Candidates lawmakers take part in parade

Lawmakers from McPherson and across the state converged on McPherson Friday to take part in the 97th annual All Schools Day parade.
Some came to campaign, others came to shake hands with constituents and greet old friends.
“This is a great event,” said 1st District Candidate Republican Tracey Mann, who walked in the parade. “We met a lot of really great people.”
The McPherson County Republican Party took advantage of the influx of candidates during the organization’s annual luncheon following the parade.
Optimism ran high among the party faithful about the GOPs chances in Kansas to take back state offices.
“We have a great slate of candidates. I want to see us sweep all the offices statewide and federal offices this fall,” said Sen. Sam Brownback, who is also running for governor. “We’re trying to put them money together to fund the ground game. It’s not just about the air war anymore. It’s about getting the votes in.”
Brownback also made a plea for party unity.
“We’re going to have robust primaries. We have fabulous candidates. Once we select in August, let’s get together for the clean sweep in November, because we need to do it.”
State Rep. Clark Shultz served as emcee for the luncheon, who pointed out that the Democrats who hold statewide office were there are a result of appointment, rather than election.
Attending and speaking were most of the 1st District candidates, with the exception of Rob Wasinger and Monte Shadwick; Derek Schmidt and Ralph DeZago for Attorney General; David Powell for Insurance Commissioner; and Kris Kobach and Libby Ensley for Secretary of State.
Also attending was former 5th District Congressman and McPherson resident Dick Nichols.
Democratic Senate candidate Charles Schollenberger hosted a candidate forum at The Well following the parade. The Prairie Village resident and former agriculture journalist talked about his intentions, if elected, to seek a seat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. He also spoke about Washington’s recent investigation into Wall Street and said he supports financial report and breaking apart some of the nation’s largest banks.
“I think some banks should be broken up,” he said. “They can be too big.”
He noted that while he opposes the cap-and-trade legislation, he does consider himself an environmentalist and believes there are alternative ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions.