Jason Littlejohn

Sloan

In the race for the 45th District House seat, Rep. Tom Sloan – an incumbent Republican who has been one of the state’s more aggressive alternative-energy supporters – is battling a first-time candidate who is host of an AM radio program.

Jason Littlejohn, a member of the Reform Party, is seeking to unseat Sloan, who has held the seat that represents much of western Lawrence, all of Lecompton and the surrounding rural area since 1995.

Sloan is hammering on several issues that have been hallmarks of his past campaigns: increasing the state’s alternative-energy production, improving water quality of lakes and rivers, bolstering education funding and using technology to improve health care delivery.

“I think the state is at a crossroads,” Sloan said. “The public and policymakers have to decide what vision we’ll have for the next 20 years.”

Littlejohn – a Lawrence resident who works for Westar Energy as an operator at the Lawrence Energy Center, and is host to a radio program once a week on 1140 AM in Kansas City – is focusing on large national issues. Among his hot-button topics: stopping the “flood of illegal immigration,” overturning the North American Free Trade Agreement and reducing reliance on Middle Eastern oil.

“I think what I can do at the state level is try to turn up the volume on these issues,” Littlejohn said. “You usually have to get a local consensus before you can get a national consensus.”