Ephren Taylor III: People of Northeast KCK deserve a new voice in the Kansas Senate | Opinion
Although I moved to Wyandotte County only recently, my very first event as a community organizer was here: I organized and moderated a forum on the housing crisis at the Main Library. Since then, my time as a community organizer and now as a candidate has been focused on the county. I love the people of northeast Kansas City, Kansas, and I decided to run to represent them in the Kansas Senate because it is well past time for change in this community.
My campaign has knocked on thousands of doors, and almost every voter I and my volunteers talk to says the same two things:
- Constituents desperately need property tax relief.
- Incumbent state Sen. David Haley hasn’t done much for them, despite holding elected office for three decades.
To be fair to my opponent, his record does include a few highlights. In 2016, Haley voted for Senate Bill 366. This legislation shifted the balance of power further toward landlords over tenants and weakened tenants’ rights by limiting property inspections. He missed a vote for Medicaid expansion, and also missed a vote supporting medical marijuana. Perhaps worst of all, Haley has supported decreases in funding for infrastructure, and supported private or corporate funding for public education. And he has voted to give public tax dollars to private schools in the form of vouchers, which would further weaken our public education system.
My priorities are a little different. The first thing I would work on in January is what I’ve heard my constituents tell me they want me to focus on: property tax relief for lower- and middle-income residents. I believe we need a fairer tax system that isn’t built on the backs of working families. The last thing Kansas needs is a tax giveaway to the wealthy that could lead to another Sam Brownback-style budget disaster.
I would also fight to expand Medicaid in particular, and access to quality health care in general. For far too long, billions of Kansans’ tax dollars have flowed to other states to pay for their residents’ health care. Forty other states have recognized that expanding Medicaid and accepting a refund of our federal taxes to pay for our people’s healthcare is a good deal. David Haley and Republicans in the Legislature apparently disagree.
And I would push for more investment in infrastructure and public education in northeast KCK. Our district has been overlooked for far too long, as our tax dollars have flowed to other parts of the state. I’d be a champion for spending on projects in my district, so that we can make long-overdue improvements to roads, the power grid and school buildings.
Almost every voter I’ve talked to supports this agenda, and when they ask how I’m going to get it done, I tell them: with your help. We can organize northeast KCK, put pressure on other legislators and use our political power to improve lives here. If you’re reading this and you’d like to join the movement, you can visit Ephren4SD4.com/vote to learn more about the easiest way to vote for me: Request an advance ballot, fill it out and mail it back. Or vote early in person if you miss the July 30 deadline to request an advance ballot. Or if you miss both those opportunities, be sure to vote at your polling place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Democratic primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Change is possible for Wyandotte County, but only if we work together to make it happen. As President Barack Obama was fond of saying: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Together, we will bring change to northeast Kansas City, Kansas on Aug. 6.
Ephren Taylor III is a candidate to represent District 4 in the Kansas Senate in the Democratic primary.