Kansas 2nd District congressional candidates scuffle over police reform in debate
State Treasurer Jake LaTurner and Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla clashed over police reform, racial justice and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday evening in a debate between candidates for the open seat in Kansas’ 2nd Congressional District.
Republican LaTurner was on the attack for much of the 30-minute debate, televised by KSNT in Topeka and moderated by Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty. He accused De La Isla of holding “radical” beliefs such as defunding police.
A major point of contention was a LaTurner ad, posted Saturday, that suggested De La Isla was actively defunding Topeka police.
De La Isla called the video “distasteful and full of lies.” She said it was spliced from a press conference, which is posted to Facebook, where she criticized a newspaper article for taking her words out of context. She said the department has a $40 million budget which has increased in her time as Mayor.
“I do not support defunding the police,” said De La Isla, Topeka’s first Latina mayor.
She called for more spending on preventative measures such as early childhood education.
“We have to ensure that everybody in this state and in this country has access to opportunity,” she said. She later added that people killed by officers, like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, deserved justice.
LaTurner, who defeated incumbent Steve Watkins in the August GOP primary, agreed that many of those killed by police deserved justice but attributed such deaths to “bad apples.” He focused on the need to support police and law and order.
“Talk to the men and women on the front line of the police here in Topeka. They don’t feel the support,” LaTurner said. He pointed to her support from national Democratic names like Pelosi as proof.
“If she doesn’t support defunding the police, why did she say it? If she doesn’t support defunding the police why are all these national liberal politicians that support defunding the police sending in tens of thousands of dollars,” he said. “I’m talking about Nancy Pelosi for one who sent in hundreds of thousands of dollars to win this race.”
Pelosi has said she supports significant reforms to increase police accountability, and while some in the progressive wing of the party call for defunding, she has never explicitly taken that position.
The money LaTurner referred to was $96,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The committee is not run by Pelosi although it shares the same objective of working to preserve the House Democratic majority.
LaTurner also argued that De La Isla took radical positions on immigration policy.
“The mayor supports citizenship for illegal immigrants, that’s an extreme position even within her own party,” he said. “We have every right to control our borders.”
De La Isla, who was born in New York but grew up in Puerto Rico, said she supported separating the DACA program, which provides a path to citizenship for children brought into the United States illegally, from efforts to build a border wall. She said she also would seek to provide legal status to undocumented immigrants coming to the U.S. for work.
“What I’m advocating for is for individuals to have a way, if they’re illegal and coming here to work, for them to find a way to stay,” she said.
In her closing statement De La Isla said she had worked in the debate to stay away from attacks on LaTurner
“I have focused on issues, not once have I ever attacked my opponent or anyone who is supporting them,” she said.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 10:10 PM.
