Earlier this summer, the Post asked our readers what issues you wanted to hear candidates in contested races address leading up to the Aug. 4 primary election.
Based on that feedback, we developed a five-item questionnaire centering the issues most important to residents across Johnson County.
Each day this week, we’ll publish the candidates’ responses to one question. So far, we’ve published responses on the candidates’ top three priorities, impartial administration, voter access, and election security and misinformation.
Today, we’re publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:
The Secretary of State is also Kansas’ business registrar. What, if anything, would you do to make starting and maintaining a small business here faster, cheaper and simpler?
For Secretary of State, there is a primary just for Democratic voters. Below are the answers the Post received from candidates on the issue:
Jennifer Day
The Secretary of State’s office plays an important role in helping Kansas businesses succeed. Whether someone is opening their first small business, running a family farm, or growing an established company, they deserve a system that is simple, efficient, and responsive.
I would look for every opportunity to reduce unnecessary barriers and improve customer service. That means making it easier to file paperwork online, providing clear guidance so business owners know exactly what they need to do, and ensuring filings are processed as quickly as possible. Time spent figuring out forms or navigating a confusing website is time that could be spent running a business.
I would also look to engage the people who use these services every day. Small business owners, entrepreneurs, accountants, and attorneys can help identify where processes are confusing or outdated. Their feedback should help shape continuous improvements so the office better serves the people who rely on it.
The Secretary of State should be a partner to Kansas businesses, not an obstacle. My goal would be to lead an office that is efficient, transparent, and customer-focused, making it as straightforward as possible to start, grow, and maintain a business in Kansas.
Samuel Lane
This is my weakness. I’m not a business owner, and need to rely on feedback from those who are. It’s the downside of being able to devote my undivided attention to the office of the Secretary of State as my sole job.
I’ve heard wildly different feedback on how taxes and paperwork are either manageable or nightmarish. I suspect the difference is whether or not the business owner is using accounting software like shopify. It’s wonderful if these services are making your paperwork easier, but paperwork shouldn’t be so difficult that you need them just to function.
When I get the state business registry and tax website rebuilt into something easy to use that has everything you need in one place, we’ll have to make sure that we have uninterrupted support for such software.
One idea a business owner gave me is seeing if we can make it an option to pay sales taxes incrementally, perhaps weekly or daily, rather than pooling the revenue all year and waiting. In this era of everything being online, I would think such a thing would be doable.
