When you’re in the minority in a legislative body like the Kansas Statehouse, how do you expand your numbers?
It is a question Democrats have been grappling with for several years, including this year as Republicans had supermajority status in both the House and Senate. Speaking at Tuesday’s town hall at the Lyon County History Center, Democrat State Party Chair Jeanna Repass says change may come with some pain involved.
Repass was among several state-level Democrats to come to Emporia for the town hall, which focused on rural concerns like health care, social programs, education policy and tax matters. Besides work to expand Medicaid and limit or eliminate school vouchers, Repass says Democrats are against a flat tax structure, which she says “burns through our surplus” and returns the state to a time where it borrowed money from the Kansas Department of Transportation to fund other basic aspects of government.
About 40 people attended at the Lyon County History Center. Democrats invited US Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, along with Second District Congressman Derek Schmidt — all Republicans. They were not at the event.
