Several Douglas County Democrats gathered Sunday night at Frank’s North Star Tavern in North Lawrence to gear up for an expected fight over Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget proposal — and possibly their last chance to enjoy cheap drinks.

“The governor has proposed to raise the taxes on every beer that you drink by 50 percent and to triple the taxes on every pack of cigarettes you smoke,” said Rep. Boog Highberger of Lawrence. “You work hard every day, and the last thing you need is for your beer to cost more when you come in.”

Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, and Rep. Boog Highberger, D-Lawrence, speak to local Democratic Party activists Sunday night at Frank's North Star Tavern in North Lawrence. Democrats are gearing up for a battle over Gov. Sam Brownback's budget proposal, which calls for steep increases in liquor and cigarette taxes.

Brownback unveiled his budget plan Thursday, making adjustments for the last half of the current fiscal year and laying out his spending plan for the next two fiscal years.

Faced with a projected $714 million revenue shortfall for the next 18 months, Brownback proposed a combination of spending cuts, fund transfers and tax increases, including increases in state liquor and cigarette taxes.

He also proposed slowing down some of the cuts in state income tax rates scheduled to take effect in future years, although he pledged in his State of the State address Thursday night that he wants to continue on the path of phasing out income taxes altogether.

Sen. Marci Francisco argued that the shift away from income taxes to consumption taxes actually results in an overall tax increase for most people because state income taxes are deductible the following year on federal tax returns.

But Shawn Sullivan, the governor’s budget director, defended the proposals last week, arguing that people have more power to control how much they pay in sales and consumption taxes because they have the option of deciding how much to spend on retail sales and whether or not they drink or smoke.

While Lawrence-area Democrats were ready to attack the governor’s tax proposal Sunday night, the Democratic caucus in the Legislature so far has not issued a formal response to the governor’s budget.

In a joint statement released Friday, House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs, of Kansas City, and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, said: “At first glance, there are several components of Governor Brownback’s budget proposal that give us concern, but we will review it carefully and provide official comment when the Legislature reconvenes next week.”

Sunday’s event helped highlight the stark political contrast between Douglas County and most of the rest of the state. Because while Democrats hold the bulk of all the political offices in Douglas County — three of the five state House seats; both state Senate seats; two out of three County Commission seats and most of the countywide elected offices — in the Legislature, they hold the fewest seats they have held in more than half a century.

As a result, much of the conversation at Frank’s North Star Tavern Sunday centered on the future of the Kansas Democratic Party which, in addition to losing five seats in the Kansas House in November, also lost every congressional and statewide race on the ballot.

Party chairwoman Joan Wagnon has already announced she will not seek another term in that position. And while no one has officially announced plans to run for the chairmanship, several Democratic activists said Sunday that former House Minority Leader and former State Treasurer Dennis McKinney, of Greensburg, is being encouraged to run.

McKinney could not be reached Monday for comment.

Democrats will elect new leadership at their annual state convention known as Washington Days, to be held in February in Topeka.