Video from Scott Seel’s announcement this morning.

Don't Drink, Drive and Hide.

Below is a press release sent out to local media earlier today by the Whipple for Kansas campaign:

Candidate Brandon Whipple is outraged by the actions of State Representative Phil Hermanson, hiding an arrest, DUI charges and injuring two Kansans. According to a Wichita Eagle article, Hermanson (R-96) was arrested last November for driving under the influence after a wreck that put Kansas residents Kathy Spencer, then 46, and Mary Sheppard, then 77, in the hospital. Spencer has yet to fully recover.

Whipple’s thoughts and prayers go out to Kathy and Mary. “Phil Hermanson chose to put our community at risk and hid his arrest for more than six months,” said Whipple. “There is no excuse for his actions and our community deserves better representation.”
After hiding his arrest from the voters for more than six months, Hermanson’s moral character is in doubt. The Whipple campaign is calling for Hermanson’s resignation.

I, for one, support Brandon Whipple’s call to oust Hermanson. He withheld his DUI arrest from the public for more than six months. He injured two women, one of which has yet to fully recover.

A person of his “moral character” should not be a state representative. If he was under the influence at 11:50 in the morning, how do we know he keeps a clear mind when casting votes that affect the lives of every citizen in our community?

If you have not read the Eagle article about Phil Hermanson’s DUI arrest, I encourage you to do so.

Representative Phil Hermanson arrested for DUI. Hid arrest for six months.

The Wichita Eagle this morning broke the story of State Representative Phil Hermanson was arrested last November for driving under the influence after a mid-day wreck that put Kansas residents Kathy Spencer, then 46, and Mary Sheppard, then 77, in the hospital. Spencer has yet to fully recover. The story comes more than six months after the accident.

The wreck occurred at 11:50 in the morning on November 6, 2009 in a construction zone. Witnesses told the Eagle that despite the cold, Hermanson was wearing only a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and socks. Multiple witnesses report that Hermanson was speeding in the construction zone and did not apply the breaks before he plowed in to the women’s car. Hermanson failed a field sobriety test and refused a blood-alcohol content test.

Comments posted on the Eagle’s website say that Hermanson used his position as state representative to have his trial delayed multiple time.

If true, when added to the fact that Hermanson hid his arrest for such a long time, the people of southwest Wichita should demand an apology from Hermanson and that action be taken by the leadership in Topeka.

Hermanson is a first-term conservative Republican who represents southwest Wichita.

(Updated to include link to Eagle article)

Wichita resident, Brandon Whipple, officially announced this week that he is running for the Kansas House of Representatives in District 96. Whipple has been deeply involved in the community, working with at-risk students from the Wichita Public Schools. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Wichita State University.

Whipple’s experience working with students and teachers gives him a unique perspective on the Kansas budget. “Our state’s founding fathers wrote the Kansas constitution with the intent to make public education our state’s top priority,” said Whipple. “Even in times of crisis, our legislature must support education.”

Whipple knocked on more than 200 doors, collecting enough signatures to be placed on the ballot. “To be on the ballot you either need public support or you pay a fee to the election commission. Our campaign is about the community and I chose to enter this election with the support of my neighbors.” said Whipple.

The candidate will be speaking at the annual “Ham and Bean Dinner” hosted by the South Sedgwick County Democratic Club. The event is from 5 to 7 p.m., April 10, at the Machinist Building, 3830 S. Meridian.

More information about Brandon Whipple can be found on his campaign Web site.

For Immediate Release:
Elliot Lahn for Kansas House
March 25, 2010

Response to HB 2685

Yesterday, HB 2685 was passed by the House and sent on to the State Senate. This bill would modify state conceal and carry regulations to disallow municipalities and state agencies from banning firearms in public buildings unless these entities can reasonably guarantee that no individual is bringing a firearm into said public building. The only way to realistically meet this burden would be to require state and local government to spend vast amounts of tax payer dollars to install and staff metal detectors at all public buildings.

As a proud, responsible, gun owner, I firmly believe in our right to own and bear arms. I also believe that we must have gun laws that utilize common sense. It is clear that this law has been written and promoted by those who would not be directly affected by the repercussions of allowing firearms in places like college classrooms, courtrooms, police stations, etc. In fact, this legislation has been opposed by the Kansas Board of Regents, the League of Kansas Municipalities, the Kansas Association of Counties, the Kansas Peace Officers Association, the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Kansas Association of Police Chiefs.

Estimates show that if each of Kansas’ 627 municipalities chose to install one (1) scanner, the total cost would be $3,135,000. This cost is simply for the instillation of a single scanner and does not include the annual cost of staffing which could be as high as $35 million dollars per year. This also assumes each city would only install one unit. Many cities have multiple facilities that may require these upgrades.

As it stands today, the majority of people do not bring guns into public buildings and, despite the often heated exchanges, there are relatively few instances of violent or gun related crime in public buildings. There is a stigma that goes along with public buildings in which the fear of being caught with a weapon deters the majority from attempting it. Although this bill technically only applies to those with valid conceal and carry permits, it would effectively remove the stigma that guns and public places don’t mix.

This bill fails the common sense test and is clearly bad policy. It will cost the tax payers tens of millions of dollars per year and do little to nothing in advancing public safety. This is an attempt by certain special interests to stir the pot and is clearly opposed by experts in the field.

Yesterday evening Senate Sub for HB2079 – placing Supreme Court Justices and other judges under the Kansas Campaign Finance Act was debated. The bill drew at least three attempts to amend for purposes unrelated to the original bill. At the end of the debate, the third amendment was not ready, so the bill was “passed over” with no action being taken. 

This bill is now sitting on the Senate’s calendar, but has not been scheduled for future action.

The Kansas Equality Coalition has expressed the following call to action.

Time is critical. Unless the Senate completes debate on this bill in the next few days, it will die at the end of the session. Ironically, at no point in the debate were the merits of the bill actually discussed – all debate was on the unrelated amendments, one of which passed, one of which failed, and the last that was not printed in time for the debate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Derek Schmidt, and the Senate President, Senator Stephen Morris, control the bills that appear on each day’s debate schedule. THEY MUST HEAR FROM US! Please call and email them and ask them to RESCHEDULE SENATE SUB FOR HB2079 FOR DEBATE! IT’S TIME FOR THIS BILL TO BE DEBATED ON ITS MERITS AND TO GET THE VOTE IT DESERVES!

Senator Schmidt’s office number is 785-296-2497; his email is Derek.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov

Senator Morris’ office number is 785-296-2419; his email is Steve.Morris@senate.ks.gov

ALSO: Please call your own Senators and ask them to support having this bill get debated and voted!

TIME IS CRITICAL! PLEASE CALL AND EMAIL TODAY!

A rare moment of overwhelming common sense swept over the Kansas legislature today, as the Senate Judiciary Committee today failed a proposal to institute “covenant marriages” in Kansas.  To refresh the memories of those who didn’t see Erin’s initial post about it, covenant marriage would require counseling before (specifically heterosexual) couples before granting marriage licenses.  More significantly, it would do away with no-fault divorces and, with the exception of a few extreme cases, require couples to wait a year and receive even more counseling before divorces would be allowed.  This would prove rather problematic in cases of emotional or physical abuse, which frequently go unreported and are often difficult to quantify.

But, luckily, the point is moot for now.  Full story here.  Happy St. Patty’s Day!

On Sunday, March 7 our next governor, Tom Holland, spoke to a group at The Barn Bed and Breakfast Inn, Valley Falls. I think Sen. Holland is precisely who we need to lead our state through the difficult times we are in. Don’t write him off. That was the mistake made by the last two Republicans he ran against. Both were incumbents; first in a state House race, then a state Senate race. Both districts were conservative. Sen. Holland is a very pragmatic and formidable candidate who will pull no punches in the race against Sam Brownback.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kansas took a giant leap forward in accountability, accessibility, and transparency in our government.  Thomas Witt, chair of the Kansas Equality Coalition, this morning, addressed the Senate State and Federal Affairs Committee asking for the introduction of a bill that would close the loopholes I think we can all agree have undermined our democracy.

After this morning’s committee meeting Republican Senator Steve Abrams was present and made the motion to accept introduction the bill.  Democratic Senator Marci Francisco seconded.

The bill reads:

(A) Justice of the supreme court who is subject to election upon the question of retention pursuant to K.S.A. 25-111, and amendments thereto.
(B) Judge of the court of appeals who is subject to election upon the question of retention pursuant to K.S.A. 25-3006, and amendments thereto.
(C) District court judge who is subject to election upon the question of retention pursuant to either K.S.A. 20-2908 or 25-113, and amendments thereto.
(D) District magistrate judge who is subject to election upon the question of retention pursuant to either K.S.A. 20-337 or 20-2908, and amendments thereto.

……

Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2009 Supp. 25-4143 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25-4143. As used
in the campaign finance act, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) “Candidate” means an individual who: (1) Appoints a treasurer or a candidate committee;
(2) makes a public announcement of intention to seek nomination or election to state or local
office;
(3) makes any expenditure or accepts any contribution for such person’s nomination or
election to any state or local office; or
(4) files a declaration or petition to become a candidate for state or local office; or
(5) is an individual who is subject to an election for the purposes of retention in office and
who is an incumbent:
(A) Justice of the supreme court who is subject to election upon the question of retention
pursuant to K.S.A. 25-111, and amendments thereto;
(B) judge of the court of appeals who is subject to election upon the question of retention
pursuant to K.S.A. 25-3006, and amendments thereto;
(C) district court judge who is subject to election upon the question of retention pursuant to
either K.S.A. 20-2908 or 25-113, and amendments thereto; and
(D) district magistrate judge who is subject to election upon the question of retention
pursuant to either K.S.A. 20-337 or 20-2908, and amendments thereto.

Last month, the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission issued an opinion stating that Kansas Supreme Court justices are not subject to the state’s campaign finance limits or reporting requirements.

“The Equality Coalition frequently finds its issues being argued and decided in the highest courts in the land.  It’s absolutely essential that we know who is contributing money to Supreme Court retention campaigns.  Our justice is must not be for sale, and this process must be open and transparent,” Witt said in a telephone interview.