Local candidates Wednesday focused on Gov. Sam Brownback’s tax cuts and recent state budget problems as they tried to drum up support in the Aug. 5 primary.

In the Democratic race for House District 46, Boog Highberger and Abbie Hodgson blasted Brownback, a Republican, for cutting state income tax rates and eliminating income taxes for nearly 200,000 businesses.

Highberger, a former Lawrence mayor, said if elected he would vote to repeal the tax cuts, while Hodgson, who worked for former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, said the Brownback tax cuts have helped the wealthy at the expense of middle- and low-income Kansans.

They are seeking the seat now held by Paul Davis, who is the Democratic nominee challenging Brownback for governor.

State Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, who is seeking an 11th term representing House District 45, voted against the Brownback tax cuts and said he supports either freezing those cuts at the current level or restoring the cuts that were made.

Brownback has said the tax cuts will stimulate the economy, but the candidates said the cuts will prevent the state from raising sufficient revenue to properly fund education, public safety and social services.

Only Sloan’s opponent in the GOP primary, Jeremy Ryan Pierce, defended the tax cuts, saying that looming state budget problems can be avoided by “reducing the size of government.”

Their comments came during a candidate forum at Lawrence City Hall that was sponsored by the nonpartisan Voter Education Coalition and Channel 6.

Concerning the budget problems, which have drawn national attention, combined with the conservative social agenda of the Legislature, Hodgson said, “It makes you embarrassed to be from the state of Kansas.”

Criticism of state government spilled into the portion of the forum featuring Democratic Douglas County Commissioner Mike Gaughan and his primary opponent, Greg Robinson.

Gaughan said state budget cuts were forcing counties across Kansas to raise property taxes to fund mental health services and other government functions. But Robinson said local governments need to stop giving money away in tax incentives to developers.

Both Gaughan and Robinson said it would be a good idea to look at possible consolidation of some city and county services, but they said that would be politically difficult to achieve.

On other issues in the legislative races, Sloan, Highberger and Hodgson supported the state’s renewable energy standards that require utilities to produce 20 percent of their electricity by renewable sources by 2020. Pierce said he opposed the renewable standards.

Sloan, Highberger and Hodgson also criticized the the state’s photo-ID requirement to vote and proof of citizenship to register to vote, saying instances of voter fraud were almost nonexistent, while the proof of citizenship requirement was putting at risk thousands of Kansans’ votes. But Pierce said he supported the requirements.

In addition, Highberger, Hodgson and Sloan voiced support for the Common Core standards for reading and math, while Pierce said he would vote to repeal the standards.