Kent Thompson, incumbent for the District 9 House race, defended his voting record in his first stint as a Kansas legislator, and accused the media of overblowing the state’s fiscal state of affairs.
“Things are not as dire as the media presents,” Thompson said. “Collections were strong the first part of the year. Admittedly, they have fallen off since.”
Thompson was one of a slew of candidates who addressed a small crowd Saturday morning as part of a candidate forum sponsored by Allen County’s Farm Bureau association.
Thompson said he feared worse things would come out of this year’s legislative session, including lawmakers thumbing their noses at the state Supreme Court’s ruling that state schools are not adequately funded.
“I was happy the Legislature didn’t push back or ignore the Supreme Court mandate,” he said.
From the audience, Iola resident Joe Hess asked Rep. Thompson if he would favor the expansion of Medicaid to cover more Kansans who live below the federal poverty level.
Thompson was noncommittal, saying he would need to study the matter further.
“I know the expansion would be huge for hospitals, but I can’t say how I would vote for it,” he said.
Terry Lower, a teacher at Iola Middle School, told Thompson he was unhappy with the Legislature’s ruling to remove teacher tenure, which provided teachers with due process if they were fired.
Thompson said he pushed back on the measure, but when it became clear the Senate would not approve additional school funding if the teacher tenure issue were dropped, he voted for the funding package.
Hess, a former school administrator, said teachers now “are left hanging out in the cold,” with no one to come to their defense.
Lower said the measure will allow administrators to let long-term teachers go in favor of newer teachers because they can be hired at lower salaries.
“It’ll all come down to money,” Lower said.
Chad VanHouden, Chanute, is the opponent to Thompson for the Republican nomination for House District 9.
“I’m pro-life, pro-guns and for family values,” said VanHouden in his introduction.
VanHouden said he has been meeting with teachers and local administrators to weigh their opinions.
