Saturday morning the effects of the shortened election filing period could be seen as candidates for local, state and national races came to speak in Iola at Farm Bureau’s candidate forum.
People who might not otherwise have jumped into politics spoke about who they are and, in some cases, what they want to accomplish.
Scott Barnhart, candidate for U.S. House District 2, talked about how he was “down home folks” and his background in the region, mainly tied to the Ottawa area where multiple times he has been a candidate for Kansas House and Senate and county commission seats.
Being “one of you” was a trend in a majority of the stump speeches.
An exception was Wade Bowie, unopposed incumbent running for Allen County attorney. Bowie spoke about issues that resonate with voters. He talked about the uptick in criminal prosecutions, from about 350 two years ago to more than 400 last year. He spoke about his experiences to reach youths by participating in school outreach programs, to “reach them before they make big mistakes in life.
Bowie went on to talk his pledge of accessibility and transparency of government.
Jeff Locke, running for Kansas House District 2, spoke about his background and credentials as a person who “gets deals done.” Locke told about his career as an educator and his work as an interest-based bargaining member for the Kansas National Educators Association. He contended his experience working to get teacher contracts negotiated would serve him well in the Statehouse.
He was an outspoken opponent of President Obama and “Obamacare,” while also playing up his support for business and a simple tax plan. He also went to great pains to outline his support — though with no specific proposals — for farmers.
Ed Bideau, running for the Kansas House in District 9, was one of the few veterans in the field. Bideau served in the House in the 1980s. His platform mainly consisted of talking about economic opportunities or lack thereof. He spent time slamming the Legislature for being unable to handle the redistricting issue. Bideau also said he was pro-education and pro-agriculture.
Rob Francis, Allen County Commission District 2 incumbent, spoke about accomplishments of the commission during his tenure. He was one of the few people who had ideas for what may be accomplished going forward.
Among his issues are working to bring a Veterans Administration clinic to the new Allen County Hospital campus, addressing housing needs in the area, working to consolidate government services and instituting a county-wide recycling program. Of those issues, housing needs were one he touched upon emphatically.
“We had a lot of damage to the housing market in the 2007 flood,” Francis said. “If we want to continue to grow the economy around here, we need to have somewhere for people to live when they do come. New doctors, nurses and staff for the new hospital means we need to be looking at expanding our housing.”
Don Bauer, Allen County Commission District 3 candidate, spoke mainly about his desire to support Allen County Hospital as it continues to grow. One issue he did bring up was looking at ambulance cost-share with surrounding counties to make access to emergency response services more affordable.
Sherrie Riebel spoke briefly about her experiences as county clerk incumbent. She is unopposed.
Darolyn “Crickett” Maley, unopposed county treasurer candidate, outlined her background and experience. She has served on both sides of the treasurer’s office, in tax and motor vehicle operations. Incumbent Sharon Utley is retiring. According to Maley, several people in the treasurer’s office encouraged her to run.
