Tag: Election 2020

Nelson R. Gabriel is a Democratic candidate for the 35th District of the Kansas House. He recently responded to a Wyandotte Daily election questionnaire.

The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 4. Early voting is ongoing in Wyandotte County, and voting by mail also is available.

Age: 52

Occupation and experience
• President and CEO, Made Men Inc.
• Former Louisiana Democratic Representative (House District 90B)
• Former President and CEO, Unity in the Community

Education
• General Education Diploma (Texas Department of Education)
• Attended Donnelly College
• Attended Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Organizations, clubs, groups to which you belong
• Member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Lifetime Member of NAACP

Reasons for running
I am running for election as Kansas State Representative – District 35 because I have lived in the district for 20+ years and know the challenges the district faces. In our district we have many residents that have no healthcare, which is so crucial during this COVID-19 pandemic. Our education system is suffering from inadequate funding to pay our teachers a good wage, and our kids the necessary tools for a quality education. 30% of Wyandotte County do not have a high school education, and specifically, within our district 46% are without a high school education. Daily, through my nonprofit organization, I work with and assist many children and families in child welfare to connect them with churches and community services to ensure that our kids have the resources needed to have a normal life, and a loving home.

I am also running because I have been disappointed by lack of engagement and accountability from my opponent. He has failed to do his part to attract the partners and resources to spur new economic development and to revitalize our neighborhoods and businesses.

What are the three most important issues facing this elected office and how would you handle them?

Expanding Medicaid: I will work to build a consensus to expand Medicaid for 8,736 uninsured residents of Wyandotte County that will improve access to care, create economic impact and job creation. During this campaign, I recently spoke with a lady who needs treatment, but has a Medicaid waiting period that would be immediately resolved with the expansion of Medicaid.

Education: Education is the best investment we can make for our children. I will work to ensure that our schools have the best funding possible, and work with our local school board leaders, administration and parents to hear and bring their concerns back to Topeka, with hopes of being their elected voice. Additionally, we have seen a decreased amount of support from our state when it comes to funding our public institutions of higher education. The burden of costs has been shifted to students. I hope to continue to be an advocate to speak up for increased investment of state dollars into higher education.

Child Welfare: Within the overall child welfare crisis in the U.S., there exists an acute problem of racial disproportionality that adversely affects children of color. Black/African-American children, particularly those living in under-resourced communities such as Kansas City’s urban core, are disproportionately involved in foster care. For example, black children make up 6% of the total population of children in Kansas, but they constitute 14% of all children in foster care. A rate higher than 1 signifies an over-representation in foster care – a major problem – but one that is solvable. If elected, I will continue to work with social service agencies, churches, and our community to ensure that all our kids have more than enough.

If you are an incumbent, list your top accomplishments in office. If you are not an incumbent, what would you change if elected?

• Fresh perspective: I will use my time in office to be part of active change, not get comfortable for the next 20 years. I will be an active participant in bills that affect the community, sponsor at least 1 bill taken from the voice of my community.

• Collaborative: I will seek partnerships with those willing to work with me to bring new resources, partnership, and innovation to our community.

• Visible: I will have a district office that is accessible to the public and a model for initiative and progress. It is very important to be visible in our community to hear and understand the needs of those we have been elected to serve.

• Accountable: I will provide regular communication to my constituents via email, newsletter, townhall and social media to bring the work of Topeka home to the people it affects the most. I will not sit passively and watch our community struggle. I will work every day doing my part to make sure people prosper.

Have you run for elected office previously? When, results?
Yes, 1987 I ran for Louisiana Democratic Representative (House District 90B) and won, becoming the youngest elected official in both the state of Louisiana, and the United States of America.

by Mary Rupert

Candidates for Wyandotte County District Attorney discussed their views of plea deals at a virtual candidate forum held Thursday afternoon, July 23.

Challenger Kristiane Bryant said plea deals should not be made in lieu of going to trial on a difficult case.

Incumbent District Attorney Mark Dupree said plea deals are not leading to an increase in crime, but are helping people focus on the underlying issues why defendants may keep committing crimes, and arranging behavioral treatment for some.

Bryant said there is a substantial surge in violent crime in this community, victims need to be treated with respect, and everyone deserves to be treated fairly and consistently by the district attorney’s office. She said the community should be engaged in discussions to help reduce crime.

Dupree said he created the first conviction integrity unit in the history of the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office. That unit examines selected old cases to determine if there were wrongful convictions. He also is in the process of starting a community integrity unit to examine law enforcement misconduct in Wyandotte County. He also said he had changed the culture of the office, created a youth mentoring program and a community liaison board. He has sought to make the office’s processes more just, and that has resulted in political attacks, he said.

On the topic of plea deals, Dupree said over 85 percent of all criminal cases in any jurisdiction, including Wyandotte County, are pled out. None of the jurisdictions are taking everything to court, he said.

Yes, there has been an increase in plea deals in the district attorney’s office, he said. He said a behavior health court for people who have behavioral health problems helps look at underlying issues of defendants. In order to reduce crime, they have to look at recidivism, and the reasons for crime occurring again, he added. Plea deals also are being made in veterans’ court, he said. Some of these courts point defendants in the direction of behavioral treatment.

“Some people need to go to prison,” he said. “Not all people need to go to prison.”

He disagreed that plea deals are leading to an increase in crime. Unless people are focusing on underlying issues, they cannot focus on how to reduce the crime here, which is why they have focused on community trust and community transparency, he said.

“We have to continue to focus on being smart on crime, take each case with the facts and evidence you have on each case,” he said. “One shoe does not fit all.”

While there is a place in the judicial system for plea agreements, they need to be made mindfully, Bryant said.

The district attorney’s office needs to take into consideration the victims’ perspective and what their input is; the level of danger someone poses to the community; and what is a fair and just outcome, she said.

“They absolutely should have a place, but it shouldn’t be in lieu of going to trial on a difficult case,” Bryant said.

“If we routinely plead down violent crime cases and let people walk free that are causing damage to our community, we are much less likely to have witnesses and victims that come forward and report crimes, and ultimately participate in the process in the criminal justice system,” she said.

She said the office needs to communicate with victims about what the district attorney’s office does, being consistent with respectful communication.

Other topics discussed at the forum included reaching out to minority communities and criminal justice reform.

Dupree said he has implemented policies for criminal justice reform, including the conviction integrity unit in the district attorney’s office.

Dupree was elected district attorney in 2016. He had prior experience as a criminal defense attorney and as an assistant prosecuting attorney. He serves as a member of the Kansas Sentencing Commission and the Kansas Commission on Racial Equity and Justice.

Bryant was an assistant district attorney in the Wyandotte County district attorney’s office for seven years, until 2016. She also worked in the Kansas attorney general’s office for more than three years, including section leader, coordinating prosecutors of sexually violent predator cases. She is currently the trial team leader of the violent crimes unit in the Jackson County prosecutor’s office, managing attorneys and prosecuting homicide, robbery and assault cases.

Dupree’s last available campaign finance statement from the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission online, which is more than six months old, showed a loan from himself to his campaign.

Bryant’s last available campaign finance statement from the ethics commission online, which is more than six months old, showed contributions from Martin Cervantes; Don Gray; Jennifer Tatum, an attorney; and from Bryan Underwood, bail bondsman, as well as a contribution from the candidate.

The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 4. Early voting has started and mail ballots also are available.

The July 23 forum was sponsored by Business West and Kansas City Kansas Community College.

The program was moderated by Murrel Bland, executive director of Business West and former editor of the Wyandotte West newspaper. Panelists at the program were Elnora Tellis Jefferson, with the Historic Midtown Neighborhood Association; Edgar Galicia, Central Avenue Betterment Association; and Mary Rupert, editor, Wyandotte Daily.

The candidate forum for DA contest is online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3QuXngQMMY/

The forum also will be shown on KCKCC’s cable television station. To see a schedule of times, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/candidate-forums-to-be-shown-on-cable-tv-and-online/.

To see questionnaires from the two candidates, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/candidates-for-district-attorney-tell-qualifications/.

Stories about Election 2020 are found under the category tab “Election 2020” or at https://wyandotteonline.com/tag/election-2020/.

For more election information, visit the Wyandotte County Election Office website at https://wycovotes.org/.

Rep. Stan Frownfelter, D-37th Dist., is seeking re-election. His campaign recently responded to a Wyandotte Daily election questionnaire.

The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 4. Early voting is ongoing in Wyandotte County, and voting by mail also is available.

Age: 69

Occupation and experience: I have served in Kansas House for the 37th District since 2007. I have also been a small business owner for over 30 years.

Education: I attended Oak Grove Elementary School, Highland Junior High School, Turner High School, Bachelor’s Degree from Emporia State University, and some post-graduate hours at the University of Kansas.

Reasons for running: I’m not your average politician. I didn’t get into this for glory or attention. I first threw my hat in the ring after my mother sat me down and asked me to. She reminded me that I had always been a fighter for the underdog. She wanted to see the community that raised me, taken care of. She knew that if anyone could do something to help fix our community that I was that person. I’m seeking re-election to continue building on the legacy of helping my community and being a voice for the voiceless, just like my mom asked me to.

Three most important issues facing the district:

• In the middle of a global pandemic the likes of which most of us have never seen; making sure Kansans have access to affordable health insurance and prescription drug costs remains one of my top priorities. I was proud to vote “yes” on the Medicaid expansion bill that passed the House last year but was then killed in the Senate. When I am re-elected I will once again fight to see Medicaid expansion passed in the House and will do what I can to help my Senate colleagues pass it in the Senate as well. I also remain committed to getting prescription drug costs lowered as no one should have to choose between a life-saving medication and a meal.
• As we are facing an economic and budget crisis in the State that could rival that of the 2008 Great Recession, it is important that we make sure our small businesses are able to stay afloat. I will do everything I can to make sure that the American Dream is able to become a reality for more of our small business owners. This includes expanding the type of small businesses here in Kansas, such as allowing medicinal cannabis small businesses to exist, which would mean legalizing medicinal cannabis. When there was a medicinal cannabis bill on the House floor I was extremely happy to vote ‘yes’ so that we could get some much-needed revenue to our state, and patients can have access to a form of medication that has been proven to be effective for multiple ailments.
• Even before the Covid-19 crisis, Kansas was in dire need of bringing back our middle class, that has just been decimated over the years. The way I want to do this is by bringing a liveable wage to Kansas workers. In 2009 I lead the charge in getting the largest minimum wage increase in Kansas history passed. Now, I want to build on that legacy and bring a liveable wage to Kansans. I will fight for the workers of Kansas to be provided with either $15 an hour with benefits, or if a company does not want to offer benefits, $20 an hour so that employees can afford to find insurance on their own. But a liveable wage is just one piece of the wage puzzle. Once re-elected I will also continue to fight to bring prevailing wage back to Wyandotte county for our skilled labor workers.
  

List of accomplishments as an incumbent:

• I have been honored to be endorsed by our labor unions every year that I have sought election for the 37th District House seat.
• Former Assistant Leader of the House
• I was the lead Democrat to help pass the highest minimum wage increase in Kansas history
• I was key in getting an abandoned property (blight) clean up bill passed in the House and Senate, only to have it vetoed by former Governor Brownback.
• I voted to uphold Governor Kelly’s veto to strike down the abortion amendment and protect a woman’s right to choose.
• During negotiations for Brownback’s last tax bill, I knew when to lead my colleagues into holding out for some concessions from the Republicans. This led to us being able to keep guns out of hospitals and we were also able to get a childcare tax credit for working Kansas families.
• As the ranking member of the Labor and Economic Development Committee, I used my knowledge of contractual language to change certain words (“shall” and “will” to “may”) in certain statutes in order to help Governor Kelly close some of the loopholes that Brownback had created.
• I was the last Democrat in 10 years to sit in the Speaker’s chair and run the floor of the House.
• I was involved in redistricting in 2010 and so I have the experience needed to fight gerrymandering when we face redistricting next year. I have also spent the last 4 years researching, attending national meetings, and preparing for redistricting next year so that I am able to help lead the charge in getting our districts drawn fairly.
• I am one of the largest fundraisers for the Kansas Democratic Party
• I was able to negotiate and convince the Republican chair of the Utilities and Telecom committee to change the dates and times of the committee so that we were able to meet at more reasonable times and get more accomplished.
• I have been able to build a reputation of being trustworthy and someone that can get the job done. That is why even during the Republican supermajority in our State Legislature, I have been able to get multiple pieces of legislation passed to help the people of my district.