Party: Republican
Age: 60
Profession: President, Authentic Ag Inc. Long-time radio and television agricultural broadcaster
Community involvement: Former township trustee, former school board member, past Phillips County Farm Bureau Ppresident, Rotary, plus many other community roles
You are a long-time elected official, why do you continue to seek office? What fresh ideas would you bring to the Legislature?
There is still work left to do. With a new governor and new members of the House of Representatives coming in, it is important that the voices of the 110th District are heard and considered when it comes to legislative matters.
What do you think is the top issue facing the Legislature in 2027? Water and taxes
What would be your top priority in Topeka if elected? Water
Higher education institutions across the country are seeing enrollment declines. How would you support higher education, including capital needs, while keeping tuition affordable? Would you support state funds to save the Sternberg Museum?
As past chair of the higher education budget, we increased funding to our institutions and froze tuition. I think this question leaves it wide open. There is no line item in the state budget for the Sternberg Museum, while it is a treasure for not only Fort Hays, the city of Hays and all of Kansas, it is housed at Fort Hays State University and all stakeholders need to come together for a long-term sustainable solution.
How do you think the Legislature should address property taxes? Do you support the cap that failed to become law last session? If you support a different plan, what is it?
Property tax rates are determined by the counties. We need to stop talking over each other and have real discussions. We will have a new Legislature and new governor so I think any plan moving forward will not look like those in the past. I trust members of the tax committees to work through the process and see if a plan has the votes to pass.
Do you think the K-12 funding formula needs to be changed? How? Would you support more state funding for special education?
The K-12 funding formula will go through its process over the next session. I will continue to be a strong advocate for our smallest school districts and that any formula treats them fairly. I have voted in support of more funding for special education in the past, and I hope that the federal government will do their part to make it more of a broad funding measure.
Do you think the state needs to ban or further regulate data centers?
The state should not be picking winners and losers when it comes to which community hosts one of these. This is an issue that should be left to the counties to decide.
There are so many things that can be negotiated for one of these facilities, I think you will see additional safeguards attempted to put in place in addition to those in SB 98. I would like to have a plan of what happens when these or other utilities are decommissioned and what happens after to the landowner and county. One thing we know is the technology of data centers continues at a rapid pace.
What if anything, do you think the state should do to promote cyber security? Do you think the state needs to regulate AI? If so, how?
I believe the state should work with the counties, so they have the tools they need to be cyber secure with our data and business we have with each county.
I am working on a bill that would work with our smaller counties to have someone be their go-to for all those security issues.
If we want regulation of AI, [it] should be a function of the federal government. We do not want 50 different rules and regs when it comes to AI, much like data centers, it continues to evolve at a rapid pace.