Keen Umbehr thinks voter dissatisfaction with both political parties may provide him with a track to the governor’s mansion.
Umbehr, 55, Alma, is the Libertarian candidate for Kansas governor, having been nominated in late April. He stopped by Iola Friday as part of his whirlwind schedule to visit every county in the state.
While elections are rarely friendly to third-party candidates, Umbehr thinks conditions are ripe for a winning strategy in 2014.
“It’s almost a perfect political storm,” he said. “I figure it’s going to take 287,000 votes to win this thing. That’s what I’m gunning for.”
Umbehr, a former criminal defense attorney who gave up his law practice to focus on the campaign, changed his party affiliation last August from Republican to Libertarian.
Spending policies between both parties have proven it doesn’t matter whether a Republican or Democrat is in office, he said.
The centerpiece of the governor’s race revolves around jobs, the economy, school funding, taxes and health care, Umbehr said.
Taxes are a pointed subject. Umbehr noted 2012 legislation that eliminated state taxes for corporations and small business owners, including farmers, as unfair.
Umbehr estimates about 191,000 Kansans benefit from the tax cuts, leaving another 1.3 million who still pay taxes.
“That’s not a party label issue,” he said. “It’s an issue of fairness.”
Umbehr favors eliminating all income taxes, which would require across-the-board spending cuts in all areas of state government, including schools and social service agencies.
He figures a 14 percent cut would do the trick.
“Would there be state employees who lose their jobs?” he said. “Absolutely.”
Such cuts would be necessary to force Kansas to develop a leaner, more efficient government. The cuts would also put about $2 billion back into taxpayer pockets, Umbehr said.
Under Umbehr’s plan, state government would be funded with essentially a statewide sales tax for goods and services. That way, taxpayers who consume more would pay more, he said. He estimated a statewide 5.7 percent rate would be sufficient.
Schools also should be more efficient, he said, because school funding accounts for 51 percent of the state budget.
