ALTHOUGH THE PHRASE is falling into disrepute these days, The Gazette has no problem advising its readers to “Stay the course” in three statewide races.
Secretary of State Ron Thornburg, Treasurer Lynn Jenkins and Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger all do their jobs well and The Gazette sees no reason to replace them. The three — all Republicans — are in nuts-and-bolts jobs that require them to work with the public daily. Each has established a reputation as a competent, dedicated public servant.
The same cannot be said for Attorney General Phill Kline, who has taken an office that is supposed to serve all of the people of Kansas and used it as a bargaining chip to advance his own political ambitions. His re-election campaign is designed to appeal to voters’ basest emotions.
It speaks to Kline’s performance in office that the main thrust of his campaign is not to extoll his own performance in doing the people’s business, but to attempt to portray his opponent as evil incarnate. Kline is trying to scare Kansans into voting against their own best interests.
Kline’s opponent is not evil. Paul Morrison, a Democrat, is a good man and a dedicated and gifted prosecutor. In his 17 years as district attorney for Johnson County, Morrison has done more good for the people of Kansas than Kline has accomplished — or is likely to accomplish — in his entire political career.
Assuming that the people of Kansas vote their best interests and not their worst fears on Tuesday, Morrison will make a fine attorney general and Kline will be the unlamented former attorney general.
Compared to the attorney general race, the contest for governor has been a quiet tea party. Certainly, there have been passionate debates between the Democratic incumbent, Kathleen Sebelius, and her Republican challenger, Emporian Jim Barnett, but both have pretty much stuck to issues and neither has accused the other of being the Antichrist.
Four years ago, The Gazette gave its endorsement to Sebelius and has seen no reason since to regret it. She has been a fine governor, has done good things for the state and has attracted favorable national attention for herself and Kansas.
But Barnett is a special case for Emporians. They know him as a good doctor, a fine school-board president, a valuable member of the community’s diversity task force and an effective state senator.
Barnett and Sebelius are both intelligent and both care about the people of Kansas. Like most successful Kansas Democratic politicians, Sebelius sticks to the middle of the road. Barnett, like most successful Republicans, pulls a bit to the right.
And this is where the editorial board ran aground. The board could find no fault or fatal flaw in either candidate. Like Pilate washing his hands of the judgment, the board turns this one over to the mob.
Vote how you will and the state is likely to survive and prosper.
But the board did made one last tough call.
In the 9th District Kansas Board of Education contest, the choice is again between two strong candidates. Republican Jana Shaver and Democrat Kent Runyan both have long experience in education. Both have campaigned as moderating influences on the state’s runaway school board.
Shaver’s experience is in the public schools, while most of Runyan’s is in higher education. For the editorial board, that gave an edge to Shaver, but one thing stood in the way.
In her primary campaign, Shaver, upset because her information had been left out of a small newspaper’s voter’s guide, opened the newspaper’s racks and inserted her material into each newspaper. Shaver quickly apologized, but the incident raised question about her ability to make good decisions under pressure.
It may seem a small thing, but it was enough to give Runyan The Gazette’s endorsement.
The Editorial Board
under_score (anonymous) says...
Thanks for your opinion on who to vote for, I know we all look to the Emporia gazette to help us make our decisions. Why is it that everyone with a public platform to speak on like the Emporia Gazette has to try to push their ideas on to everyone else. Please do everyone a favor and just report the news, without bias, and let people make decisions for themselves.
November 4, 2006 at 10:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jasonc_22 (anonymous) says...
Newspapers have opinion pages so they can offer their opinions. Since they are opinions, you have the right to ignore them or take them to heart. To ask a newspaper to "just report the news" is silly- that's all they do. But, on the opinion page, the heart of the newspaper, they are obliged and, indeed, required to offer up what the newspaper feels is right, just, and appropriate.
To ask them to do otherwise is shameful.
November 7, 2006 at 8:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )