With Rep. Tom Burroughs not running for re-election to the 33rd District, Kansas House, the primary has attracted five candidates, including three Democrats.
Burroughs served in the Legislature for 26 years, including a role as minority leader in 2015.
Three Democrats and two Republicans now are running for their party’s nominations in the Aug. 2 primary.
Taylor R. Dean, Bill Hutton and Mathew Reinhold are running for the Democratic nomination.
Clifton Boje and Mike Thompson are running for the Republican nomination.
Early voting starts Saturday in person in Wyandotte County. For details on early voting, see https://wyandotteonline.com/early-voting-in-person-starts-saturday/.
Taylor Dean is a Turner resident and union laborer who supports a minimum wage of $15 an hour, improved working conditions, legalizing cannabis and expanding Medicaid, he said.
“You hardly ever hear of too many politicians at the national or state level who really care about appealing to workers and prioritizing the policies advocated by the labor movement, and I wanted to bring those ideas into the public discourse,” Dean said.
Dean, 28, is a community activist and member of the Wyandotte County Young Democrats. From Junction City, Kansas, he has a degree from Kansas State University. His bachelor’s degree is in history with a minor in political science.
He moved to the Kansas City area in 2018 to work on the Proposition A campaign in Missouri, and he said he discovered that Wyandotte County was the place in the metropolitan area that most appealed to him. He said he had been involved with campaigns before, but never realized the amount of work that takes place.
Dean originally filed for the 37th District this spring, but redistricting lines later were drawn that placed him in the 33rd District. His home was one block away from the new redistricting line. He then decided to refile for the 33rd District after hearing that Rep. Burroughs would retire.
Dean is an eight-year member of Laborers Local 1290, and in his free time he likes to volunteer at KC Farm School on Gibbs Road and also is active in his union.
Another issue Dean would like to work on is local control, to get more home rule authority for local communities in the state, he said.
For more information, see https://www.taylordeanforkansas.com/.
Bill Hutton, Kansas City, Kansas, is an attorney who has served as the municipal court judge for Bonner Springs since 2003. He also served as municipal court judge in Kansas City, Kansas, from 1996 to 1999, and as a hearing officer for the Kansas City, Kansas, Housing Authority since 2018.
Hutton, 67, attended Washington High School and has degrees from Kansas City Kansas Community College and the University of Kansas, where he received a bachelor’s degree and law degree.
Hutton cited Burroughs’ retirement as a reason for running. “I felt my community-wide experience and interest and involvement would be an asset to the state legislature,” he stated in a questionnaire for the Wyandotte Daily.
Hutton’s three top issues are Medicaid expansion, a push for a statewide vote on the Medicaid issue in 2023; elimination of the sales tax on food, fast-tracked to eliminate it as early as 2023; and full funding of the public schools, supporting legislation to encompass special education, school safety and technology in the upcoming session.
If elected, Hutton stated he would seek to forge alliances across the aisle in the Legislature, working with Democrats and Republicans alike on common goals.
Hutton is active in the Wyandotte County Historical Society, Downtown Shareholders of KCK, Wyandotte County YMCA Advisory Board, Union Station volunteer, SMID Board and Wyandotte County Bar Association.
Hutton has been endorsed by the Kansas National Education Association, the Tri-County Labor Council, Firefighters Local 64, the Greater Kansas City Building and Trades Council, the Kansas Contractors Association and KC BizPAC.
Hutton previously ran for the state Senate in 2016, in a district that was 60 percent Leavenworth County and 40 percent Wyandotte County, losing in the general election by less than 1 percent of the vote.
For more information, see https://www.facebook.com/BillHutton33rd.
Mathew Reinhold said he is running on a working class platform of utility reform, trying to end the state ban on rent control for local municipalities, and end the state ban on local wage reform. He is in favor of a $15 minimum wage. He also favors rebuilding the local ad valorem tax relief fund to get tax relief to people.
He said he has seen friends and coworkers working multiple jobs but not able to keep their heads above the water. The Legislature needs to focus more on bread-and-butter issues, he said.
Reinhold, 24, is seeking office for the first time. His current occupation is cook. He said he decided to run just in the past six months, when it seemed like times were harder and politicians were out of touch with that reality.
He was raised in the Leavenworth area and spent the last three years of high school at Lansing High School, he said. He studied linguistics at the University of Kansas, where he finished coursework but has not yet received his degree, he said.
Reinhold said if elected, he wants to be a very visible member of the community, attending events and local meetings, and be accessible.
He said he wanted to hold town hall meetings and take the input back to Topeka. He added he would like to actively fight for his platform in the Legislature.
For more information, see https://mathewreinhold2022.wixsite.com/website.
A story about the Republican candidates for the 33rd District is planned next week. Thompson is a Bonner Springs councilman, and is not the former weatherman by the same name who is serving in the Senate. Boje is the founder of Acorn Performing Arts.
To contact Mary Rupert, editor, email [email protected].