Posted on 09/19/2002 5:44:08 AM PDT by jonefab
Debate in Colby scheduled Following debates in central and south-central Kansas, voters in the northwest corner of the state will have an opportunity to hear the major party gubernatorial candidates square off.
Republican Tim Shallenburger and Democrat Kathleen Sebelius are scheduled to take part in a debate from 7 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 6 in Colby.
The debate will take place in the Northwest Kansas Cultural Arts Center on the Colby Community College campus.
Then, on Oct. 8, the candidates will take part in a fourth debate in Overland Park.
That debate, sponsored by three Kansas City, Kan.-area chambers of commerce, is scheduled to take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Quivira Lake and Country Club, 100 Crescent Blvd., Lake Quivira.
The candidates' fifth and final scheduled debate, to be hosted by WIBW Channel 13, will be in Topeka from 7 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 22.
Group endorses Shallenburger
The Kansas chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed Republican Tim Shallenburger in the governor's race.
In releasing its endorsement, NFIB, the nation's leading small-business advocacy group, noted that during Shallenburger's term as speaker of the Kansas House, the Legislature passed four consecutive years of tax cuts, including the largest tax cut in the history of the state.
He also helped enact three key small-business issues, including a $250 threshold exemption from property tax for business machinery and equipment, a five-year moratorium on collection of unemployment compensation tax and strengthening the worthless check law.
"Tim Shallenburger has tirelessly worked on behalf of small-business owners throughout his career in public service," said NFIB state director Hal Hudson.
"He has demonstrated a strong record of a fiscal conservative, and he believes in strengthening the state's economy by providing more opportunities for Main Street job creators," Hudson said.
The endorsement comes from NFIB's political action committee, Save America's Free Enterprise Trust.
Endorsements are based on the candidate's record on small business issues while in public office and NFIB candidate surveys of their positions on these issues.
Shallenburger is scheduled to speak to NFIB members today from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at China Inn Restaurant, 2010 N.E. Central in North Topeka.
NFIB is the nation's largest small business advocacy group.
A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its 7,000 members in Kansas and 600,000 members in Washington and all 50 state capitals.
Republican group supports Sebelius
Republicans from across the state have launched a group that will work on behalf of electing the Democratic nominee for governor.
The group, Republicans for Kathleen Sebelius, is led by Topeka lawyer Mark Braun, who pointed to Sebelius' record during her eight years as Insurance Commissioner, during which her agency's budget was reduced by 19 percent.
He said Sebelius is committed to public education.
He also noted that Sebelius has pledged to conduct performance audits of every state agency in search of waste and inefficiencies.
"Kathleen shares our values, and we want Kansas Republicans to know they have a positive alternative to their party's nominee -- a nominee who simply has the wrong priorities to be governor," he said.
State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger, a conservative Republican from Baxter Springs, won the Republican nomination in the August primary.
The first members of a steering committee that will guide the activities of Republicans interested in actively supporting Sebelius in the Nov. 5 general election are Bill Nelson, of Johnson County; Mary Turkington, of Shawnee County; Don Stephan, of Sedgwick County; Kent Havner, of Ellis County; Mary Lee Swanson, of Seward County; former state Sen. Wint Winter Jr., of Douglas County; former state Rep. Elaine Hassler, of Dickinson County; Matt Bretz, of Reno County; former state Sen. Lillian D. Papay, of Great Bend; and Steve Waite, of Butler County.
Who do you trust more to keep costs down: A conservative or a liberal? I cannot believe anyone thinks a Democrat with keep costs down -- or that she "shares our values." I don't know how you endorse the Democrat platform and share midwest values at the same time. Maybe that's blunt, but that's the way I see it!
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