The Star editorial board’s recommendations for Missouri and Kansas midterm elections

These are The Kansas City Star editorial board’s recommendations for candidates and ballot measures in Missouri and Kansas. Election Day is Nov. 8.

MISSOURI

U.S. Senate:

We recommend Trudy Busch Valentine, a Democrat, to replace the retiring Sen. Roy Blunt.

Valentine has never run for office, and she struggled with the details of federal policy early in the campaign. That concern has been more than addressed by her obvious passion for public service, and her demonstrated capacity to listen and learn.

“I will lead with integrity, and honesty, and respect and dignity,” she told us. In those values alone she far outshines Republican Eric Schmitt, the disastrous Missouri attorney general who wants to take his bitter partisan politics to the U.S. Capitol.

Schmitt doesn’t listen, and he never learns. He’s also a bad lawyer, prone to filing frivolous lawsuits just to catch a headline or two.

Every Missourian should shudder at the thought of Schmitt joining Sen. Josh Hawley to represent the state’s interests in Washington (although the inevitable clash of their bloated egos would be fun to watch).

Voters have a strong alternative in Trudy Busch Valentine, who would actually try to improve lives instead of seeking airtime on Fox News.

Jackson County executive:

Republican Theresa Galvin is the choice.

The next Jackson County executive will face a long list of substantial issues, including construction of a new jail, repairing a defective appraisals process, and negotiating new lease agreements with the Chiefs and Royals.

Galvin, who has chaired the county legislature, is clearly ready to tackle these concerns. She is skeptical of plans to move the Royals downtown, and promises to keep a close eye on potential cost overruns on the jail project.

She is a far better option than incumbent Democrat Frank White. White did a good job responding to the COVID-19 crisis, but his record on other county challenges has been uneven at best.

If Galvin is elected, she must work harder to ensure Jackson County is welcoming and inclusive. We think she can do so, and she has earned our endorsement.

Constitutional Amendment 3:

We recommend a yes vote on this proposal, which would establish a broad right to use small amounts of recreational marijuana in Missouri.

It’s a close call. There are significant technical problems with the proposal, which could shut off competition and may be unfair to minority entrepreneurs. It’s also a constitutional amendment, which would be difficult to adjust if needed.

But those problems should not distract voters from the goal, which is recognition of a right to possess cannabis for personal use. A statewide standard for pot is important, given the wildly disparate enforcement of existing laws.

Amendment 3 would allow expungement of nonviolent marijuana offenses. It would provide revenue for veterans’ programs and the chronically underfunded public defender’s office. Voters should support this measure.

Constitutional Amendment 4:

No. If Missourians approve this constitutional change, the Missouri General Assembly could require Kansas Citians to spend uncapped public resources on the police.

No. No. No.

It is beyond outrageous that legislators who live outside of the city think they can order Kansas Citians to spend tax money they may not wish to spend. This year, lawmakers raised the threshold for Kansas City police spending to 25% of local revenue, up from the current 20%. That is bad enough.

But there is nothing in Amendment 4 that limits the increase in future years. State legislators could require Kansas Citians to spend 50%, or 90%, or all of their tax revenue on the police, without any recourse for local government. That could mean drastic cuts, or elimination, of virtually every other city function.

No other Missouri city faces this kind of dictatorial overreach. No other American city has been so badly treated by lawmakers who live somewhere else.

It’s the worst kind of colonialism, championed by extremists. If the amendment passes, the city should sue in federal court to strike it down. Missouri voters can spare that expense by soundly rejecting this worthless proposal.

Kansas City Questions 1 and 2:

We recommend a yes vote on both issues.

Question 1 would authorize borrowing $125 million for repairs to the city’s park system and fixing Bartle Hall, the city’s convention center. Question 2 would authorize an additional $50 million for the city’s affordable housing fund.

The bonds would not require a specific tax increase.

The need for both is clear. Bartle Hall is in serious disrepair. Some public swimming pools are closed during the summer. And Kansas City’s affordable housing crisis shows no signs of easing.

Periodic investments in public infrastructure are important, in part because delaying repairs only makes projects more expensive later.

Voters should know: The money would be spent over five years, not all at once. That means some projects would be delayed. With that understanding, we urge support for both measures.

Missouri Constitutional Convention:

Every 20 years, the Missouri Constitution requires a public vote on calling a convention to revise the document. We recommend a no vote.

The state constitution is bloated and confusing. But a convention might discard important programs embedded in the governing blueprint, such as Medicaid expansion. It isn’t worth the risk.

KANSAS

Governor:

Democratic incumbent Gov. Laura Kelly deserves Kansas voters’ support, and reelection.

It’s easy to forget the budget nightmare confronting the state when Kelly took office: uncertain revenues, struggling schools, cratering credit ratings. Kelly has righted the ship, which alone justifies this choice.

But her record extends beyond the budget. She steered the state through the COVID-19 nightmare. She has brought new businesses to Kansas. She has governed with purpose and bipartisanship, both essential qualities in the state.

Kelly is an essential check on the Kansas Legislature as well. A Republican governor and a Republican Legislature would wreak havoc on the state’s financial health, while drowning the state in endless culture war debates.

She has work to do, including Medicaid expansion and unemployment reform. She should have that opportunity.

Her opponent, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, has not provided any reason to replace Kelly. He’s concentrated on divisive issues such as transgender youth athletes, stark proof of the paucity of his vision for Kansas.

U.S. Senate:

Incumbent Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican, deserves another term.

Moran is usually a reliable Republican vote in Washington, and his Democratic opponent, Mark Holland, is right on more issues — abortion, health care, prescription drug costs.

But Moran, 68, has shown important streaks of independence from the right-wing goofballs in the GOP. He worked to pass the PACT Act, a bill providing help for veterans suffering from exposure to toxic burn pits. He showed us an openness to important gun legislation, including a red flag law and multi-round weapons restrictions.

He voted to certify the 2020 presidential election, rejecting the Big Lie nuttiness of some of his colleagues. It took some courage to do so.

Moran is a risk. It’s possible he’ll go back to Washington and forget his commitment to bipartisan cooperation. But our democracy is in serious danger, and electing a Republican who might inch his party away from the abyss is worth taking a chance.

Kansas 3rd District:

We support Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat, for a third term.

We supported Davids in her first race for Congress largely because of her personal story — she’s a Native American, raised by a single mother. To that, we can now add a record of accomplishment in Washington.

Davids supported needed legislation to help dig the nation out of the COVID-19 crisis. She has supported abortion rights, including putting the Roe v. Wade framework into law. She has worked on infrastructure concerns and veterans’ access to health care.

Her Republican opponent, Amanda Adkins, has run a solid campaign. She is well-informed and accessible. Yet her positions on issues such as abortion and government spending betray her too-strong allegiance to the far-right members of her party.

Davids has been a serious and unpretentious representative for Kansans in her newly-drawn 3rd Congressional District. She richly deserves another term in the House.

Attorney general:

Chris Mann has earned our endorsement. Mann, a Democrat, faces Republican Kris Kobach.

Is there any figure in Kansas public life more risible than Kobach? He’s run for governor, and lost. He ran for his party’s nomination for U.S. Senate, and lost. He ran for the U.S. House several years ago, and lost.

He did win the race for Kansas secretary of state. He was so bad at it a federal judge ordered him to take a remedial law class.

His current campaign for attorney general is so free of substance and so heavy with appeals to divisive social issues that it’s hard to imagine a less attractive candidate. Kansas voters should say no again, and maybe he’ll get the message.

Mann is a welcome alternative. He told us he would focus on the bread-and-butter services that the attorney general provides for ordinary residents: Child support, open records requests and consumer protection. Imagine that.

Chris Mann is a breath of fresh air, and deserves your vote.

Johnson County Chair:

Mike Kelly, the current mayor of Roeland Park, is the obvious choice.

Kelly is a thoughtful, conscientious public servant. He has worked to maintain quality services, while keeping taxes low. He believes climate change is real. He helped Roeland Park manage the pandemic.

He can be an effective voice for the county’s interests with other community leaders, including Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. He is committed to a better Johnson County for all residents.

Opponent Charlotte O’Hara would be a troublesome county chair. She is a 2020 Big Lie supporter, and has endorsed Sheriff Calvin Hayden’s ludicrous (and costly) investigation into alleged presidential election irregularities that year.

Last spring, she sued the Blue Valley School District for not allowing her to attend a public hearing without a mask. She is a disrupter and a divider, not a consensus builder.

O’Hara has raised important issues about county spending. We think Kelly is better-positioned to address those concerns.

Constitutional Amendment 1:

No. This proposal would provide the Legislature with the tools to second-guess decisions made by any governor, enabling it to overturn orders and regulations with a simple majority vote.

We strongly recommend a no vote. Handing a simple-majority legislative veto to state lawmakers disrupts the careful balance of authority among the branches of Kansas government.

Handing that authority to this Legislature would be a disaster.

Remember, lawmakers can still revoke a governor’s decision by actually passing a law, sometimes over that governor’s veto. This method protects the balance of power in Kansas.

Kansas Supreme Court justices:

There are six Kansas Supreme Court justices up for retention votes: yes to keep them, no to remove them from the bench.

We recommend a yes vote on all six.

Some Republicans want to remove the justices as a backdoor effort to further restrict abortion in the state. Yet three of the judges on the ballot — Evelyn Wilson, Keynen Wall and Melissa Standridge — had no role in the 2019 Hodes decision.

Two others, Marla Luckert and Daniel Biles, voted with the majority then to uphold a fundamental right to abortion in Kansas, a position soundly endorsed by voters in August. The sixth justice, Caleb Stegall, dissented.

All six follow the law as they understand it. There is no reason to remove them. Conservatives should not be allowed to accomplish in November what they could not in August, and politicize the state Supreme Court.