Travis Hitt says past campaigns for Emporia City Commission have helped to shape his current run for office, and he addressed several pressing matters in KVOE’s final Candidate Spotlight of the 2025 election cycle.
Hitt is into his third run for office, narrowly missing a seat two years ago, and offered his thoughts on property taxes, potential consolidation and economic development partners. On property taxes, Hitt says a question residents should ask is whether they are getting the biggest bang for their buck.
One option for reducing property taxes countywide would be some level of city-county consolidation in much the same way as Emergency Communications. Hitt says further study is at least warranted.
On economic development, Hitt says the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas is in an upheaval period with a permanent president position open for nearly 20 months and the board restructuring earlier this year as directed by the City Commission. Those components factor into what Hitt says is a need for public accountability for the economic development agency.
Residents wanting more information on City Commission candidate viewpoints on different topics can go to the KVOE.com Voter Information Guide courtesy of Community National Bank. The full interviews are linked in that page and also part of our separate Candidate Spotlight page.
