photo by: John Young

Lawrence Rep. Barbara Ballard (D), right, answers a question while, from left, Jeremy Ryan Pierce (R), Tom Sloan (R), Jim Karleskint (R) and Steven Davis (D) await their turns during a question and answer session sponsored by the Voter Education Coalition on Sunday afternoon, July 10, 2016, at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.

Republican voters in two Kansas House districts in Douglas County will have a chance to select candidates Tuesday in races that could influence whether moderates or conservatives will control the GOP leadership for the next two years.

And Democrats in another local House district will have a choice between a longtime incumbent seeking her 13th term in the Legislature and a political newcomer who hopes to become a rising star in the party.

Elsewhere in the county, though, voters will have to wait until the Nov. 8 general election to decide who they want to represent them in the Kansas House and Senate, and in what political direction they think the Legislature should go for the next two to four years.

42nd District

The most hotly contested local race in Douglas County is in the 42nd District, which covers much of eastern Douglas County, including Eudora, and stretches north into Leavenworth County.

photo by: John Young

Map of Kansas House districts in Lawrence and Douglas County.

That’s where incumbent Rep. Connie O’Brien, R-Tonganoxie, a conservative ally of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, is seeking her fifth term in the Legislature against a more moderate challenger, Jim Karleskint, also of Tonganoxie.

O’Brien, 69, is a retired director of religious education at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tonganoxie, where she also worked as a special education teacher and a substitute teacher. She also previously worked as a private investigator.

Responding to a questionnaire from the Journal-World, O’Brien said she supports the tax policies that Brownback championed in 2012, which drastically lowered individual income tax rates and eliminated income taxes for certain types of business operations. She also suggested that state taxes could be cut even further.

“I support lowering income taxes for working Kansans,” O’Brien wrote. “I have talked to people about the income tax and many of their comments are, ‘Why do I have to pay to work?’ Kansas has set records four years in a row for new business filings, 18,200 in 2015. More businesses, more jobs. My Motto is, Job Creation, Not Taxation.'”

Karleskint, however, says those tax cuts are largely to blame for the state’s current financial problems.

“The State of Kansas is in serious financial trouble due to the failed experiment,” he wrote. “Our credit rating has been downgraded two times. My opponent has supported tax and spend plans that led to Kansas losing over 5,000 jobs while neighboring states have gained tens of thousands of jobs. If elected I would support reviewing the tax experiment to make taxes in Kansas fair to all its residents.”

Karleskint, 68, was superintendent of the Holton school district before he retired. Before that, he had been an assistant superintendent in the Royal Valley school district in Mayetta, a principal in the Independence school district, and principal of Immaculata High School in Leavenworth.

Karleskint is one about 50 current or former educators who are running to unseat conservative Republicans this year, and so far he has raised more money for his campaign than O’Brien.

The winner of that primary will go on to face Tonganoxie City Councilwoman Kara Reed in the general election. Reed has raised over $20,000 so far for her campaign, significantly more than either O’Brien or Karleskint.

45th District

An opposite kind of race is brewing in the 45th District of western Douglas County where Rep. Tom Sloan, a moderate Republican, is seeking his 12th term in the House against a conservative, Jeremy Ryan Pierce, in a rematch of their 2014 primary, which Sloan won, 76-24 percent.

Sloan, 70, currently works as a strategic consultant and also operates a farm west of Lawrence. Before that, he was an assistant professor of political science at Kansas State University, and he has held various administrative and executive positions in state government and the private sector.

Sloan has been an outspoken critic of Brownback’s policies, especially his tax policies, which he voted against in 2012.

“I believe that the state’s residents are best served by a balance of income, sales and property taxes that adequately funds education at all levels, social safety net and public safety programs, and permits investment in infrastructure for water, highways, and universities,” Sloan wrote.

Pierce, by contrast, represents the more conservative wing of the Republican Party which for several years has dominated the Douglas County GOP organization.

“In general I think low taxes are a great idea,” Pierce wrote. “So I support the tax cuts. If we are entertaining ideas of a new income tax, I would be an ardent advocate for a flat tax. Kansans have enough paperwork to do, taxes should be easy to pay, not a struggle. I also think we could ease food taxes and vehicle taxes should we move away from the current model.”

The winner of the 45th District GOP primary will go on to face Democrat Terry Manies, of Lecompton, in the general election.

44th District

In the 44th District, which covers most of the west side of Lawrence, west of Iowa Street, the choice is between two Democrats who generally share many of the same political views.

Rep. Barbara Ballard, 71, who is seeking her 13th term in the Legislature, faces a challenge this year from a younger generation, 27-year-old Steven X. Davis.

Ballard is currently an associate director of the Dole Institute of Politics on the Kansas University campus, where she has taught education and women’s studies. She has also served as associate vice chancellor of student affairs, associate dean of student life and director of the Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center.

Davis, who is originally from Leavenworth, earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of St. Mary and currently works in Lawrence as a freelance writer, copy editor and math tutor.

He made news last week by submitting citizen petitions to summon a grand jury to investigate what he alleges may be criminal voter suppression activities in the Kansas secretary of state’s office.

Both Ballard and Davis said they oppose Brownback’s tax policies, and both argue that Kansas public schools are underfunded.

Ballard, who is also a former Lawrence school board member, said the block grant funding system that lawmakers enacted in 2015 hurts districts like Lawrence because it does not provide additional money to districts that are growing in student population.

“Teachers’ morale is low,” she said. “Class sizes have increased, often affecting outcomes. Salaries for teachers in Kansas rank 36th in the nation. There is no reason why our teachers are not, at least, at the national median. We have outstanding teachers in Kansas and we need to do all we can to keep them in the state.”

Davis said he expects the Kansas Supreme Court to declare that school funding is inadequate when it rules on the next portion of the ongoing school finance lawsuit later this year.

“The incumbent Republicans keep focusing on the numbers, but we actually have to evaluate the outcomes,” he said. “Anyone can see that Kansas’ education rankings are dropping, that teachers are leaving our state in record numbers, and that our high school graduates are having a harder time earning college degrees.”

The winner of that contest will face Republican Michael Lindsey, of Lawrence, in the general election.

Other districts

None of the other legislative districts in Douglas County have primary elections this year, and two of them will not have contested general elections either.

Democratic Reps. Boog Highberger in the 46th District of central Lawrence and John Wilson of the 10th District in south Lawrence face no opposition this year.

Rep. Ken Corbet, R-Topeka, whose district includes parts of Marion and Willow Townships in Douglas County, will face Democrat Renae Hansen, of Berryton, in November.

Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, will face Republican Meredith Richey, of Perry, in the 2nd District Senate race in November.

Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, will face Republican Echo Van Meteren, of Linwood, in the 3rd District Senate race.

And Sen. Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, whose 19th Senate District stretches into western Douglas County, will face Republican Zach Haney, of Topeka, in November.