To the editor:

Now that the elections are over, some things come to mind:

1. Why did the candidates for the 3rd District Kansas Senate seat take so much money from out of state (like unions in St. Joseph, Joplin, Columbia and Jefferson City, Mo.) sources for their campaigns? Wasn’t there enough financial support from their local constituents? Maybe they didn’t have the support of this district. If not, they did not belong in the race.

2. Regardless of your vote for or against the sales tax proposals, the city has failed us, failed in its duty to provide the “basic services” – water, sewer, fire and police protection, emergency services, street maintenance and, for some, bus service. It waited until these needs became urgent and asked us to bail it out.

Congress got a 14 percent bribe to bail out Wall Street; we got nothing. If revenues don’t meet expectations as consumers cut back on spending, will the city be back asking for more? It’s past time that the city have a “no frills” spending policy in its budget. When the next city elections come around, remember those who failed to put “basic services” items in the budget to plan for the future, and forced us to bail them out.

3. A 62 percent turnout makes some happy in a historic election. But it’s nothing to be proud about. Where were you in the previous two elections? Lawrence is consistently lacking in its support of the democratic process.

Ken Meyer,
Lawrence