SerpApi.Org
Kansans are at a crossroad. Pick any issue, no matter your perspective, and most people agree we’re not solving problems.
Kansans are all exhausted by the divisiveness that plagues politics.
That combination of being mired in problems without progress, and of feeling alienated from neighbors with no voice in government is a strategic choice made by the far-right supermajority in the Legislature.
Divide and conquer is an old trick. Together, we can break its spell.
Kansas Democrats must answer one question: Who can win in November? Topeka partisan insiders? Or two outsiders who have proven records bringing Kansans together - urban and rural, and across party and economic divides.
For 21 years on Overland Park’s City Council, including the last five as mayor, I’ve led a different kind of politics. Nonpartisan local elections may allow that, but there are strongly held and widely diverse opinions in a city of 208,000 people.
While some cities are more effective than others, I welcome any objective analysis of Overland Park’s recent progress. I’m not taking credit for that success, and that’s my point. The Topeka crowd boasts about debate. In the rest of Kansas, we get things done.
We approach problems in Overland Park by anticipating them. We engage residents early, work through various stakeholder perspectives, build consensus and find the compromises that allow progress.
Visit the farmers market at Clock Tower Landing and experience a growing, vibrant downtown Overland Park. That happened because we brought the community together, listened and delivered a first-class public space for farm fresh foods.
Consider public safety where our police work closely with county mental health professionals to deescalate dangerous situations, creating a safer first response and getting people who need help connected to services that can prevent future anger, violence or crime.
Attention to roads and bridges, streetlights, parks and public spaces creates a high-quality of life in the state’s second-largest city. Overland Park thrives because we attract and retain companies with interesting and well-paying jobs. We offer a stable climate that encourages small business, creative and artistic pursuit, and lifelong learning.
We deliver all that while maintaining the lowest property taxes in Kansas, with prudent fiscal management and clear priorities.
My leadership style is born of that success. It starts by confronting issues, engaging people, building consensus and moving interested parties toward solutions.
Compare that to the dysfunctional supermajority in Topeka. For three years, property tax relief was its top priority. Instead of delivering for Kansas families and businesses, lawmakers waste your tax dollars with divisive culture war politics. They create obstacles to the ballot and stir anger, fear and resentment among anyone who disagrees.
I respect my fellow Democrats running for governor. They are doing hard work in a minority. We need more legislators eager to solve problems. But their years of party leadership resulted in Democrats becoming that minority. It’s time for a different leadership style.
I offer a mayor’s mindset that values collaboration over partisan bickering, and accountability for agencies and stakeholders over favors for lobbyists and special interests. That leadership mindset helped Overland Park thrive as one of the most progressive cities in the state. Major corporations in Overland Park tell me employees from their Texas offices want to relocate here because of the quality of life in our welcoming community.
The choices we make will determine if Kansas thrives, or becomes a state mired in divisiveness and decline. My first choice as a candidate was asking Dr. Jen Bacani McKenney of Fredonia to be lieutenant governor. Her leadership in rural health, as a family physician and small businesswoman, indicates the priority I place on lifting every county, every town.
Jen and I offer the THRIVE Kansas Plan as priorities that the right leadership mindset can achieve so everyone sees Kansas as a place to thrive. Learn about it at curtskoog.com/thrive
Mayors get things done. As governor, I will too.
Curt Skoog is mayor of Overland Park and a Democratic candidate for Kansas governor.
