved in 1994. Thacker said he believes a plan like that should have been considered originally.

“I would like to see the law enforcement officers get the facility they need, but I think we need to

look at the money we already have and the taxes we already have to pay for it,” Thacker said.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Thacker said the county may also need to consider cutting its budget to make up for shortfalls in tax revenue.

Additionally, he believes Douglas County should provide some tax breaks to people who lost their jobs during the pandemic, which would decrease the county’s revenue further.

“All the people the county health officer and the governor put out of work, they didn’t get a break on their taxes,” Thacker said, referring to people who lost their jobs

during an economic downturn associated with the pandemic and the state’s stay-at-home orders. “In reality, we should be giving them some sort of tax forgiveness.”

With that in mind, Thacker said the county should consider cuts to the budget to create temporary savings, rather than consider finding new revenue, which would likely be done by raising taxes.

As for rural land use, a common issue commissioners need to consider, Thacker said he believes the best steward of rural land is usually the landowner. He said he wants to see the focus of rural land use decisions move

back to landowners, but he believes many decisions will come down to a case-by-case basis.

Thacker grew up in Lecompton and graduated from Perry-Lecompton High School. He has earned many post-secondary degrees, including a master’s degree in public administration from Troy University.

He returned to Douglas County in 2012 after serving 20 years in the U.S. Navy, where he worked in logistics and maintenance.

He said that background would be a strength when considering issues related to the county’s vehicle fleets and road maintenance.

continue and expand programs and services for inmates, work to reduce recidivism and ensure that the focus of the sheriff’s office is on the safety of all people who live in or visit Douglas County.

Woods has said that his position on the jail expansion is that he has no position. It’s not the sheriff’s decision whether the expansion happens, it’s the county commission’s, and he will deal with the cards that the commission and the public deal him. He said the sheriff is required

to maintain safety and provide for the mental and physical health care needs of all inmates. It’s good that the numbers are down right now and he hopes they stay that way, he said, but there’s no way to know what will happen in the future. Regardless, he said he’ll keep doing his job to the best of his ability.

Woods has said that Lawrence is diverse, and in addition to ethnicity and racial-based biases, it’s important to consider other cultures and ideas and take those into

consideration as well. He said he would increase training on bias issues to a minimum of eight hours per year. He said it would be all-encompassing training for biasbased policing and racial profiling issues that have occurred in the past with other agencies.

He said the sheriff’s office can take action against racial or ethnic bias, whether that means by education, discipline or termination. In order to hopefully avoid issues such as excessive use of

force by officers, Woods said he would want to start stress inoculation training. That type of training would help identify people who might not be good candidates for law enforcement early on in the process, he said.

Woods said he would support a citizen review board. He would also want to hire someone from outside the agency to handle internal investigations and be responsible for professional standards. That person would also review things such

as paperwork and video footage, see how officers are performing their everyday duties and make sure that the taxpayers are getting the most for their tax dollars, Woods said.

Woods would also be in favor of a database tracking officer misconduct, he said, and he would want to regularly let the public know how many complaints the department has had, how many were founded and what the disciplinary issues were, for instance.

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Morland, who has worked for the office since 2003, previously said that he may be most recognizable to the public as the clerk for the office’s satellite

Rains CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5C

to make sure that information is secure from data breaches. Although the treasurer’s office hasn’t had any such breaches, Rains said the

Brown CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5C

property in Douglas County. Brown is one of two Democratic candidates running to fill the position that will be left by longtime Register of Deeds Kay Pesnell.

Since 2010, Brown has mostly worked for

Murphree CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5C

The Register of Deeds Office is responsible for recording various information related to the ownership of real property in Douglas County. Murphree is one of two Democratic candidates running to fill the seat.

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location at Dillons, 3000 W. Sixth St. He said he considers his current role to be the “public face of county government” and he has always enjoyed serving the public.

“I look forward to the opportunity to continue the tradition of reliable and courteous service that the county provides

while recognizing the challenges of delivering a consistent experience in these uncertain times,” Morland said, referring to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

If elected, Morland said he would like to use technology to implement new strategies and solutions to keep the office working efficiently. He

said the treasurer’s office has done that during the pandemic. The treasurer’s office has mostly been closed to walk-in business, serving residents through in-person appointments, or through mail, phone and online avenues.

Morland said the office has been adapting to provide more services

online, a move he wants to make sure continues. But he also wants to work on new ways to serve people in person during the pandemic, he said.

“We are communicating with customers in new and different ways,” Morland said. “We need to continue tailoring our services to offer new

ways to work together to get things done.”

Morland has lived in Douglas County since 2000, when he began attending the University of Kansas. He said he did not earn a degree from the university.

He and his wife, Kristin, decided to stay in Lawrence and now have two children.

office needs to make sure its possible business partners share those same values.

Additionally, with the dangers of the coronavirus pandemic, the office needs to focus on staff and client safety, he said. During the pandemic, the treasurer’s office has

mostly been closed to walk-in business, but has been scheduling inperson appointments with residents and providing services through phone, mail and online avenues.

“If we get it, we shut down for two weeks,” he said, referring to a virus outbreak. “That

cannot happen. We can’t have the treasurer’s office shut down because (then) people can’t get their tags and can’t pay their taxes.”

Rains is originally from Lakin, a small town about 20 miles west of Garden City. He began his public service career in 2011, previously

working in the treasurer’s office for Kearny County, located in southwest Kansas, before moving into a role at Douglas County in 2013.

During his time in Douglas County, Rains completed the University of Kansas’ certified public manager program,

then earned a bachelor’s degree in leadership and management from Ottawa University. He also recently earned his master’s degree in public administration from KU. Rains and his wife, Calle, have lived in Douglas County for about four years. Their first child was born in March.

the register of deeds office. He said he briefly worked for a title company in 2014, giving him experience on both the private and public side of real estate ownership. With years of experience, Brown said he believes he has the right knowledge and relationships to serve the office well.

“I really feel like I’m the best candidate for

Douglas County,” Brown said.

If elected, Brown said he wants to continue improving the technology and accessibility of the office. He said the department recently digitized “every single sheet of paper” in the office, and those documents are now accessible online. Now, he wants to make it easier to search through those

documents, which may require the creation of a new database.

Brown also wants to focus on document security in the office, as some residents said they are worried about document fraud. While he’s not yet sure what technology is available, Brown said wants to look into ways to notify residents if their names appear on important documents

that pass through the department.

Brown noted these upgrades to the office might also be possible without the need for new revenue. He said the office often has a surplus of revenue made through document fees, which he wants to leverage to improve technology.

“That’s a great way to modernize without …

impacting taxpayers,” Brown said.

Brown was born in Lawrence, but he was raised in Bolivar, Mo. He said he moved back to Lawrence to attend the University of Kansas, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 2009. He later earned a master’s degree in business administration from Baker University.

Murphree previously told the Journal-World that she chose to run for the position for many reasons, including her experience with LPD and her family’s background in real estate. Her parents were real estate developers in town and she learned to love the processes associated with land development, she said.

Murphree recently said she also believes she can

quickly master subject matter, making her an ideal candidate for the position.

“It’s just the right opportunity, and I have the right skill set, education and experience to bring to that office,” she said.

If elected, Murphree said she wants to make the office’s services more accessible online to county residents, especially because of the

effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on public offices. That includes making it easier to look up or file important records through the internet, she said.

“We need to advocate the best we can for increased access, and I’m not sure COVID is going away anytime soon,” she said.

Murphree also wants to make sure the public is more informed

on what the register of deeds office is responsible for and in what ways it can be used by the public. She said many people may not have a great understanding about what the office does, and she would like to reach out to correct that.

Another benefit to the public is the office’s collection of historical information about Douglas County, and

that could be interesting and useful information to the public, she said.

Murphree is a lifelong Lawrence resident. She graduated from Lawrence High School and attended the University of Kansas, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science.

— Reporter Dylan Lysen can be reached at 832-6353. Follow him on Twitter: @DylanLysen

Suzanne Valdez for Douglas County District Attorney TIME TO SET A HIGHER STANDARD

Employ a diverse, well-trained, and ethical staff to ensure equal access to justice.

Maximize rehabilitative programming and alternatives to incarceration so that prosecutorial resources can be allocated to the most serious, violent offenses.

• 24 years a lawyer, 6 years prosecuting • First 7 years spent serving marginalized communities as a legal aid lawyer • 9 years’ statewide experience working with victims/survivors of violent crime as Chair of the Kansas Crime Victims’ Compensation Board • 21 years a KU Law professor, emphasis on legal ethics, prosecutorial ethics, supervising students in prosecutor offices, and practical skills courses • Co-author of leading national coursebook on Prosecutorial Ethics

Make the justice system work for victims rather than creating new victims through the justice system.

I would appreciate your vote on August 4TH "I am proud to endorse my friend, Suzanne Valdez…

As a prosecutor and woman of color, Suzanne knows how our institutions, including the District Attorney's office, need to change to ensure new voices are heard, respected, and centered…”

“The Douglas County Farm Bureau Board of Directors is proud to endorse Suzanne Valdez in the race for Douglas County District Attorney.”

––July 14, 2020

- Mayor Quinton Lucas, Kansas City, Missouri

Paid for by Suzanne Valdez for District Attorney. Joshua D. Seiden, Treasurer.

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SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

10TH HOUSE DISTRICT

T

hree area Democrats are running this year to replace 10th District Rep. Eileen Horn, D-Lawrence, who announced in April she would not seek another term in the Kansas Legislature. The 10th District includes Baldwin City, Eudora and parts of Lawrence. No Republican has filed in the district, so whoever wins in the primary is almost certain to capture the seat.

Stories by Conner Mitchell lll

cmitchell@ljworld.com

Medicaid expansion among public health researcher’s top priorities Christina Haswood, 26, would become the youngest member of the Kansas Legislature, in addition to only the body’s third Native American member in history, if she wins the Aug. 4 primary for the 10th House District.

Haswood told the JournalWorld upon filing for the race that she was somewhat intimidated when some local community members approached her about running for the seat.

But after taking some time to consider, Haswood said she decided to use her

expertise in public health — she graduated in May from the KU Medical Center with a masHaswood ter’s degree in public health management — to launch her candidacy.

“I’ve always wanted to give back to my Lawrence community,” she told the Journal-World in May. “This opportunity just came at the

right time, and I feel like I’m qualified to help lead my district and state.”

Growing up, Haswood and her family struggled with poverty. But, being a Native American woman, she said that experience helped open her eyes to the disparity of policy decisions and “how a ZIP code can determine your life expectancy.”

Haswood is a registered member of the Navajo Nation and received her associate degree from Haskell Indian Nations University in community health. She later

received a bachelor’s degree in public health from Arizona State University.

Haswood currently works as a research assistant with the National Council of Urban Indian Health and the Center for American Indian Community Health, where she studies tribal youth nicotine addiction and COVID-19’s effect on Native populations.

Due to Haswood’s work in the public health sector, one of her main legislative priorities if elected would be expanding Kansas’ Medicaid program. If

the state had passed Medicaid expansion when it was initially suggested in the 2010 Affordable Care Act, it could’ve added millions of dollars in state revenue and prevented rural hospitals from closing — not to mention the impact it would’ve had on managing the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

“It’s pretty much what we learned about the last two years of medical school,” Haswood said. “I was just angry; being young, it’s like, ‘Why are you guys doing this?’”

Businessman wants progressive policies, strong pandemic recovery Brandon Holland, son of Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, wants to make progress on Medicaid expansion, school funding and the state’s recovery from COVID-19 if he’s elected to the 10th District House seat.

Holland, 31, of Baldwin City, was the first candidate to file in the race and has lived in the 10th District since 1993. He currently works as a manager at a small liquor store in Lawrence, and he graduated from both Lawrence High School

and the University of Kansas with a degree in political science.

His priorities, if elected, are Holland to help the state recover from financial burdens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, to advocate for state Medicaid expansion, to fully fund the state’s education

system and to make mental health services more accessible.

Health care and its affordability is a heightened priority for Holland, who said he suffered numerous concussions and brain injuries while playing for the student rugby team at KU. He struggled with his mental health for years before finding a doctor who could help, he said, but he wouldn’t have been able to pay for his treatment without his family’s help.

“I’m incredibly concerned about the health and financial well-being of Kansas wage earners, who’ve been struggling for years since the Great Recession and with the Legislature’s refusal to expand Medicaid,” Holland said when announcing his candidacy. “Now with the coronavirus pandemic, life is going to get harder for us all. We need to ensure that working people have access to quality medical care.”

In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, Holland’s campaign

website indicates he supports consumers, employers and employees making a determination of when things can “return to normal.” He does not support liability waivers for organizations or industries, an issue which has been a sticking point in additional federal stimulus negotiations.

According to Holland’s campaign website, he also supports legalizing medical marijuana, eliminating food sales taxes and raising the state minimum wage.

Ex-Baldwin City official focused on ‘taking care of people who need it’ Former Baldwin City Council member A.J. Stevens, 49, says he wants to use his experience in local government to help out at the Statehouse.

Stevens told the JournalWorld when he filed his candidacy that he’d always planned on running for the seat, but didn’t want to jump in while Rep. Eileen Horn, was in office as he thought she’d done a good job.

“It’s something that I feel matches my talents and experience really well,” Stevens said. “But more than anything right now, my

motivation is making sure we’re taking care of people who need it.”

Stevens is the CEO Stevens of Baldwin City and Southern Railroad — created last year as a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Midland Railway — which he said has been an economic boon for the local economy in recent years, both through its

active railroad operations and as a tourist attraction.

He was appointed to the Baldwin City Council in July 2017 after the death of council member Steve Bauer and served out the unexpired term before deciding not to seek reelection last fall.

Stevens told the JournalWorld in May that he is a strong proponent of Medicaid expansion in Kansas, an effort which again failed to pass during the 2020 legislative session after the COVID-19 pandemic forced lawmakers from Topeka for an extended period of time.

“I think this pandemic really shows that we have people who are underrepresented and don’t have an opportunity to get medical care, and it’s a necessity,” he said.

Stevens said his focus on local economic issues through his work and his stint on the Baldwin City Council would serve him well in the Kansas Statehouse as state lawmakers are faced with how to recover from the economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m worried about our county, our state, and our

people as far as the shortfall we’ll have in revenue,” he said. “When I was on City Council, we had people in the community choosing between feeding their kids and paying their bills. I can’t imagine how much that’s increased since then.”

According to Stevens’ campaign website, he is a strong supporter of women’s reproductive rights and is running as a pro-choice candidate. He also supports Kansas passing legislation banning employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.

42ND HOUSE DISTRICT

A rematch of 2018’s Republican primary

By Conner Mitchell cmitchell@ljworld.com

In the 42nd Kansas House District, this year’s Republican primary may give some observers deja vu — for the second election in a row, incumbent Jim Karleskint is running against Lance Neelly, who hasn’t held public office.

Karleskint is a former public school teacher, principal and superintendent; Neely works in security and corrections. Both men are from Tonganoxie. But while Karleskint has supported some of moderate Republicans’ biggest priorities during his time in the Legislature, Neelly bills himself as a staunch conservative.

Karleskint is seeking his third term in the Statehouse, and he said he hopes to continue doing what’s best for the people of the 42nd district, which includes Tonganoxie, Easton, and parts of Douglas County and Eudora.

That included, he said, reversing the “Brownback tax experiment” (a reference to sweeping income tax cuts championed by former Gov. Sam Brownback but decried by many for throwing the state billions of dollars into debt) and constitutionally funding Kansas’ K-12 schools.

Kansas officials have projected a $1.3 billion budget shortfall from the end of fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2021, which means legislators will again have to deal with daunting financial challenges, Karleskint said.

Karleskint

Neelly

“The revenue has certainly been impacted and we’ll have to deal with that,” he said. “We were fortunate to have some excess funds (in the budget). But going forward we don’t know what we don’t know.”

During his campaign this time around, Karleskint said his constituents have voiced concerns with some of the ways Gov. Laura Kelly has gone about managing the unprecedented pandemic.

Karleskint didn’t elaborate on his personal feelings about the actions Kelly has taken — many of which have drawn public rebuke from more conservative lawmakers.

“The thing I’m hearing from my constituents is some are concerned about overreach and about losing their constitutional rights,” he said. “We need to address that in a way that there’s checks and balances for all branches.”

Neelly didn’t respond to a phone message from the JournalWorld seeking an interview, but his campaign website and past media coverage from the 2018 primary show that he’s running on a platform of conservative policies.

“Democrats and moderate Republicans want to continue their ways of taxing and spending,” Neelly’s campaign website reads.

“As your representative, I will not stand by as Kansas government continues to send their bills to the people of Kansas.”

Neelly does not support Medicaid expansion, as he thinks it would prompt more taxes. His website says he is a strong abortion opponent and a supporter of gun rights — his website says he also opposes “red flag” gun laws that use background checks to prohibit violent offenders from obtaining firearms.

Karleskint’s and Neelly’s 2018 primary was decided by a mere 167 votes before Karleskint went on to defeat Democrat Thea Perry in the general election by 23 percentage points. No Democrat filed to run in the general election this year, so the 2020 primary winner will almost certainly go on to hold the seat.

Karleskint said he expects the election to again be a close race, and he voiced frustration with out-of-state financial support coming in for Neelly.

“I think there’s a lot of money coming in from out of state that’s being poured against me, which is frustrating. It is what it is; I represent the people of the 42nd District by conducting surveys at the start of each session, and I’m proud of the fact I do represent the people,” he said. “Outside money can’t buy me.”

5 area Democrats have no opponents

By Conner Mitchell cmitchell@ljworld.com

Five area Democrats will face no opposition in the Aug. 4 primary, and no Republicans have filed to challenge them in the Nov. 3 general election.

Lawrence Sen. Marci Francisco was first elected to represent District 2 in 2004 and will serve her fifth term in the state Senate. Francisco previously served on the Lawrence City Commission and as the city’s mayor for two terms.

Lawrence Rep. Barbara Ballard has served in the Kansas House of Representatives since 1992 and will serve her 15th term as the 44th District representative.

Ballard also serves as an administrator at the University of Kansas through her role as a senior director at the Dole Institute of Politics.

Lawrence Rep. Mike Amyx, who was first elected to represent the 45th District in 2018, will serve his second term in the Kansas Statehouse. Amyx previously served on the Lawrence City Commission, including six terms as mayor, and on the Douglas County Commission.

Lawrence Rep. Boog Highberger will serve his fourth term as the 46th District representative. Highberger was first elected in 2014 and previously served on the Lawrence City Commission and as the city’s mayor.

Ann Mah, of Topeka, is seeking her second term on the Kansas State Board of Education, which she was first elected to in 2016. Mah served in the state House of Representatives for eight years prior to running for the board.

SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

PRIMARY VOTERS GUIDE

11C

2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Is the seat in play? GOP primary could be key

By Conner Mitchell cmitchell@ljworld.com

For the second election cycle in a row, Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District has caught the attention of national political analysts, who say the GOP primary matchup between front-runners Steve Watkins and Jake LaTurner could play a big role in whether the seat stays in Republican hands.

The 2nd district, on its face, is a mixed bag. It contains Lawrence, traditionally a liberal stronghold, but at the same time has elected a Republican to the House of Representatives in every election since Democrat Nancy Boyda was defeated in 2006.

However, that doesn’t mean the 25-county district isn’t flippable for Democrats.

President Donald Trump won the 2nd District by 18 percentage points in 2016, but a short two years later, Watkins won the district by only 2,239 votes — a mere 0.8% — over Lawrence Democrat Paul Davis after emerging from a crowded primary field.

Watkins faces a lesscrowded primary in 2020, only challenged this time by LaTurner, Taylor a Topeka Republican who currently serves as Kansas’ treasurer, and Dennis Taylor, a Republican who ran for Kansas secretary of state in 2018 but lost in the primary.

LaTurner, at 32, is the youngest statewide elected official in the United States.

He served in the Kansas

AP File Photos

INCUMBENT U.S. REP. STEVE WATKINS, LEFT, AND KANSAS STATE TREASURER JAKE LATURNER, RIGHT, are the two front-runners in the Republican primary for Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District.

Senate for several years before his election as state treasurer, in which he handily defeated Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence.

Watkins was a political unknown before the 2018 election. He served a decade in the military and then worked as an independent military contractor, and he had never held elected office.

In 2018, Watkins won the Republican primary with only 26.5% of the vote. He’s also faced controversies over his residency, both in the 2018 campaign and since taking office. Days before the 2018 primary, an open letter signed by local Republican leaders expressed concern about Watkins’ absence from his district, and more recently he was found to have listed a UPS Inc.

postal box as his residence on a state voter registration form. Last week, Watkins was charged with voter fraud and other crimes in relation to that incident, and on Friday he was forced to temporarily give up his House committee assignments.

Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, said that for as much as he has monitored Kansas’ coming congressional elections, he has been unable to find an area of policy where Watkins and LaTurner differ.

“I think in the House it’s more about style. It’s more about personality,” Miller said. “I think Steve Watkins has spent the last two years, and even in the 2018 campaign, talking more about Trump than he talks about

himself.”

LaTurner, Miller said, hasn’t publicly supported the president quite as ardently as Watkins.

“He’s trying to keep talking more about himself and brandishing his conservative credentials,” he said. “So I think it’s just the degree to how much they emphasize Trump (that’s a policy difference).”

Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University, also said there are few, if any, differences between Watkins and LaTurner — considered the two frontrunners — with regards to policy.

“As far as policy differences, Watkins and LaTurner don’t have many and are running more on other arguments, as both are running as strong conservatives and

Trump allies,” Beatty said.

“Watkins is arguing that LaTurner is an opportunist because he was going to run for the Senate but switched to Congress, and LaTurner is arguing that Watkins is more vulnerable to losing in the fall to (Democrat Michelle) De La Isla because of Watkins’ past controversies.”

Taylor, Beatty said, is running on a more novel platform: He’s focusing on a national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Watkins and LaTurner are both vocal abortion foes and gun rights supporters, and both have language on their campaign websites about protecting the border, defending constitutional rights and reducing the federal deficit.

Whoever wins the Aug. 4 primary will face De La Isla, an already well-funded Democrat who currently serves as Topeka’s mayor, in the Nov. 3 general election.

How viable De La Isla is in a general election, though, may depend on the outcome of the Republican primary, Miller said. Generally, the 2nd District votes Republican by 60%-40% in statewide and national elections; Watkins got 47.6% of the vote in 2018.

“If Paul Davis had flipped that district, it would have been by just about any measure the most Republican district in the country that would have flipped in 2018,” Miller said. “So I would say it’s not the kind of district that Democrats are typically targeting this year.”

Miller, though, speculated that Democrats might target the seat more if Watkins wins the primary because of the controversy that has surrounded his campaign.

U.S. SENATE

Analysts: Decadeslong Senate streak could hinge on primary

By Conner Mitchell cmitchell@ljworld.com

It has been nearly 90 years since the state of Kansas elected a Democrat to the United States Senate.

But for months, political experts have speculated that 2020 could be the year that streak ends — depending on how the Republican primary shakes out.

Though more have filed, two leading contenders have emerged for August’s Republican primary — U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, a physician from Great Bend, and Kris Kobach, a former Kansas secretary of state.

Kobach has become a controversial firebrand even within his own party for his divisive views on voting and immigration policies, and some Republican leaders blame him for losing the 2018 governor’s race to Democrat Laura Kelly.

That worry has continued into 2020, with many fearing that a Kobach victory in the Senate primary could lead to a similar result in the general election against Democratic candidate Barbara Bollier, a retired anesthesiologist from Mission Hills who was a Republican until 2018.

But Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, said it’s not as simple as saying that if Kobach wins the nomination, Republicans will lose the Senate seat.

“I think that it is largely a race that is about style and personality and perhaps electability. I think that Marshall has certainly made the argument that he is more electable and he has criticized Kobach for losing in 2018,” Miller said. “And I think the evidence somewhat supports that.”

The evidence only somewhat supports the stance

AP File Photos

PICTURED FROM LEFT ARE U.S. SENATE CANDIDATES Kris Kobach, Rep. Roger Marshall and Bob Hamilton. that Marshall is more electable, Miller said, because there has been little polling conducted that pits both Marshall and Kobach against Bollier.

A National Republican Senatorial Committee poll in late May showed that Marshall led Bollier by 11 points, but he didn’t get substantially higher support numberswise.

A Kobach candidacy just enticed more people to vote for Bollier, which brought them to a statistical tie.

And a Civiqs poll from early June, which pitted Bollier against Marshall, Kobach and Bob Hamilton, a self-funded political newcomer who has purchased substantial airtime already in Kansas, showed that Bollier was in a statistical tie with all three.

The Civiqs poll also asked Republican primary voters who they preferred, and Kobach led Marshall by 9% and Hamilton by 20%.

“So is it ‘Marshall or bust?’

Not necessarily,” Miller said. “It may be a tougher slog for Republicans, but again, Marshall doesn’t actually get higher support (than Kobach) necessarily.”

Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University, said there is little

difference in the substantive policy positions of Kobach, Marshall and Hamilton.

“They are all running as very conservative Republicans who strongly support Donald Trump,” he said.

“The main differences seem to be stylistically: Kobach argues he will shake things up in D.C., Marshall argues that he has a better chance of winning the general election and Hamilton argues he’s an outsider and option for those who don’t want what he calls ‘career politicians.’”

Indeed, little in the three main candidates’ policy stances actually differs. All voice strong support for anti-abortion policies, all tout pro-Second Amendment stances and all advocate for the securing of the U.S. border through a border wall, a policy often touted by Trump.

The main difference among the candidates appears to simply be how strongly and publicly they support Trump’s administration.

“We had a stretch where social issues seemed to dominate the campaign, but that period didn’t really show any disagreement between the Republicans on policy on gay rights, transgender

rights or abortion,” Miller said. “It was more just ‘look at the endorsements I have and I’m so conservative on this.’”

Marshall has garnered high-profile endorsements since the campaign began, from such groups and people as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Kansans For Life, former Kansas Senator Bob Dole and former Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder.

Kobach’s endorsements have been from smaller anti-abortion groups such as Kansas Coalition for Life and Operation Rescue, both of which are based in Wichita.

Whoever wins the Republican primary is sure to find an expensive general election waiting for them.

Bollier, who is almost certain to be their opponent in November, recently raised more in a three-month period than any candidate in Kansas history for federal, state or local office, bringing in a whopping $3.7 million from April to June.

Kobach, meanwhile, raised about $232,000 during the second quarter of this year, and Marshall raised $462,000 in that time period, the Associated Press reported Thursday. Hamilton

reported raising $1.5 million, but that money came out of his own pocket.

Trump himself could also be an obstacle for whoever the Republican nominee is.

His approval rating in Kansas is currently at or just below 50%, around where it was in 2018 when Kobach lost the gubernatorial election by roughly five percentage points. While Trump wasn’t on the ballot two years ago, it does indicate a willingness of Kansas voters to buck the party line.

This isn’t to say that November’s general election will be easy for Bollier.

In national elections, it has been harder for Kansans to justify voting for the state’s minority party to go to Washington and deal with complex federal issues, Miller said. This helps explain the discrepancy between the state’s willingness to elect three Democratic governors in the last 25 years versus a Senate seat that has been solidly Republican for decades, he said.

“I think there are voters out there who are comfortable breaking from their partisan voting habits when they’re thinking about statelevel issues that are a lot more apparent to them and they can see how they impact their lives,” he said. “I think Kobach could run just as bad of a campaign as he did for governor and still win the Senate race.”

Ultimately, the Aug. 4 primary will set up one of the more consequential elections in Kansas history — perhaps no matter who wins the Republican nomination.

“A lot of things would have to fall into place for Bollier to win,” Beatty said.

“Probably some sort of national ‘blue wave,’ but it’s definitely possible.”

VOTE FLORY

FOR SHERIFF Dale’s Priorities as Sheriff: SOCIAL JUSTICE • Dale is committed to changing the public perception of law enforcement through equity, access, rights and participation.

• Dale and Clark Rials will spearhead a Social Justice Committee where BLM, Justice Matters and community members have a seat at the table.

TRANSPARENCY • As Sheriff, Dale will create a transparent department where information is more readily shared with the public.

• Dale will implement the use of body cameras for all patrol deputies.

• Dale will take appropriate action if an officer dishonors the badge and fully supports the national police misconduct database.

MENTAL HEALTH • Expand treatment programs as an alternative to incarceration.

• Dale will establish a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Co-Responder unit that pairs CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) trained deputies with a mental health clinician.

JAIL RESTRUCTURE • Dale is opposed to expanding the jail at this time.

• Jail expansion funds would be better invested in social services.

IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE IN DOUGLAS COUNTY Paid for by Flory for Sheriff.

Michele Hammann, Treasurer.

www.floryforsheriff.com