Marci Francisco is running for re-election to her seat in the 2nd Kansas Senate District. She is challenged by Scott Morgan.

donrichards

Scott Morgan has waffled on a number of important issues- most recently on coal plants. When asked how he would have voted on the coal fired plant legislation, he first said that de didn’t know how he would have voted, then he said he supported construction of one plant. This is such an important issue in our District. WHy do youthink he’s refused to state a definitive answer on this issue?

AjiDeGallina

Kansas has a ban on providing equal rights to Gays and Lesbians, prohibiting them from obtaining equal protection under the law on the estimated 1,250 special privelages for their heterosexual counterparts (as defined by the GAO). What are you going to do to help LGBT citizens obtain equal rights in marriage, employment, etc..

working_momma

Please clarify your position on the route of the SLT and why you feel that is best for your constituients.

Woodstein

In your TV commercial, a young lady touts your energy bills as leading the way for Kansas. What energy measures have your actually authored, sponsored or guided into passage or did you just vote to support something?

Windlass

Thank you for answering.

Do you think that the wealthy need more representation in government or the middle class and the poverty-stricken do?

Moderator

Hello and welcome to this Election 2008 online chat with Marci Francisco. I’m Online editor Jonathan Kealing and I’ll be your moderator. We have several questions already but we’re still taking more.

Marci Francisco

Thank you Jonathan, it’s good to be here.

And I appreciate your posting the archive photo of me picking up recyclables in Greensburg, KS, six days after the tornado…

Moderator

Let’s jump right into the questions.

larryvillerocks

What is your position on the South Lawrence Trafficway?

Marci Francisco

I am in favor of funding a new state comprehensive transportation plan that would include funding for highways, rail, and public transit. I did attend a recent T-Link meeting sponsored by the Kansas Dept. of Transportation, so I know that another shortfall is projected for the Federal Highway Trust Fund in 2010. Although the state may need to give priority to maintenance and preservation, it’s still important to be discussing a future program now. The funding for the current plan was voted on by the legislature along with selection criteria. Individual projects were not debated in the legislature; post passage the list of projects was read into the House Journal. I would support such a process again. If that were the case, my role as a legislator would be helping to identify the funding and make sure requests such as the SLT from entities within my district were submitted.

My Republican opponent responded in his chat “This issue is a major difference between myself and my opponent.” I’m still trying to recall any public position I have taken on the SLT since the decision was made between the route crossing the river which I supported and the routes to the west and south.

donrichards

Your opponent has been trying to put into question your voting record. Could you explain to voters once and for all why you chose to pass on the funeral picketing bill?

Marci Francisco

I didn’t pass on any of the three funeral picketing bills; I voted for all of them. In fact, in 2006 I was a sponsor of Senate Bill 421 to honor Kansas’ military personnel and their families by restricting protests during funerals. I passed on a resolution that commended the Patriot Guard, condemned the Phelps family, but also spoke of Kansans embracing a religious message of love after an amendment I introduced to remove the word religious was defeated, to honor my oath to uphold the separation of church and state. Since it was a resolution and not a bill, it’s passage has had no effect on anyone’s ability to picket at a funeral.

concernedlawrencian

In 2006, the legislature approved a multi-year plan to address deferred maintenance issues at KU and our other Regents Universities. How did you vote on this bill?

Marci Francisco

I’m pretty sure I voted in favor. I do remember that I introduced an amendment to the bill at the request of the Board of Regents. I’m a member of the Higher Education Caucus, and was pleased to have just recently been awarded an A for my support of higher education issues in the legislature.

kansasmom

Marci,

Are you pro life, meaning do you vote against abortion issues? Please be specific!

Marci Francisco

The wording on your question is a little confusing. You can check my position on reproductive health and abortion issues, along with those of my opponent, on the Project Vote Smart website.

coldandhot

What do you believe is government’s role in society?

Why did you vote against the “clean coal” bill? This was a great short term/transitionary solution to our energy problems.

Lastly, I believe that the energy issue will be the biggest crisis our world faces in the next twenty to twenty-five years…tell me what kind of plan you would propose for Kansas? And please don’t tell me the usual politico things about wind, solar etc…I know that those will be a small part…Give me something comprehensive that could get me to vote for you.

Marci Francisco

As citizens of the United States, we’ve taken on the role of governing ourselves. We’ve established institutions at the local, state and national levels to address common concerns. I voted against all three coal bills for a number of reasons. I was supporting the authority of the Kansas Secretary of Health and Environment. The passage of the bills would have allowed not just two, but any number of coal plants to be built, without any requirement for them to be “clean”. Because the proposed ownership and sales of electricity were out-of-state and there is a property tax deferral, there would be very limited tax revenue for the state. I was very concerned about the change in the definition of electric cooperatives that would eliminate protection for Kansas ratepayers. Additional coal plants will add to health concerns and climate change. (If you want to know more, I submitted an explanation of my no vote on S Sub for HB 2066. By the way, this is one of the bills my Republican opponent is indicating that I passed on in a recent television ad.) I think climate change is as important an issue facing our world as energy production; both climate change and energy production can be addressed through energy efficiency, particularly in the construction of buildings. For a comprehensive view, try to find out about the information presented at the Insurance and Climate Change Conference that was hosted by Insurance commissioner Sandy Praeger.

Moderator

Just a reminder that readers can still submit questions for State Sen. Francisco.

concernedlawrencian

As a member of the Lawrence School Board, Scott Morgan drastically cut funding for local public schools. As state senator, how have you voted on funding for public education?

Marci Francisco

I don’t know that it can be said that Scott Morgan drastically cut funding for local public schools. Outside of the local option budget, education is funded from the state. I can say that I have worked to increase the funding for public schools, voting for the three year school finance plan in the special session in 2005, and supporting increases for all-day kindergarten (which didn’t pass) and additional funds for early childhood education (which did pass). My vote on the school finance lockbox was made with an explanation that we needed to consider additional increases.

Windlass

I continually see on the LJW forum a few (anonymous) people who seem to disdain all of the poor homeless citizens in Lawrence, which we have always had because Lawrence is innovative and does help them. Do you agree that L.I.N.K. should be closed in the city’s hope to starve the “undesirables” out? I don’t personally agree with the cruelty of such a thing.

Marci Francisco

I do not agree that L.I.N.K. should be closed. I have participated occasionally in contributing food and serving. This is a great program supported by churches and fellowships in our community. I do appreciate being able to tell people asking me on the street downtown for money for food how to get to L.I.N.K. and what days and hours its open.

stuckinthemiddle

as a representative of a more liberal/progressive district than what is common in Kansas, do you feel and obligation to your constituents to not allow the rest of the State of Kansas to dictate a more conservative agenda upon the people of Lawrence?

Marci Francisco

I do believe it is important to speak up for my constituents and for others who are not a part of the majority. Often legislation can be crafted to be inclusive of all our needs rather than just reflect the concerns of the majority. This would be true for transportation issues, we want to have a system that includes support for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit and train passengers. I do think that Lawrence should be allowed to continue its domestic partnership registry without interference from the state.

donrichards

As state senator, you have been a huge advocate for environmental issues. What stance did you take on the two coal fired plants that were being proposed for western Kansas?

Marci Francisco

I voted against all three bills and voted to sustain the Governor’s vetoes on this issue. Check out my position more fully in the answer to a previous question and in my explanations of vote in the Senate Journal.

Moderator

One last question — your opponent has been saying that you have passed on many votes during your time in the Senate. How do you respond?

Marci Francisco

Here’s what Scott said in his chat: “This is a difference between myself and my opponent. You cannot vote ‘present’ on votes at the school board, you have to vote yes or no.” He may be confused, but this is misleading the voters. His reference is not to a difference between us, but to a difference between voting on the school board and voting in the Senate. Some news for the vice-president of the USD 497 School Board: I checked this out and you can abstain. A motion by a school board member needs 4 affirmative votes to pass, an abstention is recorded as a NO. A motion by a Kansas Senator needs 21 affirmative votes to pass. If there are 20 votes in favor and 19 against, the bill doesn’t pass. So essentially if you are absent, passing or abstaining, it counts just like a NO vote. Most of the work in the legislature is done in committee and through amendments. I earned a reputation in the Senate for reading the bills, and offered a number of amendments that were adopted. When you are called on to vote, you can only vote on the wording printed in the bill. When I was strongly in favor of much of the content in a bill but also very much objected to something it it, I chose to pass. On top of all this, my Republican, and in this case I would say unreasonable, opponent is only counting “present and passing” and not absences. He has gone on to say, in answering questions on how he would cut the budget, that I have chosen not to vote on important issues far more than any other Senator. My record on the Project Vote Smart website which has maintained records for all forty Kansas state senators on “key” votes shows me not voting on three of them along with 4 other Senators, and for ten senators to have not voted more often than that, one eight times. When other Senators have missed more than a hundred of the 1,790 roll call votes, it seems that my making a conscious decision to pass on fifty can hardly be construed to mean that my district’s (Lawrence, Lecompton, and the townships of Clinton, Kanwaka, Lecompton, and West Wakarusa) voice is not being heard.

Moderator

Marci, thanks very much for taking the time to chat with us. As a reminder, we have several more chats scheduled Friday and the rest of this month, including U.S. House candidate Nick Jordan and State Board of Education candidate Carolyn Campbell on Friday. To submit a question in those chats – or to view transcripts of previous chats including with Marci’s opponent, Scott Morgan – log on to LJWorld.com/chats.

Marci Francisco

Thank you Jonathan, Lindsey, and everyone who asked a question and is reading the answers. For more information check out my website at www.marciforsenate.com and remember to vote between now and November 4th.