LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - A pair of former Kansas governors sees potential danger in the current imbalance of power in the Kansas Legislature.
Republican Mike Hayden and Democrat Kathleen Sebelius discussed their concerns at a recent event at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. They said they worry that Republican gains in the last election have altered the balance of power at the Statehouse by effectively sidelining Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Throughout her six years as governor, Kelly has used her veto power to block some Republican policy initiatives and force them to negotiate compromises on others. But Republicans now have larger super-majorities in both the Kansas House and Senate, meaning they have the numbers to more consistently override Kelly’s vetoes.
Sebelius said while Kelly’s power has been diminished, it remains to be seen how much.
“I think her (Kelly’s) veto pen is less threatening,” Sebelius said. “But that assumes that every Republican stays in line on every single vote and that almost never happens.”
Where Hayden and Sebelius see danger, Republican Senate President Ty Masterson sees opportunity. He says voters gave Republicans a mandate to enact their conservative agenda. That agenda includes tax cuts, abortion restrictions and school vouchers. It also features a host of culture-war initiatives, including legislation now making its way through the process to ban gender affirming medical care for minors.
In his response to Kelly’s recent State-of-the-State address, Masterson said that ban would be in place today if the governor hadn’t vetoed similar legislation last year.
“The governor sided with the radical left on this topic,” Masterson said, explaining that Republicans fell two votes shy of overriding that veto.
“You fixed that problem in this last election,” he said.
Both Hayden and Sebelius also expressed concern about a Republican proposal to change the way Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected. Currently, justices are screened by a nonpartisan nominating committee and appointed by the governor. Some Republicans want to scrap that process and instead require justices to run for election.
Sebelius, who was governor from 2003-2009, said it would be a mistake to do away with a process that has kept the state’s high court above the political fray for nearly 70 years.
“We have kept politics away from the judiciary,” she said. “And I think that has built some trust and confidence in the third branch of government.”
Hayden said injecting politics into the selection process could contribute to the growing power imbalance in state government.
“If that balance of power gets (more) out of balance, it’s dangerous,” he said.
Hayden, who was governor from 1987-1991, said changes in the makeup of the Republican majority also concern him. He said with conservatives firmly in control, there is less willingness to compromise with Kelly and the shrinking number of Democrats in the Legislature.
“There’s nothing wrong with compromise,” he said, noting that he used to tell his staff that while Republicans and Democrats might be wearing “different colored jerseys…we’re in the same game.”
Today, Hayden said, “there’s just too many Republicans who can’t spell compromise.”
In response to questions at the Dole Institute event, both Hayden and Sebelius said they believed Kansas politics will eventually shift back towards the center. But, Hayden said, it may take a while.
“I think the situation will become more aggravated before it rights itself,” he said. “But I think ultimately the pendulum will swing back.”
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