Praeger pick

Sandy Praeger has earned another four years as Kansas insurance commissioner.

The Journal-World traditionally issues very few endorsements in primary election races. However, for a couple of reasons, we have decided to make a recommendation in the Aug. 3 vote for Kansas insurance commissioner.

First, only two candidates have registered in this statewide race and both are Republicans. That means the primary race, in all probability, will decide who serves as insurance commissioner for the next four years.

Second, we in Lawrence have had a chance to observe incumbent commissioner Sandy Praeger in a variety of public service roles for many years. From her term on the Lawrence City Commission, through more than a decade of service in the Kansas Legislature and two terms as Kansas insurance commissioner, she has shown her expertise and her dedication to her constituents.

Praeger, now 65, told the Journal-World recently that she had wondered whether she’d be ready to step down at the end of her current term and enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle. She was driven to run again, she said, by her desire to see the state through the significant challenges posed by the transition to the new universal health care system.

Kansas voters should return her to office to do just that. Her professional experience, which includes serving as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2008, combined with her personal experiences as the wife of a Lawrence surgeon and her ties to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius all put Praeger in a strong position to represent the state well, not only in the changing health insurance arena but in other insurance matters as well.

Sandy Praeger has our support for another four-year term in the Kansas insurance commissioner’s office.