Republican State Treasurer candidate and current Sedgwick County Treasurer, Ron Estes, wants to bring his lackluster and negligent style of leadership to the State level. Recently KSN news did a story about Vehicle tag applications found littering the streets surrounding the Sedgwick County tag office.
The Kansas Vehicle Registration applications were complete with license plate and VIN numbers, insurance cards, signatures, driver’s license numbers, names and addresses and even copies of checks.
One of the almost 100 applications KSN found on the ground belonged to David and Theresa Morris.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Theresa Morris. “So, anybody can have my information; know all about where I live, my vehicles?”
That’s right, hundreds of applications containing Kansans’ personal information were carelessly kept, stored and obviously lost under Ron Estes’ watch. Ron Estes’ office called this abuse of trust and negligent governing style no big deal.
The chief deputy treasurer says the contractor hired to clean the office put the documents into the recycle bin, but didn’t lock it like they were supposed to. In fact, the applications have been thrown into recycling bins for years.
But, the Treasurer’s Office maintains no personal information was compromised.
“These are an open record if you make the proper request,” said Linda Kizzire, chief deputy with the Sedgwick County Treasurer’s Office.
Wait a minute Linda, you are telling me that this info is all open record? So those copies of checks are open record? As in anyone can go in and get a copy of someone’s check? WRONG! This personal information is not open record and to say such a thing is a blatant lie, Linda & Ron should know better.
When Ron Estes was elected to be Sedgwick Country Treasurer he took on the expectation to work for Kansans and protect their personal information that his office is responsible for. This is not only a complete and total failure of that trust and responsibility that Kansans bestowed upon him when he took that office, it is complete and absolute negligence on the part of him and his office.
Ron Estes can’t even protect the privacy of those Kansans’ he already service, and now he wants to underserve everyone in the state. I for one know I never want Ron Estes in charge of any of my personal information and you shouldn’t either.
Kansas needs strong, proven, common sense leaders and Ron has only managed to prove that he is none of those things.
Yesterday, after Raj Goyle unveiled Mike Pompeo’s history of serial outsourcing, Mike Pompeo’s campaign released a press release that did not address the central fact: he has created jobs in China.
Once again, Pompeo tried and failed to change the conversation. He continues to attempt to hide his outsourcing. Pompeo refuses to answer exactly how many workers are employed in Mexico and China. These jobs should be in Kansas. The facts are that Mike Pompeo fundamentally believes that it is not his job to create jobs in this district. He has repeatedly stated this fact, and his business practices clearly show a pattern of outsourcing. Representative Goyle never accused Mike Pompeo of taking Hesston jobs overseas.
“The fact is, Mike Pompeo’s business record is Chinese-checkered – no matter how Pompeo tries to spin it,” said Goyle campaign manager Kiel Brunner.
With a respect for private property rights, McKinney returns property to more than 979 Kansans
Kansas State Treasurer Dennis McKinney announced today that his Unclaimed Property Division may have returned over $200,000 to nearly one thousand people during the time of the Kansas State Fair.
“It is my job to reunite Kansans with their lost financial assets,” McKinney explained. “Reaching out to fairgoers is a great way to give back to Kansans what is rightfully theirs. I was pleased I was personally able to help one Kansan receive a property valued at over $4,185 and help another person find a missing royalty payment of $1,015.”
During the 2009 State Fair week over $188,000 in unclaimed property was claimed and paid out to Kansans. The Treasurer’s booth was in the Meadowlark Building at the Kansas State Fair this year. Staff from the office worked each day of the fair searching for, and filing claims for people that found their unclaimed cash and property.
“Our staff works hard to return as much as possible and the State Fair is a wonderful venue for us to connect Kansans with cash and property currently being held by our office.”
Each year thousands of people lose track of their bank accounts, cash, stocks, bonds, refunds, royalties, safe deposit boxes and other property. People move and forget to furnish their bank, broker, employer or insurance company with a forwarding address. It is the Treasurer’s charge to locate the rightful owners and heirs to the over $220 million in unclaimed assets currently being held by the State of Kansas. Since becoming Treasurer in 2009, the unclaimed property unit has found 70,000 possible claims valued at over $53 million. Over $140 million has been returned to Kansans over the lifetime of this effort.
Kansans who didn’t make it to the State Fair may call the State Treasurer’s office at 1-800-432-0386 or visit www.KansasCash.com.
Dennis McKinney took office as Kansas State Treasurer in January 2009. Under McKinney’s leadership, the State Treasurer’s Office has reduced expenses while setting records in returning unclaimed property to rightful owners, increasing participation in the state higher education savings plan and reforming its housing loan program to create jobs around the state. Responding to the state’s budget crisis McKinney cut his own salary by 4% while the Treasurers team managed operations to not only absorb budget cuts but return over $65,000 to the State in fiscal year 2010.
Treasurer stresses the need for money to work harder as part of financial education
Kansans now have a convenient one stop website to find a number of valuable ideas for stretching their money State Treasurer Dennis McKinney announced today. As part of his office’s role of providing financial education materials to schools and the public, McKinney has created a Penny Pincher’s website in order to help Kansans’ money make work harder. This site can be directly accessed at www.kansasstatetreasurer.com/pennypinchers
“As a small business owner who has had to meet payroll and survive some pretty tough economic times I know the value of making every penny count,” McKinney said. “Consumers can find valuable information they need to help save money on groceries, gas and traveling, home energy, health care, college tuition, back-to-school savings and more.”
This one stop shop serves as the launching point for discounts and services available from the private sector, news organizations, and state and federal governments. Examples include:
Gas – learn valuable ways to save money on gas, the total cost of vehicle ownership, and maintain fuel efficiency.
Groceries – find out how to slash grocery costs using several easy methods of saving.
College – use the resources provided to seek out scholarships, apply for the LearningQuest savings program, and learn advantages and disadvantages of many different colleges.
The site also provides several resources dealing with comprehensive energy saving techniques, public transportation, and car-pooling systems.
“I am dedicated to providing a diverse Penny Pincher’s website that addresses many aspects of everyday Kansans lives,” McKinney said. “Saving a little money here and a little there can make a real difference when trying to make ends meet. We are open to adding additional links for savings Kansans may wish to share with our office. ”
McKinney is a farmer, small business owner, and former legislator from Greensburg. Since taking office in January of 2009, the team at the Treasurer’s Office has set records in consecutive years for reuniting Kansans with their unclaimed property. McKinney also reformed the state’s housing construction loan program to promote construction and job creation in Kansas.
Over 55,000 Kansans have already invested over $580M in their family’s future. State Treasurer Dennis McKinney announced today that Kansas has joined other states in declaring September “Higher Education Savings Month” to increase awareness about the importance of saving for our children’s higher education expenses. “When Kansas families save for higher education they are investing in the future of the Kansas workforce,” Said McKinney
“Our children deserve the brightest futures possible. That is why it is so important for families to start saving for higher education with a program like the Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Plan. Learning Quest offers a wide variety of investment options,” said Treasurer McKinney. “Any Kansas taxpayer can invest in Learning Quest and deduct up to $3,000 for individuals and up to $6,000 for joint filers from their 2010 state taxable income.”
Learning Quest also has tax incentives provided by the federal government. Earnings grow tax deferred and can be withdrawn tax free when used for higher education expenses. Parents, grandparents, friends, and others, can contribute to a Learning Quest account on behalf of the beneficiary.
“The Kansas Investment Developing Scholars (K.I.D.S.) Matching Grant Program provides additional incentive for working families with modest incomes by matching their contributions dollar for dollar up to $600. These savings options enable families all over Kansas to put money toward their children’s future education at any technical college, community college or traditional four-year university,” added Treasurer McKinney. “I am proud of the state of Kansas for making these investments in the future of our children because they encourage families to save instead of relying on student loans for the ever increasing cost of higher education.
Higher Education Savings Month is a time for families all over Kansas and nationwide to consider the value of higher education. It is vital for parents to realize how much higher education can impact a child’s life.
§ It is estimated that by 2018, over 60% of jobs will require education beyond high school.
§ Median family income in 2008 for those with a bachelor’s degree or more was $101,099, compared to $49,414 for those with a high school diploma. [From College Board, Trends in College Pricing, 2009]
§ About 81% of youth with some of their own savings designated for school will graduate from a four-year college, compared to 68% who had an account but no money specifically designated for future schooling and 64% of youth who did not have an account.
§ Savings over a period of years may raise a young person’s educational expectations leading to increased academic efforts and achievement.
§ Youth who have school savings are almost four times more likely to obtain higher education than youth with no account.
Treasurer McKinney added “Opportunities in the highly skilled technical fields continue to grow. That is why I urge students to consider the high tech programs offered by our community college and technical schools.”
To learn more about saving for a higher education please see call 1-800-579-2203, or visit the Treasurer’s website.
McKinney is a farmer, small business owner, and former legislator from Greensburg. Since taking office in January of 2009, McKinney has worked to cut through bureaucratic red tape, set records in consecutive years for reuniting Kansans with their unclaimed property, expanded the K.I.D.S. Matching Grant Program to help Kansans’ with modest incomes save for higher education expenses for each of their children, emphasized careful management of taxpayer’s dollars, and reformed the state’s housing loan program to promote new construction and good paying jobs for Kansas workers.
Today the organization, “Americans for Prosperity,” will hold a rally in Johnson County. This shady outside group is funded by people who have made their fortunes sending American jobs overseas to China, India, and Mexico. They are now in our backyard attempting to mislead Kansas into supporting their extreme agenda and backing fellow outsourcing supporter Kevin Yoder.
Americans for Prosperity has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars aiding Kevin Yoder with television ads, and one of the group’s main backers, Koch Industries, directly gave thousands of dollars to Yoder’s campaign. Koch Industries is the same organization whose subsidiary received an “Outsourcing Excellence Award.” These groups are coming to Yoder’s rescue because they know that in Congress he would be an ally, and would fight to ensure that businesses continue to receive special tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas.
Stephene Moore Campaign Manager Matt Sinovic said, “Kevin Yoder is in the pocket of these shady outside groups who have directly contributed to his campaign while airing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of negative attack ads. Yoder supports keeping tax loopholes for companies that ship American jobs overseas, and just last month, Yoder sided with outsourcing companies instead of our teachers. Kevin Yoder cannot be trusted to do what is right for Kansas.”
Stephene Moore is an independent voice who represents our Kansas values. She will fight to keep jobs here, and create quality, good paying jobs in the 3rd district. Stephene Moore will close loopholes for companies that ship American jobs overseas, and fight to get our economy back on track.
Dan Manning, is running for Kansas House of Representatives in Wichita. Originally from southern Georgia, Dan is a West Point graduate who served for 8 years in the US Army before being discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Dan has since made Kansas his home and directed his passion for serving our nation in to a campaign to serve in the state Legislature.
Dan’s opponent is long-time incumbent Brenda Landwehr. Landwehr, a notorious far-right conservative, has been a vocal opponent of equal rights for gay, lesbian and transgendered Kansans. Since February, she has used Dan’s sexual orientation to stir up her constituent. She has gone so far as to use language that Dan was told was “too offensive” to repeat.
This weekend, the homophobia and name-calling took a dangerous and criminal turn.
Dan arrived home from work on Saturday to find a death threat attached to his front door. Crudely cut from newspaper headlines was a crass note that read (a copy of the note can be viewed at the bottom of the post):
“DISTRICT 91 Democrat Dan N. Manning, 29, production supervisor, manningforkansas.com”
“2010 State House Election”
“Will DIE”
“FaGIT”
“Kill”
“HOMO”
“MURDER”
“Head OFF”
The note is clearly an offensive way to use threats of deadly violence in an attempt to intimidate and silence Dan and his campaign and, by extension, our entire community and our interests in Topeka. Dan has no intentions of backing down and has seen this latest example of bigotry as proof that his campaign must go on. He and his campaign team’s resolve is now stronger than ever.
I urge every reader of this blog to join me in standing up with Dan and standing up for equality for everyone.
Money and volunteers are critical in these last two months of the race, and you can offer your support through his website, or by contacting Dan or his campaign manager, Sarah Anderson.
Dan’s email is dan@manningforkansas.com; Sarah’s is sarah@manningforkansas.com. State law limits contributions to House candidates to $500 per donor,if you can’t donate then please help spread the word about Dan’s campaign.
Yesterday Mike Pompeo, GOP Congressional candidate in the KS 04, tweeted about an interesting read from one of his campaign supporters. No big deal right?
Wrong. The link that Pompeo tweeted takes you to a page where one of Pompeo’s supporters rants about how terrible his opponent Raj Goyle is and says…
Like his comrad obama, he wouldn’t give an answer, only that he was not a Christian. This guy could be a muslim, a hindu, a buddhist etc who knows, only God, the shadow and …goyle knows! One thing’s for sure … goyle is not a Christian! Since the 2008 election of the evil muslim communist USURPER, barack hussein obama, political candidate “BIRTH CERTIFICATE & RELIGION” information is now a vital part of the vetting/nomination/election process for any and all American citizens seeking political office. Just like his evil muslim communist USURPER comrad, barack hussein obama, This goyle character is just another “turban topper” we don’t need in congress or any political office that deals with the U.S. Constitution, Christianity and the United States of America!!!
Just in case you happened to read over that part in the mass of racist vomit Pompeo’s supporter calls a blog post, I’ll point it out again.
Just like his evil muslim communist USURPER comrad, barack hussein obama, This goyle character is just another “turban topper”
Not only did Pompeo knowingly read this, he obviously agreed with it because he then sent it out over his official campaign Twitter account calling it an “interesting read”.
Mr. Pompeo not only are you a terrible candidate for Congress, you are a racist. You can say these aren’t you words but by you sending them out to your supporters you endorse the ideas in the article.
Here is screen shot of the entire article Pompeo tweeted. Just in case it disappears.
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