From the Wichita Pachyderm Club: Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State and Candidate for Kansas Governor. This is part of a series in which all major Republican candidates will speak. Recorded May 11, 2018.
Reestablishing a Fundamental Principle of Democracy
Alan Cobb, Kansas Chamber President & CEO
The words of a recent guest editorial in the Lawrence Journal-World about the Kansas Coalition for Fair Funding were not surprising. It was a continuation of the intellectually shallow, fact-short screed about taxes, school finance, and the Kansas budget. Certainly, reasonable people can disagree about these issues, but partisans rarely adhere to that theorem. And thus, I thought I was reading something from a partisan staffer.
Alas, it was from a well-respected Wichita State University professor emeritus who I have known for decades.
I’ve not always agreed with Dr. H. Edward Flentje, but even when I disagreed with him, I found his arguments well-founded and reasonable. Not this time.
Now to the point. Dr. Flentje, probably intentionally, conflates with the 2012 tax cuts with the current and ongoing school finance litigation. They have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The current litigation was filed around the day the Sam Brownback was elected Governor. To say the focus of the current coalition is part of an effort to maintain those tax cuts is fanciful, to be charitable.
The 15-word clause in the Kansas State Constitution that is the center of all of this was enacted in 1966. It took only a few years for the first lawsuit to be filed, and Kansas has been in court ever since. This is madness. Brownback was not governor when the original litigation was filed some 30 years ago. The Kansas Legislature developed the current finance formula in the early 1990s under the duress of a Shawnee County District Court judge. Sam Brownback would not be governor for another 18 years. To continue to enact Brownback’s name must mean the author simply can’t argue the merits of the issue we currently face. This is disappointing.
Last December, the Kansas Chamber Board of Directors approved the following language to be a part of our 2018 Legislative Agenda:
Support a constitutional amendment for the democratically elected legislature to have exclusive authority to determine funding for schools in an effort to eliminate endless litigation over school funding.
In my role as President and CEO of the Kansas Chamber, I’ve traveled the state visiting business of all sizes. The consistent refrain I hear from business owners and managers is that the constant litigation has diminished the effectiveness of our educational institutions and their ability to prepare Kansas students for post-secondary careers and post-secondary education.
In addition, I’ve had multiple conversations with educators, teachers, superintendents, and building principals; many embarrassed about the constant litigation. They know that Kansas courts are the not the place to set our state’s education policy.
Ultimately this is about the process of how Kansas sets and finances education policy. We are competing not just with our neighboring states, but all 50 states and many countries across the globe. There is a worldwide competition for jobs.
Because we are in a constant struggle regarding how much Kansas spends on K-12 education, we have not had substantive conversations that we should about the effectiveness and efficacy of our education systems and how we properly prepare Kansas students for their lives after high school.
Improving our education systems takes place because of conversations between employers, students, parents, educators and those setting education policy: the legislature, the Governor, local boards of education and the State Board of Education.
These conversations simply cannot take place between all the interested parties mentioned and the state’s judicial branch.
The Chamber’s board of directors and members across the Kansas business community recognize the importance of a well-educated and trained workforce. But they also desire a competitive business climate. The endless litigation over school funding places the state at risk of being able to a balance of a competitive tax climate and providing for the essential services required outside of the K-12 education system.
The framers of our national and state constitutions understood that the power to tax and appropriate funds must be placed in the hands of the legislature-the governing body of the people. The Kansas Coalition for Fair Funding supports a constitutional amendment that will reestablish this fundamental principle of democracy and will end the continuous cycle of litigation.
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is a candidate for the Republican Party nomination for Kansas Governor. He joins Bob and Karl to make the case as to why he should be our next governor. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 196, broadcast May 12, 2018.
This is part of a series of appearances by gubernatorial candidates for 2018. We hope that all major candidates, of all parties as well as independents, will accept our invitation. The filing deadline is June 1, the primary election is August 7, and the general election is November 6.
The growth of population in Wichita compared to other areas.
Several Wichita city officials have noted that the population of the City of Wichita now exceeds that of Cleveland. This, to them, is a point of pride and sign of momentum in Wichita.
It’s true, at least the population facts. For 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population of Wichita as 389,902 and Cleveland as 385,809. From the 2010 census, Wichita’s population was 382,368; Cleveland’s 396,815. 1
That Wichita moved up in population rank is more due to Cleveland losing 11,006 people (2.8 percent loss) while Wichita gained 7,534 people (2.0 percent gain).
Looking only at city population, however, misses the fact that the Cleveland metropolitan statistical area population is 2,058,844 compared to the Wichita MSA at 645,628, a difference of 3.2 times.
For most types of economic and demographic analysis, metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) are preferred to cities proper. The Census Bureau notes: “The general concept of a metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area is that of a core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core.” 2
Wichita officials usually recognize this and have started to emphasize the importance of the region (the MSA), not just the city. Many of our civic agencies have named or renamed themselves like these examples: Greater Wichita Partnership, Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, Blueprint for Regional Economic Growth, Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, Wichita Area Planning Organization, Regional Economic Area Partnership of South Central Kansas, South Central Kansas Economic Development District.
Further, there is more economic data available at the MSA level (compared to the city level) from agencies like Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis. This data includes important measures like employment, labor force, unemployment rate, gross domestic product, and personal income.
City boundaries are still important, as Wichita, for example, can’t impose property or sales taxes outside the city limits. Nor can it write laws affecting neighboring towns or the county.
But not even schools respect city boundaries, with several large suburban school districts (Andover, Maize, Goddard) reaching far into the city limits of Wichita.
While Wichita may be the 50th largest city, its rank is not as high when considering metropolitan areas. Worse, its rank is slipping as other areas grow at a faster clip. In the 1990 and 2000 census, Wichita was the 80th largest metro area. By 2010 Wichita’s rank had fallen to 82, and for 2017 the rank is 89.
Wichita officials incessantly talk about momentum. Using a misguided measure of regional size and growth (Wichita is larger than Cleveland!) is one example.
Unfortunately, there are many other examples. Recently Wichita’s mayor spoke of a “thriving city” and that “we’re going to continue our growth pattern.” 3
Recently Greater Wichita Partnership president Jeff Fluhr told a group of young people this:
From the innovation campus at Wichita State University and development along the Arkansas River in downtown, including a new baseball stadium, to the conversations happening now about a new convention center and performing arts facility, Fluhr said the momentum is pushing to keep Wichita on par with the development of other communities around the country.
That development, which has in recent years expanded to incorporate the entire region, is a critical component to attracting and retaining talent — the exact kind of talent in the ICT Millennial Summit crowd. 4
In January Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell said, “It’s hard to find a time when we’ve had more momentum.” 5
In announcing his candidacy for Sedgwick County Commission, Wichita city council member Wichita City Council Member Pete Meitzner (district 2, east Wichita) said, “We have enjoyed great progress and growth during my two terms as a City Council member and I plan to do my part to assure Sedgwick County is part of this continued success.” 6
But these pictures — thriving, growth, progress, momentum — just aren’t true, according to the best statistical evidence. Wichita is shedding jobs. 7 In 2016 the Wichita economy shrank. 8 Our labor force is declining. 9 Sedgwick County shows a decline in employees and payroll in 2016. 10
Finally, as can be seen in the nearby chart of population growth in the Wichita metro area and a few other examples. Wichita’s growth rate is low, and is slowing. (The other metro areas in the chart are our Visioneering peers plus a few others.)
It is terribly unfortunate that the Wichita economy is not growing. What’s worse is the attitude of our city leaders. If we don’t confront our problems, we probably won’t be able to solve them.
In an interactive visualization I’ve prepared from census data, you can compare growth in metropolitan statistical areas. Click here to access the visualization.
—
Notes
Kansas has a lot of highway miles compared to its population. Interactive visualization included.
Kansas has nearly 100 lane miles of highway per thousand persons, a value exceeded by only five states, with two of those barely higher than Kansas. This figure is for total lane miles, urban and rural, using data reported by the Federal Highway Administration for 2016. 1
Besides a graphic table of population, total lane miles, and lane miles per thousand persons, there are three scatter plots. These plot each state’s population, area, and population density compared to lane miles.
In each plot, I’ve identified Kansas. (In the interactive visualization you can identify each state.) In all three charts, Kansas is an outlier.
These charts do not include Alaska, California, and Texas. These three states are outliers — Alaska because of its area, and the other two because of their size and high population. In the interactive visualization, of course, you may include these states and exclude any others.
Click here to access and use the visualization.
—
Notes
The indictment against Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell smells of overcriminalization.
Former Wichita City Council Member, former Kansas Senator, and present Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell has been charged with a series of serious crimes — serious, at least, in the potential penalties he faces.
First, I know Michael O’Donnell, and although I have been critical of some of his votes in the Kansas Senate and many while a member of the Sedgwick County Commission, I still consider him a friend, and I hope he considers me the same. I have worked on some of his campaigns, sometimes as a volunteer, and sometimes for pay.
In the indictment, counts one through five accuse O’Donnell of wire fraud, because five campaign finance reports filed with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission contained allegedly false and fraudulent information, that being that O’Donnell allegedly converted campaign funds to his personal use. And, the email service used to file the reports routed the data through other states on its way to Topeka. This is described as a scheme to “defraud the State of Kansas, the County of Sedgwick, Kansas, and the citizens thereof.” 1
Counts six through ten accuse O’Donnell of bank fraud, because the banks involved are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
Counts eleven and twelve allege money laundering based on the above activity.
O’Donnell is being charged with multiple criminal offenses for the same acts. He allegedly converted campaign funds to personal use. That is against the law, and if done more than once, there can be multiple counts. But how this is done (the means of transmission of reports to KGEC) and what type of banks were used (FDIC insured banks) really don’t have anything to do with the underlying bad acts and should not result in additional crimes, at least in this case.
For example, if O’Donnell had used an internet service that sent email with the transmission remaining at all times within the borders of Kansas, then one of the elements of the first five counts would not apply, that he “transmitted by means of wire communications in interstate commerce.” Or, if he had delivered the reports personally, interstate commerce might not apply.
This is the issue of criminal intent. If the allegations in the indictment are true, O’Donnell committed a crime by improperly spending campaign funds and falsely reporting that. The indictment presents evidence of criminal intent in doing these things. But it is unlikely he intended to commit a crime involving interstate commerce. He probably did not know that Google would route his Gmail communications across state lines.
In a similar vein, because the banks involved are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, counts six through ten accuse O’Donnell of bank fraud. But it’s unlikely O’Donnell intended to defraud the banks. The checks he wrote didn’t bounce; there were sufficient funds in the accounts. So it’s very difficult to see how the transactions alleged in the indictment posed any threat to the banks, or by extension, to the federal government through FDIC insurance. Further, if O’Donnell had used state-chartered banks, the second five counts might not apply.
If we want to have campaign finance laws, that’s one thing. If people violate those laws, then charge them with that. But this piling on of charges is a characteristic of overcriminalization, where people are charged with multiple crimes for the same underlying criminal act.
Could the piling on of charges be a bargaining chip to use in future negotiations concerning things O’Donnell may know? In a recent op-ed, prominent attorney Alan Dershowitz quoted a federal judge regarding squeezing a potential witness: “This vernacular is to ‘sing,’ is what prosecutors use. What you got to be careful of is, they may not only sing, they may compose.” 2
Dershowitz continued:
I have been using this “compose” metaphor for decades and I am gratified that a judge borrowed it to express an important civil liberties concern. Every experienced criminal lawyer has seen this phenomenon at work. I have seen it used by prosecutors who threaten wives, parents, siblings and, in one case, the innocent son of a potential witness who was about to graduate law school. Most judges, many of whom were former prosecutors, have also seen it. But few have the courage to expose it publicly, as Ellis has done.
Defenders of Mueller’s tactic argue that the threatened witnesses and their relatives are generally guilty of some crime, or else they wouldn’t be vulnerable to the prosecutor’s threats. This may be true, but the crimes they are threatened to be charged with are often highly technical, elastic charges that are brought only as leverage. They are dropped as soon as the witness cooperates.
Is this what is happening to Michael O’Donnell? Will the piling on of multiple felony charges carrying multi-year prison terms be dropped if O’Donnell cooperates in criminal prosecutions against other people?
If anything, these alleged acts might constitute fraud committed against campaign donors. It’s difficult to see how the average person would care how candidates spend their campaign funds. Citizens may be concerned with who gives and how much they give, and if a candidate converts these campaign contributions to personal use, it opens the door to corruption. But the people really harmed are the donors who gave funds expecting to help O’Donnell win an election, not pay his personal expenses. (Unless the donors gave with such an understanding in place, and that is not legal.)
As an aside, O’Donnell’s political opponents ought not to be so concerned, although currently they are overjoyed at his situation. If a candidate converts funds to personal use — away from campaign activity like advertisements, mailings, and yard signs — that seems to make the candidate less likely to win. Candidates and their supporters should hope their opponents spend campaign funds unwisely.
—
Notes
From the Wichita Pachyderm Club: Ken Selzer, Kansas Insurance Commissioner and candidate for Kansas Governor. This is part of a series in which all major Republican candidates will speak. Recorded May 4, 2018.
In this episode of WichitaLiberty.TV: United States Representative Ron Estes discusses trade, FAA reauthorization and his amendment, entitlement reform, and spending. View below, or click here to view at YouTube. Episode 195, broadcast May 5, 2018.
For 2017, the Kansas economy shrank, and just two states performed worse.
In 2017, the Kansas economy contracted by 0.1 percent in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars from 2016, according to statistics released today by Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the United States Department of Commerce. 1
This put Kansas in 48th position among the states, with only Connecticut and Louisiana posting lower numbers.
For the fourth quarter of 2017, Kansas GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent, slowing slightly from the third quarter rate of 3.8 percent. The rates of -6.1 percent and -0.3 percent in the first two quarters kept the state from showing overall growth in economic output for the year.
The nearby table shows change in GDP by industry, for Kansas, the nation, Plains states, and some comparison states.
—
Notes