Three Democratic candidates running for Kansas House seats in the Olathe area shared their views on a variety of issues, including taxes, education funding and abortion, at a forum hosted this week by the Johnson County Post.
None of the three Republican candidates in these races participated in the event, which was held at Gardner Library in downtown Gardner on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
The Post has hosted more than a dozen separate forums for Kansas Statehouse districts in Johnson County ahead of the Nov. 5 general election.
The three districts covered in this forum were:
- House District 15, covering a portion of southwestern Olathe,
- House District 78, covering a portion of southern Olathe
- and House District 121, covering portions of De Soto, Gardner and Olathe.
Who is running?
House District 15
- Incumbent Democratic Rep. Allison Hougland
- Community volunteer and nonprofit worker Lauren Bohi, a Republican (did not participate)
House District 78
- Incumbent Republican Rep. Robyn Essex (did not participate)
- Senior care executive and advocate Daniel Goodman, a Democrat
House District 121
- Incumbent Republican Rep. John Resman (did not participate)
- Business analyst Mel Pinick, a Democrat
How to watch the Post’s forum
The Post livestreamed Wednesday’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 [3:35]
- Biggest priority 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? [8:28]
Democratic Rep. Allison Hougland is running for reelection to Kansas House District 15 in November. Photo credit Leah Wankum. - Taxes: What will be your approach to taxes if elected? We hear from readers all the time about their worries about taxes, the burden especially they feel local property taxes are putting on them. 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? [13:25]
- Spending: We also hear from some readers who want to know what parts of the budget would you target for cuts if you want to lower taxes? If there is less revenue potentially coming in, how would that impact spending? [17:11]
- Medicaid Expansion: Given that we have three Democrats here who want to see Medicaid expanded, maybe the question can be phrased this say: How practically will you approach this issue, knowing that Republicans — particularly, Republican legislative leadership — has blocked this from coming to a vote year after year? [20:51]
Democrat Daniel Goodman is running for Kansas House District 78 in the November election. Photo credit Leah Wankum. - School vouchers (from the audience): Wouldn’t school vouchers ultimately cost the taxpayers more since families who use them will be taking public funds to private schools while public schools will still need baseline funding to education children? [26:18]
- Abortion: Share your position on this hot-button issue. It comes in the context of the 2022 vote against the “Value Them Both” amendment, citing that as a reason why lawmakers should stop debating abortion measures. We also hear from plenty of readers who still express opposition to abortion as a moral issue. Going into 2025, do you see more need for new restrictions, limits of bills related to abortion? [34:14]
Democrat Mel Pinick is running for Kansas House District 121 in the November election. Photo credit Leah Wankum. - Abortion follow up: Abortion opponents say there is a compelling state interest in protecting unborn life. Moves to do that by, say, allocating funding for pregnancy resource centers that promote alternatives to abortion are cast as a way to give women safety and support during pregnancy and childbirth that also protects the life of the unborn child. Your response to the idea that such laws do not infringe on the right to abortion and actually make women safer? [38:00]
- Obstacles (from the audience): What is the biggest obstacle or challenge facing Olathe in the Statehouse? [42:22]
- Endorsements (from the audience): Who are what groups have endorsed your campaign? [46:14]
