10/17/2010
Salina Journal

By DAVID CLOUSTON

Salina Journal

There are multiple ways to become a better-educated voter ahead of the general election Nov. 2.

You can start by reading the candidate questionnaires appearing in today's Journal (beginning on Page A6) and online at salina.com. You can read the Journal daily to stay abreast of stories about the important issues that will be on the ballot.

You can also read the profiles of each candidate and their written answers to questions in voters guides prepared by the League of Women Voters of Salina and the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

The candidates' written replies should only be a start, however, not the end of your research as an informed voter, said League president Ann Zimmerman. It's not solely what a candidate says that should earn your vote; what their background shows they've done outside of politics often is as important, she said.

"If they've done a lot of responsible jobs, or had a long-time responsible job, that gives you the idea that they have some experience in life," Zimmerman said.

When candidates are elected, whether it's a national, state or local office, you want them to be able to work with others to achieve results.

"They can have exactly the issue positions that you like, but if they don't get along with people around them, they're probably not going to get a lot done," she said. "Getting things done comes from cooperating with people and finding points of agreement among people who don't always agree."

Factoid II:

WHAT: Candidate forum

WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday

WHERE: Salina Area Chamber of Commerce's Visit Salina annex, 120 W. Ash.

COST: Free

Who's in voters guide?

The League of Women voters has published a voters guide to the 2010 election featuring profiles and answers to questions from candidates in these races: U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives 1st District, Kansas House of Representatives and the Saline County Commission.

It also features information about two constitutional questions on the general election ballot.

The first issue would specify that the right to own a gun is an individual right, not a collective right.

Voters also are asked to remove the authority of the Legislature to pass laws denying voting rights to the mentally ill. No laws exist, but the state does deny voting rights to convicted felons and individuals who are in prison. Advocates for the mentally ill and gun owners expect little opposition to the measures.

The other issue for voters to decide concerns a list of district, court of appeals and Kansas Supreme Court judges in Kansas facing retention or removal from the bench.

Information for voters is available from the Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance. The commission conducts evaluations of all Kansas appellate and trial judges and then makes those findings available to the public.

The information is available online at www.kansasjudicialperformance.org. Free computer access and assistance is available at the Salina Public Library for those without computers.

Printed copies of the League's guide are also available at the library, 301 W. Elm. You can find the guide online at www.lwvofsalinaks.com, as well.

A candidates forum

The League and the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a candidates forum from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the chamber's Visit Salina annex, 120 W. Ash. The forum offers the public a chance to meet the candidates and ask questions. The event is free.

"A logical thing to do is to come to the forum this coming week. There will be plenty of time afterward for follow-up conversations and the chance to ask questions of the candidates about issues you want to hear more about," said Dennis Lauver, president and CEO of the chamber.

Lauver said he encourages voters to educate themselves about each race by going to a variety of sources.

"Don't vote for person 'X' just because they're a member of political party 'X,' " he said. "Read from multiple sources things about a candidate."

The chamber's voter guide is available by clicking the candidates profile link at http://salinakansas.org/index.html.

Finding out what candidates' opinions and plans are regarding business expansion and investment in Salina, and sharing that information, is part of the chamber's role, Lauver said. Yet, to try to share the gritty details of a candidate's jobs plan, for instance, in a limited written profile, is hard -- which is what makes the forum important, he said.

"Surveys don't allow the space to write a 150-word narrative," Lauver said.

n Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by e-mail at dclouston@salina.com.

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