Responses to the 2012 Candidates Survey

Below are the questions that were asked in the survey followed by the candidate’s responses.

A Candidate’s name in bold type indicates they are the incumbent in the race.

Candidates not listed under the race for which they are competing did not respond to the survey.

Party affiliation in the table is indicated by a D for Democratic Party candidates, I for independent candidates, L for Libertarian Party candidates, R for Republican Party candidates and RE for Reform Party candidates.

Candidates for President of the United States – No presidential candidates responded to the survey

Candidates for the 2ndU.S. Congressional District

  1. What are the most significant problems that people with disabilities face today?

Dennis Hawver (L) / (a)Inflation and devaluation of the dollar. Most disabled citizens are on fixed incomes.
(b)Healthcare costs skyrocketing.
  1. If elected, how would you address these problems?

Dennis Hawver (L) / Curtail government spending and enormous deficit spending; spending which devalues the dollar.
  1. In your opinion, what is the most important thing Congress could do for people with disabilities?

Dennis Hawver (L) / Balance the Federal budget
  1. If elected, how would you go about increasing the independence, and decreasing dependence, of people with disabilities?

Dennis Hawver (L) / Encourage business and industry to provide appropriate jobs for disabled people.
  1. The advent of KanCare, the plan to change the entire Kansas Medicaid system to managed care, has been much in the news and on the minds of elected officials and citizens alike. Do you support the move to managed care? KanCare? If you could do anything differently, what would you do?

Dennis Hawver (L) / I do NOT support managed (by the government) care. Provide private (not government) opportunities for medical care.
  1. Additional Issues:

Year after year, election after election, many of the same issues always rise to the top of the priority list for the disability community. In no particular order these include:

  • Housing & Home Modifications
  • Transportation
  • Education
  • Health care
  • Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) / Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS)
  • Employment
  • KanCare / Managed Care
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) / Accessibility
  • Independent Living (IL) Philosophy / Consumer Control
  • Assistive Technology

Please share any knowledge you may have about any or all of these issues as they impact independent living for people with disabilities in Topeka, Shawnee County and Kansas. Likewise, please share any ideas or comments you may have as to how government can best positively impact any or all of these issues as they pertain to the disability community.

Dennis Hawver (L) / The type of Independent Living that your organization provides will address all of the above more successfully than government programs.
Stayout of them. Let the local community and private organizations like TILRC work for disabled Topekans.

Candidates for the Kansas Legislature

  1. What are the most significant problems that people with disabilities face today?

Sean Gatewood (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 50 / HCBS services waiting list and unemployment.
Ann Mah (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 54 / Access. Access to services. Access to jobs. Access to be heard. Access to housing.
Annie Kuether (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 55 / I think the entire list of your “issues” you list on the other page [Question 6], says it all.
Janet Mitchell (R)
Kansas House District 56 / Long waiting lists to receive support services; lack of understanding of obstacles.
Virgil Weigel (D)
Kansas House District 56 / Funding for programs/services. Making the public aware of problems they encounter.
Harold Lane (D)
Kansas House District 58 / Waiting List
Marci Francisco (D)
Kansas Senate District 2 / The recession, unemployment and reductions in government spending have had a greater impact on individuals who were already facing barriers,
Anthony Hensley (D)
Kansas Senate District 19 / One of the biggest challenges facing Kansans and advocates is Sam Brownback’s controversial plan to privatize the state’s Medicaid system=m by transitioning to a new program called KanCare.
Changing to a privately-operated managed care system that uses for-profit corporations is the largest transaction in state history and will affect the way 350, 000 Kansans receive the health care services they need to live healthy, independent lives.
Most concerning to me is how this change will affect thousands of developmentally disabled recipients. Many still fear the long-term needs of disabled Kansans cannot be appropriately met by a private program and that the new system won’t properly address the nearly 5,000 developmentally disabled Kansans still waiting to receive in-home care.
Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Senate District 18 /
  • Employment opportunities
  • Quality home and community-based services – access to
  • Waiting lists for services

Dick Barta (R)
Kansas Senate District 18 /
  1. Employment opportunities
  2. Access to quality healthcare

  1. If elected, how would you address these problems?

Sean Gatewood (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 50 / Funding, I have supported increased funding for the waiting lists and am currently an intern for the End The Wait Campaign. I supported the previous bills that have come up to attempt to assist people with disabilities to gain employment.
Ann Mah (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 54 / I will listen and use my votes to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves.
Annie Kuether (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 55 / I’ve always worked to promote legislation important to you & members of the Big Tent Coalition.
Janet Mitchell (R)
Kansas House District 56 / Look into possibilities that could alleviate the wait (options for funding) and overcome obstacles.
Virgil Weigel (D)
Kansas House District 56 / Work to increase funding and/or services.
Harold Lane (D)
Kansas House District 58 / Continue in my support for funding and no more cuts in services
Marci Francisco (D)
Kansas Senate District 2 / Focus on a state budget that would adequately address providing opportunities for empowerment and productivity.
Anthony Hensley (D)
Kansas Senate District 19 / Every year, Medicaid costs continue to grow approximately 7.5 percent. We all agree that something has to be done.
But while we look for ways to contain Medicaid’s rising costs, we must not overlook the need for expanding home and community-based services and consumer-directed service options. The need of disabled Kansans must come first before spending cuts.
Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Senate District 18 / As an incumbent state senator I have been a consistent advocate for disability services and an opponent of KanCare, which will send profits to out-of-state companies.
Dick Barta (R)
Kansas Senate District 18 /
  1. Provide employer incentives through taxes and contracting that promotes employers reaching out for talent in the disability community.
  2. Hold managed care companies to standards they have promised.

  1. In your opinion, what is the most important thing the legislature could do for people with disabilities?

Sean Gatewood (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 50 / Figure out a way to end the waiting list for all disabilities.
Ann Mah (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 54 / Eliminate the waiting lists.
Annie Kuether (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 55 / Fund your programs!
Janet Mitchell (R)
Kansas House District 56 / Allocate more funding. Raise others consciousness of people with disabilities as an overlooked minority population.
Virgil Weigel (D)
Kansas House District 56 / Understand the problems of persons with disabilities.
Harold Lane (D)
Kansas House District 58 / Increase funding for HCBS and LTSS
Marci Francisco (D)
Kansas Senate District 2 / Attending the candidate forum so that I can learn the answer to this and other questions from people who have both abilities and disabilities.
Anthony Hensley (D)
Kansas Senate District 19 / The most important thing legislators can do during the 2013 Kansas Legislative Session is rewrite the 44 billion tax cut plan signed into law by Governor Brownback. This plan is particularly detrimental to disabled Kansans living on fixed incomes because it eliminates the Homestead Refund for 40,000 renters and the Food Stamp Rebate Program which was used by more than 340,000 filers last year.
According to the non-partisan Kansas Legislative Research Department, the Brownback tax cut plan will put our state $2.5 billion in the hole by FY2018. As a result, Kansas will have to cut our general fund in half, making it impossible to pay for disability services and forcing disability waiting lists to grow even longer.
Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Senate District 18 / As an incumbent state senator I have been a consistent advocate for disability services and an opponent of KanCare, which will send profits to out-of-state companies.
Dick Barta (R)
Kansas Senate District 18 / Promote policies that foster independence, i.e. – employment opportunities, quality healthcare, safety net.
  1. If elected, how would you go about increasing the independence, and decreasing dependence, of people with disabilities?

Sean Gatewood (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 50 / Funding the waiting list. Increasing access to public transportation and HCBS services.
Ann Mah (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 54 / Work to reduce the waiting list and help them find jobs. We also need more affordable, accessible housing.
Annie Kuether (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 55 / I’ve always been an open door- an advocate to work on issues important to you. Frankly – this is going to be even more of a challenge under this Gov.
Janet Mitchell (R)
Kansas House District 56 / Consider legislation that would advance the concerns of people with disabilities. For instance, legislature in the past made laws for handicapped access, parking, etc. Now we must be concerned about assistive technology and home supports.
Virgil Weigel (D)
Kansas House District 56 / First, examine funding & services now available, then work with professionals in the area and develop a plan.
Harold Lane (D)
Kansas House District 58 / No response
Marci Francisco (D)
Kansas Senate District 2 / Support early detection, intervention and education along with alternative education (School for the Blind, School for the Deaf). Consider any changes needed to enhance and expand the program to establish bidding preferences, modify purchasing laws, and employ people w/ disabilities. Continue to support public transportation, pedestrian and train travel.
Anthony Hensley (D)
Kansas Senate District 19 / By supporting home and community-based programs, the legislature can prevent thousands of disabled Kansans from being on the waiting lists for essential services and help many more stay in their homes and continue to live as independently as possible.
Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Senate District 18 /
  • Continue to advocate for HCBS
  • Continue to break down barriers to employment

Dick Barta (R)
Kansas Senate District 18 / Provide incentives and safety net measures for people with disabilities that allow for trial and error as individuals try to re-enter the workforce.
  1. The advent of KanCare (managed care) has been much in the news and on the minds of elected officials and citizens alike. Do you support the move to managed care? KanCare? If you could do anything differently, what would you do?

Sean Gatewood (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 50 / No, I do not support it at all, but if there is savings to be had it should be pursued. I do not believe there is any savings in long term or HCBS care. If this is to move forward it should be done in a slower more calculated manner.
Ann Mah (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 54 / I don’t agree with KanCare for those with disabilities We do need to find ways to provide services efficiently, but I’m not familiar enough with the process to know how to do that. I’m willing to listen!
Annie Kuether (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 55 / Managing and working together to fund our current programs – I’m not a fan of managed care.
Janet Mitchell (R)
Kansas House District 56 / I support the move to managed care primarily as a way of streamlining government and supporting business endeavors. If I could do anything differently it would be to ensure all people desiring services could receive them in a prompt fashion.
Virgil Weigel (D)
Kansas House District 56 / I would have to study it more to understand what are the plus sides.
Harold Lane (D)
Kansas House District 58 / No
Marci Francisco (D)
Kansas Senate District 2 / I have concerns with KanCare in general because it has added the cost of profit to the cost of care with only “hoped for” savings. I do not support the move to managed care for individuals with disabilities. The goal of improving the health of individuals should not be accomplished with reduced focus on self-determination or HCBS services. I would not move self-determining individuals to managed care without safeguards for their involvement in managing their needed services.
Anthony Hensley (D)
Kansas Senate District 19 / I believe that the Kansas Legislature should have slowed down the implementation of KanCare for at least one year. And, in March 2012, I joined a majority (21 Senators) of the Senate in signing a resolution urging the governor to make such a delay.
Reassessing our timeline would have given the 2013 legislature an opportunity to more thoroughly study and understand this issue before making such sweeping change. And it would have given local providers the time they need to prepare for the day-to-day requirements of a new system.
While there would have been no drawback to postponing KanCare, I worry there will be far-reaching consequences for rushing into a statewide managed care system before we are fully ready.
Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Senate District 18 / I oppose managed care for support services. Done right, I could support managed care for medical services as long as the MCO was a Kansas-based non-profit.
Dick Barta (R)
Kansas Senate District 18 / I believe that the new KanCare model needs Legislative oversight to ensure outcomes are met.
  1. Additional Issues:

Year after year, election after election, many of the same issues always rise to the top of the priority list for the disability community. In no particular order these include:

  • Housing & Home Modifications
  • Transportation
  • Education
  • Health care
  • Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) / Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS)
  • Employment
  • KanCare / Managed Care
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) / Accessibility
  • Independent Living (IL) Philosophy / Consumer Control
  • Assistive Technology

Please share any knowledge you may have about any or all of these issues as they impact independent living for people with disabilities in Topeka, Shawnee County and Kansas. Likewise, please share any ideas or comments you may have as to how government can best positively impact any or all of these issues as they pertain to the disability community.

Sean Gatewood (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 50 / I have become very aware of the issues in the community on these issues since I was first elected and even more in-depth since the start of my internship at End The Wait. In addition to the above mentioned, I also think the state should take a greater role in engaging private employers about employing people with disabilities.
Ann Mah (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 54 / I don’t work in this industry and have not served on any committees related to disabilities directly, but my sense of it is that we need to listen to what’s going on and be careful that the Brownback administration doesn’t continue to reduce services.
We need to make a higher priority to work to provide services to those with disabilities. This administration is cutting services and silencing those who speak out. That is wrong.
Annie Kuether (D)
Kansas HouseDistrict 55 / I didn’t vote for the budget – with 7,000 on the waiting list – well – Kansans deserve better!
Janet Mitchell (R)
Kansas House District 56 / Home and Community Based Services and Long Term Services and Supports seem to be the most prominent need (i.e., long waiting lists for services) that I know of. Government can best positively impact all of the above issues through allocating funds and resources.
Virgil Weigel (D)
Kansas House District 56 / My wife has worked with persons with disabilities and I have seen the problems they have: HCBS, transport needs and health care.
I would like to hear ideas from the community and develop those into a functioning strategy.
Harold Lane (D)
Kansas House District 58 / As a member of the Appropriations Committee I will continue to support funding, as I have in the past. Stop the move to KanCare and increase the HCBS services.
Marci Francisco (D)
Kansas Senate District 2 / Housing & Home Modifications – could be coordinated to increase efficiency of HCBS
Transportation – state support of transportation should support a variety of modes
Education–early education, including early detection and intervention (i.e., hearing)
Health care – support single-payer, recognize improvements made through Affordable Care Act
Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) / Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) – FUND!
Employment–I supported the bill that established bidding preferences for certified businesses
KanCare / Managed Care – (see above)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) / Accessibility – has helped reduce discrimination in employment, public services and accommodations
Independent Living (IL) Philosophy / Consumer Control – fosters leadership, empowerment, independence and productivity for people w/ disabilities
Assistive Technology – helps overcome disabilities
Show respect (good change from “mental retardation” to “intellectual disability”). Provide Support to help individuals focus on and strengthen their abilities. How about those Para-Olympians!
Anthony Hensley (D)
Kansas Senate District 19 / Housing and Home Modifications - A lack of affordable, supportive housing continues to be one of the major deterrents to keeping low-income disabled Kansans in institutional care rather than in their own homes.
The legislature needs to ensure that affordable, supportive housing and rental assistance is available to low-income disabled Kansans. Matched with needed services and supports, affordable housing options will help people with disabilities live independently within the community.
Transportation–According to a May 2012 report by the American Association of People with Disabilities more that 500,000 people with disabilities never leave home because they lack a way to get around. The problem is particularly prevalent in urban cities, such as Topeka, where public transportation hasn’t been upgraded to meet federal ADA requirements.
Better funding at the state and local level, as well as enhanced coordination of transportation programs for people with disabilities could help reduce the problem.
Education – Kansas Schools have already endured seven rounds of devastating cuts in just three years. As a result, base state aid per pupil is now $503 below 2009 levels while school district general fund budgets are nearly 9% below 2009.
Still, Governor Brownback signed into law this year a $4 billion tax cut that will prevent the state from restoring school funding cuts, forcing us the cut even more and forcing local school districts to lay off paras, eliminate special education programs and increase class sizes to make ends meet.
In January 2012, I introduced a multi-year plan called Kansas Schools First that would begin restoring need funding to Kansas public schools incrementally over a three to five year period, while protecting weightings that help our bi-lingual, low-income and special needs children thrive.
Based on projected revenue estimates, this plan would have restored all Kansas schools to their court-approved level of state aid per pupil within five years.
Health care – Since being signed into law in 2010 the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped millions of people with disabilities obtain expanded health coverage they were previously denied because of pre-existing conditions and to receive services in their own homes rather than nursing homes or institutions.
While health care reform is not perfect, we should not start over from the beginning. The ACA covers a lot of people who otherwise would not be get health insurance. We should fix what doesn’t work, but keep the good pieces that help Kansans with disabilities.
Home and Community Based Services – Thousands of disabled Kansans are currently waiting to receive needed Home and Community Based Services. Still, the transition from our state’s current Medicaid system to KanCare fails to adequately address these waiting lists.
Please refer to Question #4 for additional comments.
Employment - Work is a fundamental part of most Kansans lives. It’s how we define ourselves and our role in society.
To ensure that every willing Kansan, no matter their disability status, has a job they enjoy, the legislature needs to ensure that state laws are on par with federal ADA standards.
KanCare/Managed Care – Currently, the state invests $2.8 million in tax dollars to administer Medicaid services for 380,000 children, seniors and developmentally disabled Kansans. But under KanCare, those funds will be redirected to a private insurance company responsible for administrative services.
Families and advocates for those with developmental disabilities have been particularly concerned that a move to managed care could lead to cuts in in-home services. They are also concerned that the waiting list for services will continue to grow.
There is also growing concern that local providers won’t be able to efficiently meet the needs f their clients during a hasty transition.
For my thoughts on how government can positively impact this issue, please refer to Question #5.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – This year, I was proud to vote in favor of House Bill 2335, which brings Kansas in line with federal ADA standards.
The inequity between federal and state standards has cause undue confusion among disabled Kansans and their employers. By aligning federal and state policies regarding disability rights, we can ensure that every Kansan is protected in the workplace.
Laura Kelly (D)
Kansas Senate District 18 / Through my work on Public Health and Welfare, Ways and Means and Home and Community Based Services Oversight [Committees] I am acutely aware of the issues facing the disability community.
[Government can best positively impact these issues by providing] funding to eliminate waiting lists.
Dick Barta (R)
Kansas Senate District 18 / I am familiar with all these issues and I would welcome the opportunity to learn more.
Elected officials must be willing to ask the tough questions and hold programs accountable to their outcomes.

Candidates for the Kansas Board of Education, District 4