MONDAY NOV 23 TOWN HALL MEETING IN BELOIT WITH REP SUSAN CONCANNON AND SEN ELAINE BOWERS

Representative Susan Concannon and State Senator Elaine Bowers Conduct Town Hall Meeting

Monday, November 23, 2015

By Terry Bailey

Two of our local State Legislators, Representative Susan Concannon of Beloit and Senator Elaine Bowers of Concordia made their selves available to their constituents Monday afternoon at the NCK Tech Conference room for a question and answer session. Each made brief opening comments and then opened up the forum for comments from those in attendance. A time period of two hours from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. had been allotted for the meeting. A much longer time period would have been needed for the Representative and the Senator to speak directly to all the questions asked by the crowd of between 80 and 100 constituents. Obligations for them to be at another such meeting dictated their need to stop promptly at 6 p.m. to honor those commitments.

Bowers, a native of rural Delphos, Ks, was first elected the Kansas House of Representative in 2006. After serving four terms in the House, she was elected to the Kanas Senate in 2014. Concannon grew up in Salina and ran for the House of Representatives in 2012 and was reelected to her second term in 2014.

Most of those in attendance were fully aware of the legislative fiasco that took place in Topeka in the early months of 2015. When the legislature convened everyone was aware that money taken in to fund the state government had consistently fallen short of estimated numbers. Everyone knew that strong decisive leadership by the party in control would be necessary to find a workable fix to this budgetary nightmare. Unlike our Federal government, the State of Kansas must balance the books at the end of each fiscal year. Whatever money that is spent must be funded so that the budget does not go in the red.

As the month of January ended, the leadership had not proposed a workable solution. When February ended, no solution had been found. March saw nothing. April drew a blank. The regular session ended in mid-May and the extended session began on May 17. Finally on June 16 the extended session found a way to balance the budget, voted for numerous compromises that nobody really liked, adjourned the session and went home.

Senator Bowers commented, “I grew up understanding that farming was a business and that it needed to operate as such. My husband and I own a car dealership. It is a business and we operate it as such. When I entered the State Government, I looked at it as a business and it should be operated as a business; the business of taking care of the needs of the people of our state. I was wrong. The State Government is about power and politics.”

A very real example of the game of politics recently affected Representative Concannon. As a member of the heal care committee, Concannon believed that Medicaid funded needed to be increased in order to serve more people who were deeply in need. She was vocal with her desire. The leadership of the committee, demanded that she get in line with the party line which was to reduce Medicaid funding. When she did not toe the party line, she was removed from the committee and was replaced by someone who would. A similar set of circumstances will greet the Legislature in January next year as it did last year. Revenue estimates used to build the state budget are continuing to fall short of their goals again this year. This means a budget deficit exists and continues to grow.

Bowers and Concannon both agreed that Governor Brownback has made two points very clear. He will not support any tax increases to raise the necessary money to fund the government. Additionally, Brownback will not support any reductions in services. Concannon said, “The message is clear from the leadership. It is my way or the highway.”

Numerous people in the crowd extended their thanks to the two legislators who have helped numerous people with a wide array of problems.

Both ladies encouraged everyone to contact them by email or the US mail to voice their opinion on issues. They further encouraged their constituents to contact the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, and the Governor if they have an opinion on an issue.

They said, “We want to represent you and work for what you want.

We cannot do that if we do not know your opinion. Please let us know what you are thinking.”

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA