Republicans currently hold the supermajority (meaning over 2/3rds majority – the threshold for veto overrides) in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Republicans have had at least a simple majority (over half) of the House seats since 1992, and the Senate has been under Republican control since 1917.
With this conservative stranglehold on the state legislature, how does not-so-conservative policy become law in Kansas??
- How do the Kansas City Chiefs get the state to commit BILLIONS of dollars in the most lucrative professional sports deal in the nation to build a new stadium roughly 20 miles from the old one, creating very little, if any, new economic development to the rest of the state?!?
- How do AI data centers get handed the most lucrative incentives in the region when Kansans are already concerned about water, power grid, and private property rights?!?
- Why did the state gift nearly $30 MILLION dollars to Johnson County to help host the World Cup when they realized they needed more money to provide security and infrastructure improvements to actual host the soccer games, but a bill to cut taxes was successfully vetoed because it was about $30 million to much?!?
- Why were certain legislators, including the Senate President, pushing so hard in the wrong direction for property tax relief with a constitutional amendment that actually raised property taxes on some people?!?
The answer is: sometimes we get it wrong!
Like a trophy fish going after a bright, shiny lure, “conservative” legislators are frequently attracted to the current popular trend because it is a hot topic and the lobbyists convince them it’s going to be a great thing for Kansas! (The Chiefs are winning Superbowls… let’s bring them to Kansas and build them a new stadium! Nearly every lobbying firm in Topeka was contracted to promote this!)
Unfortunately, when the shiny bait proves to be fake and the hook is set… it’s too late. The state is on the hook and it’s not the legislators that pay the price… it’s the taxpayers!!
I have never been afraid to fight against ANYONE when I see our priorities going off the track. I have vocally opposed the Chiefs deal, the data center incentives, the valuation cap amendment, and many others throughout my time… often with retaliation from those in power. I don’t care. I’m not elected to go along with the flow in Topeka. I’m here to represent YOU and keep your best interests in mind.
If you’re not always going along with the flow, you have to be able to read and think for yourself. That requires thoughtful foresight into all the issues.
Legislators cannot have their vision clouded by empty promises from lobbyists and activist groups. We MUST be able to recognize the bright, shiny lure for what it truly is – a mechanism to trap us and drag us against our will to a place we wouldn’t go on our own.
~ Adam Smith