Topekan Rick Kloos admits he is a frustrated Republican running as an Independent for Kansas governor.
“Decisions for Kansas should be made by the residents, not the agenda of the two parties,” he said. “I want to represent the people and not just a party.
“I will work between the parties to unite us rather than divide Kansas. I believe the state will run healthiest when we work together and find common ground solutions.”
Kloos is a graduate of Trinity College in North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in theology and ministerial studies. He served as clergy for 30 years.
He continued his studies in substance abuse counseling at Washburn University and has certification from the American Council for Pharmacy Education, which allows him to serve as a police and hospice chaplain in correctional facilities and clinical settings.
While he is an advocate of lower taxes, he believes in achieving reform in a responsible way.
“As of right now, I support the three-legged stool approach: income tax, sales tax and property tax,” he said. But “I think taking our income tax out is partly why we see our high sales tax and property tax. When you take one away, it puts pressure on the others.
“Right now, we are in a position where we need to sit tight and adjust our taxes when we know we have sufficient funds to carry out our services.”
School funding, a perennial concern in Kansas, has his attention as well.
Education, Kloos said, consumes about 50 percent of the state’s budget.
“Because of that,” he said, “people sometimes view education as only a liability. I believe we need to change our way of thinking and view it as one of our greatest assets. I want to restore value and respect back to our education system.”
How would he fund the growing budget needs of public education?
“I believe we can fund both higher and K-12 education with the new online tax and also with sports betting,” Kloos. “I think those are two good ways we can help fund education without raising our sales, income and property taxes.”
He said another concern is that Kansas ranks fifth in the percentage of residents moving out of state.
Kansas needs to grow, he said, which will provide the jobs necessary to keep our residents and college graduates here.
That also will have an effect on state revenues.
“We’re not going to be able to cut taxes if we don’t start growing,” he said. “I will promote Kansas to help it grow.”
Kansas government also needs to be more open.
“One way I will work to be more transparent is being more involved with our local leaders across the state,” he said. “I had the opportunity to visit all 105 counties over 52 days and made it a point to meet with local leaders all across the state.
“I would like to continue that because it helps government leaders stay accountable to the people, their needs and their concerns. Also, I think we need to get away from behind-the-door deals.”
Kloos supports Medicaid expansion and the decriminalization of marijuana, but not outright legalization.
“It is important we not continue to fill our prisons with more non-violent offenders,” he said. “We should also explore options concerning the use of marijuana in medical and end-of-life care.”
Kloos, his wife Pennie and son Nate started the non-profit organization God’s Storehouse in Topeka nine years ago.
His running mate is Nate Kloos, his son.
– Compiled by the Kansas Press Association
