By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Wednesday afternoon, about 100 area residents gathered in the downtown pavilion in Hays to hear Governor Laura Kelly share updates from Topeka.
Kelly spoke about the trials faced by the state due to COVID-19 but started her remarks by sharing thoughts on the challenges that faced the state when she took office.
She said that logical decision-making and a desire to listen to all Kansans has created a stronger state since she took office.
"One of the things I'm most proud of," she said. "We recruited and hired true public servants and experts for leadership positions in state government — folks that are driven by service, not politics."
During the remarks, she noted the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the state, asking the public to look back at the first few weeks of the pandemic.
"It feels like it was so long ago, but let's put ourselves back in that moment," Kelly said. "When our hospitals quickly started to fill to capacity, when our medical personnel were overwhelmed, when many Kansans lost friends, neighbors, parents and all of us felt a sense of isolation. Life had changed, and we didn't have any idea for how long, but we did know we were going to be tested like never before, as a nation and as a state."
She said during that time, she was grateful to the state officials that worked to serve Kansans to the best of their ability despite political beliefs.
These professionals came together and used science to do what was best for the state, she said.
Outside of the struggles caused by the pandemic, Kelly spoke about the economic rebound during her tenure spurred by infrastructure investment.
"We have brought in over $6 billion in new capital investment in cities and over 27,000 jobs," she said, with 130 new infrastructure projects.
"We are fixing roads, we are building bridges and we are allowing access to the internet through increased broadband."
She also noted state cash reserves are higher than at any point in the last 40 years.
"All of this is to say; we are moving in the right direction," Kelly said.
But while most of the remarks spoke to accomplishments, she also shared her disappointment with the actions of some state leaders.
"Despite all of the progress we have made these past few years, there are still some politicians in the state that want to take us backward," Kelly said, "many years backward.
"In fact, some of the same politicians that drove our state into the ground 10 years ago, they want the keys back. Back to the days of budget deficits, four-day school weeks, a broken foster care system, and a stagnant economy. Back to the days when an ideological experiment was designed to rev up a political base, not to run a state. We have come way too far to go back to the Brownback agenda."
Concluding her remarks, she pointed out that while the next election is likely to be a tight race, she is not afraid to fight and champion necessary services, and not just political touchstones.
"If that makes me a little boring sometimes, all the better," Kelly said. "Maybe we could use a little more boring in politics today. Three point five percent unemployment, 27,000 new jobs, fully funded schools, budget surplus, there is nothing boring about that."