Incumbent Bill Sutton running against Edgerton Mayor Donald Roberts in 43rd District GOP primary

Kansas House incumbent Bill Sutton is seeking re-election against Edgerton Mayor Donald Roberts.

Sutton and Roberts are competing to represent the 43rd District, which covers parts of Edgerton and Gardner. There is no Democratic opponent, so the winner of the Aug. 2 GOP primary will essentially win the seat.

Sutton, 48, of Gardner, did not return repeated phone calls and email messages for comment for this story.

On his website, he said he supported the series of income tax cuts approved by the Legislature in 2012 and that they have led to job growth and low unemployment. He also said he would continue to work on a new funding formula for Kansas schools.

“I look forward to completing the work that has been done to put a new formula in place, one that is fair to Johnson County schools and allows the flexibility that school districts need to meet their diverse challenges,” he wrote.

He also is a strong proponent of implementing additional restrictions on abortion and requiring voter approval before local governments can raise property taxes greater than the rate of inflation.

Roberts, 47, of Edgerton, worked as the water treatment superintendent for the city of Gardner for more than 20 years and has served as Edgerton’s mayor since 2009.

He said he favors repealing the 2012 tax cuts, which he said have forced the state to raid other coffers to make up for continued shortfalls in revenue. Most importantly, he said the Legislature has had to sweep money out of the state Department of Transportation that will be needed eventually to maintain roads and repair bridges. He noted that when Edgerton was attracting the Logistics Park Kansas City intermodal facility, the city government made sure to build its economy before lowering tax rates.

“Nobody likes taxes,” he said. “I don’t like taxes any more than anybody else. But we have to be realistic. For me, it’s bringing back Kansas common sense that says we know we need roads, we know we need jails, we know we need a mental health system. We need to fund those things.”

Roberts said he also supports a new education funding formula that makes sure growing school districts get the added dollars they need to accommodate new students each year.

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Incumbent Bill Sutton running against Edgerton Mayor Donald Roberts in 43rd District GOP primary."