TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas new Democratic governor called Monday for the state to forge a new chapter of bipartisanship, arguing as she took office that the Statehouse had lost the spirit of neighbor-helping-neighbor under her Republican predecessors.
Laura Kelly was sworn in as the states 48th governor on the Capitol steps, in front of huge banners declaring Equality, Education and Opportunity. Her supporters celebrated a sharp break with her conservative GOP predecessors, even as she attempted to summon an ethos of cooperation across political, ethnic and religious lines.
Somewhere along the way, that spirit of neighbor-helping-neighbor that runs so strong in our communities failed to extend into this building, Kelly said in her speech to a crowd of a few thousand people. Public service gave way to partisanship. And the voices of Kansas families were not heard. Kansas lost its sense of self, its sense of community.
The 68-year-old governor was formerly a veteran state senator who pitched herself to voters as a no-nonsense problem-solver who could work with Republicans, who control the Legislature.
Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature brushed off Kellys critique of state government under her Republican predecessors and focused on her promise to work with the GOP.
What Im excited about is that she ended with that she wants to compromise and work out things over shaking hands, said Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, a conservative Wichita Republican. And so, Im looking forward to that, and Ill hold her to it.
KELLYS inaugural address at times seemed an implicit rebuke of President Donald Trumps sometimes divisive rhetoric on issues such as immigration. Trump carried the state in 2016 by nearly 21 percentage points, but Democrats made political gains in the states Kansas City area suburbs in last years midterms because Trump was unpopular there.
Inaugural events began Monday with an interfaith prayer service at the Statehouse that included a liberal rabbi, a Muslim imam and a representative of a Hindu temple. The event was relocated from the national historic site commemorating the U.S. Supreme Courts historic Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 declaring segregated schools unconstitutional because the building has been closed by the partial federal government shutdown.
The inauguration itself contained strong echoes of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The big banners behind Kelly were borrowed from a 50th anniversary celebration of the Brown decision, and a choir from Wichita sang an anthem of the movement, Lift Every Voice and Sing.
The ideals that bind us are being strained, Kelly said. And sometimes it can feel like the forces of division are succeeding.
But Kelly and her fellow Democratic legislators also felt pushed aside during the past eight years under Republican Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer. Brownback sought to make Kansas a laboratory for conservative fiscal policies, enacted through the GOPs supermajorities in the Legislature.
We must forge a new chapter in our story, starting today, the new governor said.
Kellys victory drew national attention because Kansas is a Republican-leaning state and her opponent, departing Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, touted his history of advising Trump. Kobach won a narrow victory over Colyer in the GOP primary after Trump endorsed Kobach.
We must work together in the spirit of putting the collective good ahead of any individual ambition or agenda, Kelly said. We must seek to lift up ALL Kansans regardless of whether they look like us, think like us, worship like us, love like us or vote like us.
