Name and office sought
Senator Kevin Braun – campaign for re-election as Kansas Senator District 5
Age
52
Occupation and experience
Corporate Trainer and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel
Education
Bachelor’s Degree Business Management, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa
Master’s Degree in Business Law, Friends University, Wichita, Kansas
Organizations, clubs, groups to which you belong
United States Army Veteran
Lifetime Member, VFW
Lifetime Member, American Legion
Member of Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church of KC, KS
Member of the Knights of Columbus
Lifetime Member NRA, Member KSRA
Member Chamber of Commerce
Member Kiwanis Club
Member Eagles Club
Reasons for running
The most convincing experience qualifying anyone to be retained in an office is how they have performed to date. Since 2018 I have 100% attendance and 100% voting record. As a Majority Party member of Senate Ways and Means I am at the table for every State budget decision. I chair the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee and delivered a $50,000 increase to Veteran Service Officers. I chair Regulatory Boards and Commissions, am on Subcommittees on Public Safety and delivered full funding for State Law Enforcement, Corrections and delivered Corrections pay increases and Transportation and delivered a $50 million road and bridge local match program. I am a Majority Party Member of Transportation, Education delivering a $360 million increase in K-12 funding and Ethics Elections and Local Government. Only Senate Majority Party members can carry bills and over the past two years I carried several to passage on the Senate floor including a Constitutional Amendment passing the Senate, the House and voted into law by Kansas voters. That bill saved Kansans $850,000. I also carried an amendment to allow the re-opening of the Woodlands. On that bill I earned 19 of the 21 votes required for passage but it demonstrated my commitment and ability to move Wyandotte County specific issues forward. That bill, and several others, are examples of how I actually delivered for Wyandotte County and why I am the only candidate qualified to continue to deliver for Wyandotte County upon re-election. At this point I am quite literally the only State Elected Legislative Official of all ten in Wyandotte County that can be the chairman of a Committee or actually carry a bill on the Senate floor. It has been far too long since the constituents of Wyandotte had an effective legislator representing them in the Kansas Legislature and I plan to continue to be that legislator. I will work across the aisle with the Kansas City, Mayor, Wyandotte County Unified Government Commissioners and members of the Board of Public Utilities on any and all legislation that I believe helps the constituents in my home town of Kansas City, Kansas. With my re-election Wyandotte County is finally being given a chance to be heard and have representation in the Majority Party in the Legislature in Topeka.
In addition, only a Majority Party Senator can be chairman and decide which bills move forward. I will once again hold multiple chairmanships once re-elected. In the case a Senator in the Minority Party from Leavenworth is elected it will result in no bills carried, moved forward or passed by your Senator. If Wyandotte County wants to be represented in the Kansas Senate, I am the only option.
Prior to my success drafting, carrying and passing bills as your Senator I spent 30 years in the private sector business with twenty-two of those being in healthcare. In a parallel career I served 32 years in the Kansas National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve in positions of increasing responsibility culminating in my retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel in August of 2018. My service included two war zone deployments while serving in the Kansas Army National Guard. I earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a master’s degree in Business Law from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.
What are the three most important issues facing this district and how would you handle them?
As your state Senator, my top three current issues are safety, healthcare and the economy which includes business, taxes and education.
I have delivered a safer Kansas. In regard to safety, protecting Kansas families and their property is an essential responsibility of the government. I am fully committed to properly fund law enforcement and demonstrated that by full funding of state law enforcement, first responder agencies and carrying and supporting bills that enhance both. Those actions are why I am endorsed by Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash, our Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and several other local law enforcement and corrections officers.
I have delivered a healthier Kansas. Healthcare is an incredibly important issue in Kansas City, Kansas and I am fully committed to protect the promise of Medicare and Medicaid for the elderly, the disabled, children and pregnant woman. In addition, I was the only legislator to propose doubling the budget for our safety net clinics which includes Mercy and Truth Medical Mission in Kansas City, Kansas. My actions resulted in a $2 million increase in funding. I will not stop fighting until the budget for Kansas safety net clinics is doubled. I am also committed to drive overall healthcare costs down for every Kansan. This commitment to healthcare is why I was endorsed by former Governor and practicing physician Jeff Colyer.
I have delivered a more prosperous Kansas. The business economy, taxes and education are all components of making Kansas more prosperous. I demonstrated my commitment to prosperity by supporting the Governor in the first 30 days with a $50 million COVID relief bill and then voting for local county control to open business safely. We must support and expand small and large businesses to increase revenues and reduce the cost of individual property taxes and income taxes. I did this by voting for lower taxes and by sponsoring and voting for a property tax transparency bill. We currently have over 50,000 unfilled technical jobs in Kansas businesses and we need to fill those with Kansas workers. To support that, I drafted, carried and passed a bill that allows dual credit for high school students to complete classes at technical colleges like Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). This is the comprehensive approach I have taken and will take moving forward to deliver Wyandotte County prosperity. These actions and positions are why I am endorsed by the Kansas Chamber, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Farm Bureau and the Kansas Livestock Association (KLA).
If you are an incumbent, list your top accomplishments in office. If you are not an incumbent, what would you change if elected?
My key accomplishments are referenced in the questions above.
Have you run for elected office previously? When, results?
I ran for this office in 2018 and was unanimously elected by precinct committee members from both Wyandotte and Leavenworth County.
Kevin has shown himself to be a man of integrity with above average work ethnic. As a member of the majority party Kevin did a lot of good for Kansas and WYCO. He is a great asset to Kansas and is one of the few who does not just reach across the isle, he pop in to the offices of Republicans and Democrats alike, to see how they can work together and help Kansas.
I disagree. He voted to tie the the hands of our governor so she could no longer make decisions involving Covid containment. This is partisan pandering. He can’t possibly be concerned about our health. My vote is with his opponent, an Oxford scholar with fresh ideas.