Democratic governor suggests next governor hire qualified people
By: Tim Carpenter
Kansas Reflector
LAWRENCE — Outgoing Gov. Laura Kelly recommends her successor — Republican or Democrat — assemble a cabinet composed of subject matter experts rather than political ideologues and not forget to be kind in the heat of battle inside the Capitol.
Kelly, who ends her two-term run as Kansas governor on Jan. 11, said it would be a mistake to assume the job of governor was easy. She said the buck stopped at the governor’s desk for many issues before state government.
“I will give them no unsolicited advice. I think every outgoing governor ought to feel the same way,” Kelly said during the question-and-answer portion of the Kansas Economic Policy Conference last week at the University of Kansas. “But, if asked, I think the one thing I would tell governors is the most important thing you can do is build a qualified team. You need people in those positions who really know what they’re doing and know how to manage, but also who are visionary and have at least some political radar.”
She said day-to-day responsibilities of a governor and the broad sweep of complex challenges landing in that person’s lap required maintenance of a collaborative working environment.
“You can’t do it all yourself. Each agency is unique, and a lot of work. Most of them are very high maintenance,” Kelly said.
This Election Day, until polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, voters of Kansas can make themselves heard in terms of congressional races and contests for state executive branch offices, the Kansas Legislature and judicial positions. Ballots included a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution affirming only U.S. citizens had the right to vote. On the municipal front, ballots contained an array of local topics.
Kansas voters bring to close debate about whether the governorship should be entrusted to Republican Ty Masterson of Andover or Democrat Cindy Holscher of Overland Park. Both are members of the Kansas Senate, and previously served in the Kansas House. They have long public policy records touching on all sorts of subjects, which helped remove some of the guesswork for voters.
Masterson was endorsed by President Donald Trump and was a point of emphasis during two rallies headlined by Trump and two by Vice President JD Vance. Holscher wasn’t Kelly’s first choice among Democrats, but the governor endorsed and campaigned for Holscher after she won the party’s nomination in August.
Kelly, who served the Topeka area in the Kansas Senate for 15 years, was elected governor in 2018 and reelected in 2022. As governor-elect in December 2017, Kelly said she anticipated difficulty convincing experienced state workers to return after fleeing their jobs during the administration of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. At that point, Kelly said, Kansas was struggling financially.
“I needed the very best,” she said. “I was pleasantly surprised, when I won, the number of really qualified people who came out of the woodwork. People came back into public service, left really high-paying jobs. It’s a calling in some ways. It’s an addiction in other ways.”
She said her process of filling positions in the executive branch wasn’t about what political party an applicant belonged to, how much money an individual donated to her campaign or whether that person was a friend or the ally of a friend.
“We didn’t take into consideration any of that,” the governor said. “We’ve gotten through … scandal-free. You think back to … where somebody’s in a position, not qualified for it, and they screw it up really badly. They do either wrong things or bad things, and that really reflects on the governor. The buck does stop here.”
Kelly said she would recommend the next Kansas governor not amplify political polarization that had become “so ugly and nasty.”
“I would just ask them as they’re working on the budget, as they’re negotiating with the Legislature on a bill, to be kind,” she said. “Whatever you’re doing is going to impact people in their real lives. Just be kind.”