Twenty years ago Ed Bideau III, served two terms in the Kansas House of Representatives.
Today, the Chanute attorney wants to do it again.
Bideau filed to run for the 9th District seat Monday morning in Topeka. He’ll face Iolans Judy Brigham and Bud Sifers in the Aug. 7 primary.
Bideau first served from 1985 to 1989 representing the 8th District.
He then returned to his law practice full time, citing the toll of public service was too great on his young family and business.
BIDEAU, 61, is a soft-spoken man who says he is a “Teddy Roosevelt” Republican, meaning if elected, he would favor small businesses and farmers.
An amateur history buff, Bideau favorably recalls the days when railroads were the main mode of transportation, saying he would like to see “state and federal funds put back into the railroad system.”
Big banks are also in his crosshairs, saying they have been given too much power.
“I’m not the kind of Republican that says Bank of America is too big to fail,” he said, discrediting the bailout of the banks during the recent recession.
Bideau rued the day banks were allowed to conduct business across state lines. “Interstate commerce has not been good for the consumer,” he said of the 1997 decision by the U.S. Congress to allow banks to open branches nationwide.
Bideau refused to say what “kind” of Republican he is, eschewing all labels from Tea Party to conservative to moderate.
Saying he doesn’t “know the specifics” of the recent tax increases, revamping of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, or the funding of public schools in the just-completed session of the Kansas Legislature, Bideau declined to weigh in on the issues.
In general, Bideau said he agrees with Gov. Sam Brownback’s leadership.
If elected, Bideau said he would make economic development of Southeast Kansas a priority. Bideau was unaware of Project 17, the initiative begun last fall to develop a stronger business climate in the 17 counties of SEK.
The area’s low health and living costs should be advertised in major metropolitan areas, he said.
“It’s much cheaper to retire here than in Los Angeles or on the coasts,” he said. “Their long-term health care costs are double what we have here.” In his work as an attorney, Bideau deals with many senior citizens.
