Candidates vying for two Kansas House districts covering portions of De Soto and Shawnee participated in a forum hosted by the Johnson County Post Tuesday night.
The Post is hosting more than a dozen separate forums for Kansas Statehouse districts in Johnson County ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.
Thursday’s forum was hosted at Monticello Library in Shawnee.
The two districts covered in this forum were:
- House District 39, covering most of western Shawnee
- and House District 117, covering portions of De Soto, Lenexa, Olathe and Shawnee.
Who is running?
House District 39
- Incumbent Republican Rep. Angela Stiens, who was appointed earlier this year to finish the term of Rep. Owen Donohoe,
- Corporate diversity and inclusion officer Vanessa Vaughn West, a Democrat
House District 117
- Retired educator and Democratic Party activist Bill Hammond
- Incumbent Republican Rep. Adam Turk, who did not participate in the Post’s forum
How to watch the Post’s forum
The Post livestreamed Thursday’s event on our Facebook page, and a recording of the forum is embedded below.
Following the embedded video are the questions each candidate answered during the forum.
Timestamps are included in bold at the end of each question to help you navigate through the forum video if you’d like to jump around.
Questions and timestamps
- Opening statements [1:23]
- Biggest priorities for your district: We are holding forums for dozens of statehouse districts this fall. What do you see as the biggest priority or need from residents in your district? [6:01]
- Taxes: All of you acknowledged the importance of taxes to your districts and constituents. Are there any other tax cuts or tax relief policies you’d like to see the legislature pursue next year? In particular, is there anything the state can or should do regarding local property taxes? [11:03]
Republican Rep. Angela Stiens is running for Kansas House District 39 in the November election. Photo credit Leah Wankum. - Tax relief for seniors: We did get a number of questions from readers asking specifically about tax relief for seniors. The state does already offer some property tax rebate programs for low-income and disabled seniors, as well as veterans. We hear frequently from older Johnson Countians living on fixed or retirement income worried about property taxes. Is there anything more the state can do to address this particular group of taxpayers? [15:34]
- Education (from the audience): What steps will you take to make sure taxpayer funds are only used to support public schools in Districts 39 and 117 and to meet the requirements of the Kansas constitution that schools are fully funded? [20:21]
Democrat Vanessa Vaughn West is running for Kansas House District 39 in the November election. Photo credit Leah Wankum. - School vouchers: In recent years, Kansas lawmakers have debated measures that would, in some way or another, allow taxpayer funds to go to students and families NOT enrolled in public schools, including a proposed voucher program and tax credits for families in private and parochial schools. Such measures could come up again next year. If elected, would you support measures that would allow the use of taxpayers dollars to go to individuals enrolled in private or religious schools? Why or why not? [24:25]
- Abortion: Two years ago, Kansas voters rejected a proposed amendment that would have explicitly stripped the right to abortion from the state constitution. It was seen as a major victory for abortion rights supporters. But debate about abortion has not stopped. In the two years since, Kansas lawmakers have debated dozens of bills seeking in some way to limit or impact abortion procedures in Kansas, and it’s widely expected that such measures will continue to come up next year. Do you support any new restrictions on abortion or laws in any way governing the procedure? Why or why not? [28:48]
- Health care (from the audience): What is your approach to providing health care for all Kansans? What policies would you advocate for? What approach would you have? [35:15]
Democrat Bill Hammond is running for Kansas House 117 in the November election. His opponent, incumbent Republican Rep. Adam Turk, did not participate in the Post’s forum. Photo credit Leah Wankum. - Guns: Where do you stand on gun rights and gun safety? What laws, if any, would you advocate for if elected? [40:10]
- Elections (from the audience): Do you think Kansas elections are secure? What steps, if any, would you want to take to keep them secure? [44:15]
- Communicating with constituents (from the audience): If elected or re-elected, how do you plan to regularly meet with or listen to constituents and honor their concerns? [48:14]
