Republicans hoping to carry on the work of outgoing 76th District Representative Brad Barrett appeared on KVOE’s Candidate Forum on Thursday.
The candidates — Art Freund, Russel Stukey and Mark Weiser — were asked about numerous topics relating to the district and the state.
Property tax relief has been a major concern for lawmakers for several years. Weiser says it’s a good idea to keep property taxes level.
Stukey also sees a cap on property taxes as an option.
Freund says a lid on property tax valuation is agreeable to him.
Data centers, however, are the big policy issue for this election cycle. Stukey says any data center project should be “highly scrutinized.”
Freund is in favor of the moratoriums currently in place in Coffey and Osage counties, and he is against data centers in general. He is also opposed to more solar energy facilities and battery energy storage systems that are often connected to data centers.
Weiser says the moratoriums were the correct approach.
Candidates also chimed in on a constitutional amendment that would end the Supreme Court Nominating Commission for selecting justices and replace that system with a public vote — and all 3 candidates said a change is needed. Freund says it fits into the American democratic model.
Weiser framed his answer with historical context.
Stukey says he had initial questions, but he says those questions have been answered.
The primary winner will face David Claridge in the November general election.
The forum ends KVOE News’ special interview series for the primary election cycle. Meanwhile, offsite voting continues at the Fairgrounds Anderson Building through Saturday afternoon. Hours are through 6 pm Thursday, 10 am to 4 pm Friday and 9 am to 1 pm Saturday. Wednesday’s first of offsite voting had nearly 70 ballots cast. In-office voting at the Lyon County Courthouse begins Monday. Special dropboxes at the Courthouse and a parking lot directly east of the Lyon County Law Enforcement Center are now open for advance mail ballots.
