My Platform
Kansas was built by hardworking people who believe in community, responsibility, and looking out for their neighbors. From the wheat fields of western Kansas to the small towns that power our local economies, rural communities are the backbone of our state.
This campaign is rooted in one clear mission: building rural power for Kansans.
Key Causes
Property Taxes: Local governments, school districts, and hospital districts are dependent on property taxes. As population shrinks and algorithms buy property, taxes go up faster than wages. With inflation, rural life becomes unaffordable and our communities collapse. In the short term, we need to change the property tax formula to lighten the load. We should also redistribute general fund dollars to offset local mill levies.
State Permanent Fund: In the long term, the state should establish a permanent fund that allows municipal, county, school, and hospital districts to invest in it. The fund will disburse a yearly, predictable, return which should replace property taxes.
Health Insurance: Greedy insurance companies deny coverage for basic diagnostic services, prescribed drugs, and necessary treatments. When people with disabilities, children with special needs, and hard-working people who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford insurance fail to get treatment, hospital expenditures and ultimately, local taxes increase. We should expand Medicaid and regulate insurance denials so that hardworking rural people get the medical care they deserve.
Rural Healthcare: The fastest-growing population in rural Kansas are those 55 years and older. Financing critical access hospitals and modern household model nursing homes with memory care could create a half billion-dollar industry in northwest Kansas. In turn, this would create high paying jobs and draw highly talented professionals, which then creates demand for more services in local communities. We should budget a down payment on USDA Community Facility loans for rural communities to invest in their future.
Education: Rural schools are often one of the top three employers in our communities. Our schools teach us the value of teamwork and friendship. But Topeka wants to take your tax dollars and redistribute those dollars to private schools in Johnson County and Wichita. I will defend public education and advocate for a more fair funding formula for rural public schools. And I will fight for fully funding special education.
Housing: Every rural person deserves housing that is up to code, affordable, and increases in value over time. The state needs to develop rural-specific programs for rehabbing existing rural housing, building new rural housing that fits each town’s unique character, and offering tax incentives for developers that allow housing to be sold at lower than cost. Purchasers can then create equity and are incentivized to remain in rural communities. Such programs should work with local communities, schools, childcare and healthcare entities.