Hays Democrat Eber Phelps filed Monday to run again for the Kansas 111th Dist. seat.
By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Hays Democrat Eber Phelps has filed to run for the 111th District House seat.
He filed Monday in Topeka for the seat currently held by another Hays resident, Republican Barb Wasinger.
Phelps was defeated by Wasinger two years ago by just 35 votes, following a ballot recount and lawsuit that was ultimately dismissed.
"That's pretty close. It wasn't long after that a lot of people came up to me and were very encouraging that I run again," Phelps told Hays Post Tuesday afternoon.
Phelps is currently a Hays city commissioner. He was appointed this spring to fill the unexpired term of commissioner James Meier who moved to Wichita for a job.
The city seat was open for the Nov. 2 general election. Phelps, who has previously served several terms, did not run.
Phelps has also served previous terms as the 111th Dist. state representative and keeps a close eye on the state legislature.
"I think we have a governor that wants to continue the work of the 2017 session," Phelps said, "when we turned things around from what the Brownback administration had
done as far as a lot of the [budget] cuts and kind of getting us into a financial bind.
"Subsequently, the vote we had to overturn Brownback's tax plan has actually proved to be very positive.
"I think I have the motivation to continue that work with our current governor and not really worry about what some of these outside lobbying interest groups think."
Phelps, and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, both support expansion of Medicaid in Kansas.
"The current representatives of Ellis County have been adamantly opposed to that," Phelps pointed out.
"In the meantime, our state has passed up billions of dollars. So I believe just that vote alone brings a positive outlook for Hays."
Phelps also talked about the importance of funding for education at all levels in Kansas.
"I think we're on track, and we have a governor that's very much in support of improving our mental health offerings in the state of Kansas," he added, noting the importance of the medical community to Hays.
Other issues Phelps has been involved with as a state representative are the oil and agriculture industries, major economic drivers in Ellis County.
House District 111 includes the cities of Hays, Munjor and Victoria, and the following townships: Big Creek (part, Freedom, Herzog (part, Lookout (part, Victoria and Wheatland (part).
Filing deadline for the Nov. 3, 2020 general election is June 1, 2020.