By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Reese Barrick, a Hays city commissioner, says his participation in last month's local No Kings protest was intended to draw attention to tariffs declared by President Donald Trump, which Barrick claims negatively affect Kansas and Hays.
Barrick shared several of his reasons at the end of the Nov. 6 city commission work session because, he said, "it did stir up a lot of controversy about why a city commissioner would do that."
Barrick first mentioned the push to build affordable housing in Hays and the 30% tariff placed on Canadian lumber.
"That's not going to make housing cheaper. That hasn't really hit us hard yet, but by the time we get 140 houses starting to be built (in the Tallgrass Addition Phase 4 and other developments), that's going to impact the cost of our housing," Barrick said. "That affects us locally."
He discussed the Kansas agricultural economy, saying that there have been zero exports of milo to China.
"That affects local ag, meaning people will go out of business or sell to corporate farms, which means no people living in western Kansas, he said."
Soybeans have fared better. A recent agreement was made regarding the sale of U.S. soybeans after Trump eased his stance against China.
During his Oct. 30 meeting with Trump, China's President Xi agreed to buy 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans annually for the next three years, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Barrick also talked about the large beef industry in Kansas.
"Our president gave $40 billion to Argentina in order to open up bringing more foreign beef into the U.S. How is that going to help Kansas farmers?" Barrick said.
"It's going to kill the population of western Kansas," he said, "which affects Hays directly."
Hays is a major retail hub for northwest Kansas and relies on local sales tax revenue to fund the operations of the general fund.
Barrick said, "more people should probably be out protesting the things that directly affect the city of Hays. I'm willing to put myself out there, and that's fine. I accept that."
Barrick, a Democrat, said he was publicly criticized for his protest participation by the Ellis County Republican Party and speculated that played a role in why he was not reelected to office.
He came in fourth place in the Nov. 4 election behind newcomer David Vilaysing, who captured the third open seat on the Hays City Commission.
"I'm not even sad," Barrick said. "I think the process went through the way it's supposed to. I think the person who won is going to do a really good job."
He said he's looking forward to a bright future for Hays, but was also afraid of things that are going to affect Hays directly.
"I just wanted to take the opportunity to publicly say to the Ellis County Republicans who said I'm an embarrassment because I took the democratic opportunity that we have in this country to protest things happening that our president is doing that affects out city directly," Barrick said.
"I'm okay with that and the fact that that hurt me (in the election) is fine because some things, to me, are bigger than winning or losing an election," he said.
Barrick told Hays Post this week the objections to Trump he wrote on the sign he was holding came from suggestions made by Jimmy Kimmel, late night television show host and comedian.
"The sayings were about not wanting a king or dictator running this country. If you want to make Trump mad, make fun of him," Barrick said.
"Trump's tariffs are a violation of the Constitution. Only Congress has the power to enact tariffs. The comments I made at the city commission work session were policy reasons why a person from here would protest his actions," Barrick said.
Commissioner Alaina Cunningham, who was not up for re-election, commented after Barrick's remarks.
"Personal beliefs of the commissioners, whether they're political or not, get left at the door," she said.
"Everybody up here and in the past, from what I have seen, really tries to do the best for the community as a whole.
"It's not an easy job. You cannot make every person happy, and there are hard decisions. But truly, I feel like all commissioners present definitely do what is best in their decision-making," Cunningham said.
Mayor Sandy Jacobs, who was reelected, pointed out that the Hays City Commission is a nonpartisan body.
"That's the reason when you vote, there's no 'D' or 'R' behind a name," Jacobs said. "The only way to do a good job for this community is in a nonpartisan way."