Republican Men's Leadership Series, 2011 Inaugural Class
Comments by Second Congressional District, Vice Chair, Ed O'Brien
One of the big changes that took place in Kansas this year was the creation of the Republican Men's Leadership Series. This project is being Co-Chaired by Steve Fitzgerald and Kelly Arnold. The Men's Leadership Series is patterned after the Woman's Eisenhower, "Excellence In Public Service" Series. http://theeisenhowerseries.org/. The ladies' Eisenhower Series has been around for several years and has helped many of our local ladies become effective political leaders. The Men's Series is a priority for Governor Brownback and it's a great way to get good men involved and prepared to be effective leaders in their communities and state government.
The Men's Leadership Series Honorary Board includes Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran and Congressmen Tim Huelskamp, Mike Pompeo and Kevin Yoder. The Board includes leaders from every segment of society, Tom Zarda of Zarda Dairy and Fr. Matthew Habiger OSB of Benedictine College are among board members. Fitzgerald expects each series to average about fifty men per year for the first few years. This Men's Leadership Series, The Inaugural Class, includes a list of men which reads like the "Who's Who" of Kansas Republican Party politics. Many in this Inaugural Class already hold key positions in state and local government.
Each month series participants focus on different issues or aspects which pertain to Kansas government. We are given the opportunity to hear from speakers who have distinguished themselves as leaders and experts in their fields. In June we met in Topeka, in the House chambers, where we had the opportunity to hear from Leadership Series Co-Chair Steve Fitzgerald and Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer. The morning session also included Jeff Glendening the Vice President of Public Affairs with the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and House Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid.
We heard from Jeff Glendening of the Kansas Chamber. Jeff had several ideas for improving the Kansas economy. Finding ways to lower the tax burden on business owners and taxpayers is paramount. There is a plan to eliminate the earnings tax. As we begin to recover from this economic downturn, revenues will increase. A percentage of the revenue increases will be used to "pay down" the earnings tax until that tax is eventually eliminated. Many feel that this is the best thing we can do to stimulate the economy and create jobs. We heard from House Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid. Arlen reminded us that legislators must be people of character. Above all else they must make sure they are in possession of the facts and always truthful. If they lack integrity, if they fail to be truthful, if they lack moral character much of the good that they could have accomplish will never be realized. He reminded us that we don't have to look very far to see examples of politicians who lacked moral character. Several prominent political figures have brought disgrace to their office and lost the trust and support of the people who elected them. Character is important. Character counts! Arlen commended the Men's Leadership organizers. Arlen told us that he will soon be 65 years of age. Arlen knows that we need people, especially younger people, who are well prepared and equipped to be leaders and ready to take the reins of government. He found it refreshing to know that the Men's Leadership Series is preparing and assisting these future leaders. The afternoon was spent in the Senate chamber where we heard from the Executive Chair of the Kansas Republican Party Clay Barker, Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler and AFP's Alan Cobb.
In July we met at the Sprint Center in Olathe. The focus of the July meeting was Winning Campaigns. Beka Romm gave the key presentation at the "Winning Campaigns" session. Beka is no stranger to winning campaigns. She was formerly employed by American Majority an organization that specialized in identifying and training conservative candidates. We had several elected officials in this Inaugural class, many with tons of accumulated experience at running and winning campaigns, everyone, even those experienced campaigners, was impressed by Beka's expertise.
Beka reminded us that there are several things to consider before throwing your hat into the political ring. Do you have the support of your family, friends and neighbors? What kind of name recognition do you have? What are the voter demographics in your district? Do you have "Fire in your belly"? Can you devote the time, energy and resources needed to win? Once you have decided to run your first order of business is to establish a "Campaign Plan". Beka gave some examples of how the best candidate doesn't always win. The best organized candidate usually wins. Develop a good organization, plan your strategy, and make sure you well versed on the issues. And, this is very important, file on time. If you're not on the ballot winning becomes very remote. I have always believed it's good to file early. The filing deadline for the 2012 elections is June 1st. If you are serious about running you may want to consider filing in January.
We learned that the candidate's main job is campaigning and fundraising. Every aspect of your campaign should provide supporters with the opportunity to contribute financial support. Contributors must understand that they are investing in the future by supporting issues that are important to you and to them. We learned that making effective use of the Internet, creating a web site or a blog, getting on Facebook and learning to tweet are important to a campaigns success. I still have a lot to learn. Beka does all of this very well and if you go to the American Majority web site www.americanmajority.org you can learn from them. They even have an APP for your phone. Candidates must keep in constant contact with team members who are handling items like scheduling, planning fundraising events, coffees, checking the local news for anything that might be of interest to your campaign. Let your Treasurer keep track of the campaign funds and make sure you get frequent updates so good spending decisions can be made in a timely manner. When forming a campaign committee, make sure you have experienced and knowledgeable people there it assist you.
We learned that formulating your message and articulating it in a way that resonates with your audience takes time and thoughtful consideration. Don't address issues that are unfamiliar to you. Talk about your issues, your campaign, and the things you hope to accomplish. Don't hurry responses. Give yourself time to gather your thoughts. Always make sure you have the facts. Making retractions won't be good for your campaign. Campaigns can be chaotic but communications must be well planned.
Kevin Yoder also addressed the Leadership Class. I wasn't a Yoder Voter. Kevin isn't in my congressional district but I'm sure the people of the Third Congressional District are glad that they have Kevin. Catchy phrases like "I'm A Yoder Voter!" are easily remembered and can help win elections. Kevin has done a great job in representing the Third. He spoke of the ongoing budget battle in Washington. Kevin and all of our Kansas Congressional Representatives supported the Cut, Cap, and Balance Bill. That legislation easily passed the House but failed to get the votes it needed in the Senate. House members have done something that the Democrats and President Obama have failed to do. They passed legislation that will safeguard Medicare and social security for future generations while cutting excessive spending, capping future spending and requiring a vote on a balanced budget Amendment to the Constitution. Most recently Kevin joined Congressman Tim Huelskamp and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran in voting against raising the debt limit. Kevin gave us an update on events in congress. We all are aware that President Obama, Senate President Reid and Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi deserve much of the credit for the republican resurgence in the 2010 elections. Their failed and flawed policies didn't resonate well with American voters. I was amazed and disappointed when Reid and Pelosi won re-election. Disappointed at first, but then I realized that this was a good thing and it would go a long way towards helping republicans win more seats in 2012. Kevin told us that House Republicans actually cheered, stood on their chairs and cheered, when they heard that Pelosi had been elected as the Minority Leader for the Democrats.
Clay Barker the Executive Director of the Kansas Republican Party gave us a tutorial on the history of Kansas politics. He also told us about some of the election statistics and data that has been recorded and made available for prospective republican candidates. Don't hesitate to ask Clay for the information you need.
The Men's Leadership Series met in Salina Kansas on August 20, 2011. We began by gathering in the Stiefel Theatre at 8:00 am for coffee and donuts. The Stiefel Theatre first opened its doors in 1931 as the Fox-Watson Theater. The theatre closed as a film house in 1987 and was turned over to a non-profit organization in 1997. After being restored, the theatre re-opened in 2003. This theatre features several entertainment events each month, most to a sellout crowd of 1,300. The stage of this beautifully renovated Theatre proved to be a great place to hear from our guest speakers.
Our first speaker was Dennis Lauver. Dennis currently serves as the President and CEO of the Salina Chamber of Commerce.
Dennis pointed out factors that businesses look for when choosing a location.
In the slide above you can see some of those factors. Dennis emphasizing that state tax rates were not the main factor for those choosing business locations. Dennis believes that local and state incentives are more important to business operations than tax rates.
Dennis says, "Non tax cost factors are more significant in determining the overall cost of operating a facility in each state", and those factors must be considered by prospective businesses. While Dennis dismissed state tax rates as a major economic factor for business locations it makes me wonder why states that have focused on controlling spending and lowering taxes, like Indiana, are attracting businesses from states with runaway budgets and higher taxes like Illinois. I'm sure that incentives work to attract business and I'm sure that workforce availability, cost of living and quality of life also figure in the equation but I'm not as eager as Dennis to dismiss the obvious advantage that low tax states have over those with high tax rates.
I think the importance of the statement "while spending cuts will help control deficient budgets, so will increased revenue brought by economic growth" is significant. We know that Kansas, like many other states, is struggling with revenue shortfalls. Dennis refers to revenue shortfalls as deficient budgets. There are two ways to create revenue shortfalls, overspending and overtaxing. The key word here is OVER. Dennis is absolutely correct when he says that attracting businesses and growing jobs will give us increased revenues and that is exactly what Governor Brownback intends to do here in Kansas.
Representative Tom Arpke, 69th District, Salina talked about School Finance. One of the big factors here is the portion of General Fund revenue that's being provided for education. Funding for K-12 amounts to 52% of general revenue spending. This is a fact that's generally unknown to the vast majority of our Kansas citizens. When spending provided for higher education is included that figure jumps to 65%.
Here's some information that needs to be repeated. By going to www.KansasOpenGov.org we can find the level of funding provided to each school district in Kansas. You can see the per-student funding breakdown, State, Federal and local dollars as well as the amount of unencumbered funds available to each school district. The salaries of school superintendents are also recorded. The average, per-student education funding in Kansas is $12,000. Tom reminded us that there is a big difference between the terms budget and spending. The legislature recently passed a bill allowing schools to tap unencumbered funds to meet their proposed budgets but along with that they must report on how they are spending those funds. Tom is interested to know how much of the school's budget goes for sports.
Kansas Secretary of Revenue, Nick Jordan addressed the Men's Leadership class.
Like CEO Dennis Lauver, Nick told us that tax incentive policies are important.
Nick reminded us about the tax incentives passed by the legislature encouraging new businesses to re-locate in rural economic opportunity zones in Kansas. Western Kansas has been losing population and jobs. This piece of legislation has already improved job availability in western Kansas. Nick reminded us that students who are fresh out of college, Dentist, Doctors and other professionals, who practice their skills in western Kansas can get student loan assistance up to $15,000. Nick said that our small business owners need help. They provide 75% of all the jobs in Kansas. Most of these small business owners have less than 20 employees and yet they provide the bulk of the jobs. The rate of corporate and individual taxes has a huge effect on these small business owners. Kansas has passed legislation that will take a percentage of any excess revenue and use it to buy down the earnings tax. As the economy improves our earnings tax can eventually be eliminated. Many feel that this is good tax policy and will help stimulate our economy.
During lunch we heard from First District Congressman Tim Huelskamp.
Lunch was at Martinelli's Little Italy just across the street from the Stiefel Theatre.
Tim just returned from DC where our country's budget and debt were the main topics of contention. Tim showed us several charts that quite frankly are not very encouraging. We owe trillions and much of that debt is owned by foreign countries.
I believe the American people are somewhat taken aback by the situation we're in. Not too many years ago we were the richest nation on earth and now we're the largest debtor nation on earth. I am concerned for our country and for our children's future.
As Republican leaders we need to be the ones who are ready to step up and do what's necessary to get this country back on track. I believe more congressmen or congresswomen with Tim's resolve are needed. Despite the grim report I'm encouraged because I know that our country's founders, in their wisdom, gave us the opportunity to make changes every two and four years. And change is coming, 2012 is coming.
Ron Seeber also addressed our group. Ron is the VP of Government Affairs Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association.
Ron talked about many aspects of Kansas Agribusiness. He mentioned issues that concern them like the production of ethanol and how those ethanol proponents are often at odds with livestock producers. Production of ethanol increases grain profits for crop farmers but it also increases cost for livestock producers. Ron mentioned that state regulations and oversight isn't always good for their bottom line but he says he much prefers state oversight to Federal regulations that are often counterproductive. Ron also has concerns about re-districting. He knows that rural areas of the state will be losing voices in Topeka. Here's an observation, I recently attended a meeting where there was a complaint about farm odors. My community is one that is partly rural and partly urban. This person complained and said that we didn't need those smelly farms because we can just go to the local super market and get anything we need. While representatives are elected to represent the people of their districts, their constituents are not always informed or equipped to make responsible policy decisions. Keep that in mind when you decide to run for office.
State Treasurer Ron Estes told us that when he took office there was a paltry $880. in the state's coffers. We've been experiencing revenue shortfalls but Kansas has also been on a spending spree. There has been talk about establishing a rainy day fund to help us when we experience revenue shortfalls. My question is, what constitutes a rainy day? And who decides? Everyone under the sun will be claiming they need those funds to make ends meet. Men, the current state statute requiring a 7.5% ending balance hasn't been met for several years. If legislators can't bring themselves to balance the budget and abide by the state statute requiring a 7.5% ending balance how will they keep from raiding a rainy day fund? On a lighter note, Ron told us that there is well over $250,000,000 in unclaimed funds. His office recently located a 91 year old man who had over $500,000 in unclaimed funds. It must be nice to tell someone that you have found their money, especially when it's a large amount of cash. How can someone have that much money and not know about it? Ron knows it happens! The state makes secure investments with those funds and the interest goes into the State's general fund.
In September the Men's Leadership Class will be meeting in Wichita and the topics of discussion will focus on City, County and Social Issues. Abortions, defense of marriage, gambling and illegal immigration are just a few of the topics we will address. We will hear speakers from organizations including The Kansas Policy Institute, American Majority, Americans for Prosperity, Kansans for Life and we'll also hear from Congressman Mike Pompeo.
In October the Men's Leadership Class will meet at the Falcon Lakes Country Club Golf Course in Basehor Kansas. The main topics will include, K-12 Education, Charter Schools and School Choice, Medical Funding challenges in Kansas, etc. Speakers will include 39 District Representative Owen Donohoe, Chiquita Coggs, and many others. The Men's Leadership Series will conclude with a trip to Washington D.C. where class participants will visit with our congressional representatives. Also, the Men's Leadership Series, Inaugural Class, Graduation Banquet is being planned for November. It will likely be held at Cedar Crest. Governor Brownback is expected to personally address the graduating leadership members.
The Men's Leadership Series provides good food, good company and a very informative and valuable political experience. If you are interested in participating in next year's Leadership Series contact me or Steve Fitzgerald and we'll make sure you get the 2012 Men's Leadership Series Application Form. Classes are limited in size and applicants must be confirmed by the Board of Directors, so get your application in early. The Men's Leadership experience is something you'll never forget. |