Eight candidates vying for four seats representing parts of Olathe, Overland Park and Leawood in southeastern Johnson County laid out their priorities in two back-to-back live forums hosted by the Johnson County Post on Wednesday evening.

The Post is hosting seven nights of forums for Kansas Statehouse and local races ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

The four districts covered in these two forums were:

• House District 8, covering parts of Olathe, Overland Park and Oxford Township, generally between Pflumm Road and Switzer Road/Lowell Avenue/Antioch Road, and from 129th Street to 167th Street.
• House District 27, covering parts of Leawood, Overland Park, Aubry Township and Oxford Township, generally between Pflumm and State Line roads, and from 143rd Street to 215th Street.
• House District 49, covering parts of Olathe, Overland Park and Oxford Township, generally between Mur-Len Road and Quivira/Pflumm roads, and from 127th Street to 159th Street.
• House District 78, covering parts of Olathe and Olathe Township, generally between U.S. Highway 50 and Lackman Road, and from Sheridan/143rd Street to 167th Street.

Who is running?

House District 8

• Republican incumbent Chris Croft, of Overland Park
• Democrat Megan Phillips, of Overland Park

House District 27

• Democrat Sara Kiewiet, of Overland Park
• Republican incumbent Sean Tarwater, of Stilwell

House District 49

• Democratic incumbent Nikki McDonald, of Olathe
• Republican Tricia Sinclair, of Olathe

House District 78

• Republican incumbent Robyn Essex, of Olathe
• Democrat Tim Lundberg, of Olathe

How to watch the Post’s forums

The Post livestreamed Wednesday’s forums on our Facebook and Youtube pages, and recordings of each are 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.

Below is the video recording of the forum for candidates running for House Districts 8 and 27.

Questions and timestamps

1. Opening statements [13:15]

2. Property taxes and state tax policy: Property taxes are readers’ No. 1 issue, and the Legislature plays a key role. This past session, a valuation-cap amendment cleared the Senate but failed in the House. A local-spending cap was vetoed, so Kansans again got no meaningful tax relief from Topeka …

• For Democrats: Democrats have called moves like capping valuations and local spending “gimmicks” that will lead to cuts in local services. Colleagues in your party say that fully funding special education instead will lower pressure on districts, which can then lower their tax rates. Why is your party’s approach better?
• For Republicans: Republicans tout the 3% valuation cap and the local spending amendment that would allow 10% of voters in a city to stop municipal spending increases, saying this puts power back in the hands of the people. Why is your party’s approach better?
  [18:15]

3. Public schools and special education funding: Readers want to hear what statehouse candidates say about funding special education. Four Johnson County school districts are moving toward potentially suing the state over special education funding. State law says Kansas must pay 92% of excess special ed costs. It’s currently paying roughly 64–70%. It’s estimated the four Johnson County districts alone are owed more than $100 million. If these four Johnson County districts do move to sue the state over special education funding … whose side are you on: your local districts or the Legislature? Explain your stance. [25:25]

4. Public education and school vouchers: This is a question from the audience. Should taxpayer dollars go to subsidize donations to private, religious or even unaccredited schools? It’s a broader philosophical question about whether you think the state’s first obligation is to school systems or to individual students and families. Where should the money go? [35:55]

5. School vaccines: Someone from the audience asks: Measles is making a comeback, but Kansas is trying to pass laws, again in this person’s words, eliminating vaccine requirements to attend school. Do you believe in the current vaccine schedule? Do you support bills which could encourage parents to avoid or look for exemptions for vaccines? Where do you fall? [42:08]

6. Criminal justice reforms: A question from the audience. This person asks: What criminal justice reforms, if any, would you pursue if elected? I believe this person was specifically talking about a new state law restricting how judges can use cashless bail, but the broader question, criminal justice reforms, if any, that you would pursue. [47:22]

7. Health insurance reforms: This next question is from the audience. This person asks what ideas do you have for insurance reform? Is there anything the state can do? This person writes: People have problems with health insurance such as not being able to pay co-pays, having medication coverage change in the middle of the year, some services not covered at hospitals. Anything the state can do or have done to reform insurance and some of the problems this person mentions? [50:53]

8. State budget and the Chiefs stadium: Kansas is using STAR bonds to help pay for a new Chiefs stadium in KCK and team HQ and training facility in Olathe. More than 20 readers emailed about this, most of them expressing worry about the long-term cost to the state budget, as well as to Johnson County cities’ revenues from this project. Was this a good deal for the state? Why or why not? [56:27]

9. Working across the aisle: Many readers, about a dozen in fact, based on the emails we received … said they’re tired of partisan finger-pointing and want to hear what candidates would actually get done. Name a bill sponsored by a member of the other party that you voted for in the last two years or would have voted for if you were in Topeka. [1:03:36]

Below is the video recording of the forum for candidates running for House Districts 49 and 78.

Questions and timestamps

1. Opening statements [0:00]

2. Compromise vs. a hard red line: What’s something that you would compromise with the other party on? What’s something that you would not compromise on? [4:46]

3. Public education and special education funding: Several questions from the audience related to public education, special education funding and vouchers, using taxpayer funds for families who might want to go to private school or home school. This person asks: How will you ensure public education is fully funded? They also ask: Did you know special education also includes gifted children as well? So maybe something that is oftentimes overlooked in the discussion about special education? [11:48]

4. Literacy rates: Education, another question from the audience related to education: What is Kansas doing about illiteracy, as this person calls it, or the literacy rate? Fears, concerns that we hear often that kids are not achieving at levels they used to, that reading and writing skills might be diminishing … H ow do you respond to that? [18:45]

5. Mental health: We do have a couple of questions, somewhat related. This person writes: Families in Johnson County are waiting months to get a child or a parent in to see a mental health provider. That’s this person’s experience. What’s one specific thing you’ve done or would do in Topeka to fix that? [23:36]

6. Affordable/attainable housing: We have a couple of questions from the audience about being able to buy a home in Johnson County. This person writes: With inflationary pressures rising and an interest rate environment that is not seeming like it will settle. The questioner asks: How are you going to help me, as a 22-year-old married man looking to buy a house in Johnson County for my family? What are you going to do to help this home buyer? [28:31]

7. Data centers: We have a couple of questions from the audience related to data centers. This person from the audience asks: Do you support the construction of data centers in Kansas? Another person asks: Do you support a moratorium? [34:36]

8. Abortion: We have another question from the audience. Will you respect the voters’ decision on the Value Them Both constitutional amendment on abortions in Kansas? Where do you stand on abortion rights? [39:53]

9. Aging population: This question from the audience is about helping Kansas’ aging population. How are you planning to address the needs of aging Kansans without saying you would just start a committee and study the issue?  [44:25]

10. Attracting business and representing constituents: One member of the audience asks: What type of businesses would you recruit to set up their home office in Olathe? What are you bringing back to your district? What are your constituents getting out of the fact that you are the person that would be representing them in Topeka? [50:34]