Coronavirus response was one topic of note during KVOE’s Lyon County Commission Second District Candidate Forum on Tuesday, but it wasn’t the only one.
Democrat Ron McCoy and Republican Doug Peck brought similar ideas to the table when it came to taxes, budgets — and, yes, COVID-19. Zoning was one area where there was some separation. McCoy said the current plan needs a reset.
Peck says certain aspects of the plan, now in its fifth draft, should be discarded — not the whole thing.
On coronavirus, Peck says a a mask mandate is not needed countywide at this time.
McCoy says a mask mandate is warranted, but only in certain settings — like inside businesses or offices, not out on a farm.
Both candidates touted their experience with budgets — McCoy as a business owner, Peck as a department head for the Kansas Highway Patrol — as reasons voters should choose them. Both candidates also said taxes are too high and the overall approach to reducing them should be in broadening the tax base as opposed to a massive tax cut. Both also say the current approach of the county using sales tax revenues for nontraditional projects, including scholarships or large-scale purchases, should continue if those expenses are closely monitored.
Both candidates will appear as part of the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce Government Matters Committee and Emporia League of Women Voters Candidate Forum at 6 pm Tuesday. That forum, which will also include Kansas Senate 17th District candidates incumbent Republican Jeff Longbine and challenger Steve Vecchione and Kansas House 60th District candidates incumbent Republican Mark Schreiber and Democrat challenger Todd Maddox, will be on the Chamber’s Facebook page at 6 pm.
KVOE’s Candidate Forum series ends Thursday morning with Schreiber and Maddox on the airwaves. That program starts at 10:06 am. All KVOE Candidate Forums will be in the KVOE.com Audio Vault after their completion.
