Former resident files for Senate seat
James Meier, 2000 Marion High School graduate, is a Republican candidate for the Kansas 17th State Senate District.
Meier said he was prompted to run because it's time for a change.
"A government by the people and for the people should be representative of the people," Meier said. "There is a large silent majority that needs to be heard."
Meier is a student at Emporia State University and said he understands the issues facing legislators.
The platform for his candidacy is taxes, traditional family values, and education.
"Kansans are simply taxed out," Meier said. "I know as a student because last year when my wife and I filed our income taxes, we were below the poverty level but still paid state taxes."
Meier also has concerns about the amount of sales tax Kansans pay.
"The average sales tax in Kansas is between five and six percent," Meier said. "Just across the border in Missouri, sales tax is 1.6 percent. Kansas has higher sales tax than other states in the region."
Traditional family values are important to Meier. He said there is a silent majority who cherish traditional family values and traditional marriages.
"It's time to listen to the majority and carry out their wishes," Meier added.
As a student, education is an important issue to Meier. He believes teachers should get paid more for what they do.
"Changes need to be made in state funding to improve the level of education in the state of Kansas," Meier said. "I believe the best way to do that is to give local school boards more control over those funds instead of the state telling them where those funds should be spent. The local school district knows what the local needs are."
Meier said it's time for the people of Kansas to have a chance to vote for themselves on key issues instead of having a few legislators decided for them in Topeka.
"It's time to return the power to the people," Meier said. "This all ties in to the notion that people need to be empowered with their own education system, social issues, and tax decisions."
"I am here to give that silent majority a vote," Meier concluded.
Meier is majoring in French and economics at ESU and spent a year in France. He is a ward clerk in the medical surgical unit at Newman Regional Health in Emporia.
His wife Andrea recently graduated from ESU with a degree in elementary education.
The 17th district includes parts of Marion Morris, Greenwood, Coffey, and Osage counties, and all of Chase and Lyon counties.
Meier may be contacted at meierforsenate@yahoo.com or 620-342-6413.
