Kansas State Senator, Ethan Corson, is running for the Democratic nomination for Kansas Governor in the Aug. 4, primary with the stated goal of building Kansas into “a state where more young people will want to build their life.” Corson introduced himself to the Pittsburg State University Collegio saying, “I’m a dad, I’m a husband, I’m a proud product of Kansas public schools, and I’m currently a State Senator representing the community that I grew up in.”
Corson’s proposed “Working Families Agenda” intends to make Kansas more affordable to live by cutting taxes on property owners, fixed income seniors, young families, and renters while bringing in more businesses and jobs based on regional needs. Corson plans to leverage his experience in leadership at the U.S. Department of Commerce to continue the economic work of Governor Laura Kelly. In addition to his experience, Corson aims to bring effective bipartisanship to the governorship describing himself as “one of the most moderate, pragmatic, solutions-oriented, bipartisan, and effective senators.”
Corson said that he takes inspiration to run for governor from the parental desire for his two sons to be able to succeed without feeling as though they have to leave Kansas to achieve their goals. He believes this is a common feeling across Kansas.
“I’m running for governor to try to make Kansas a state where more young people will want to build their life,” Corson said. “I think about (my) two boys, we have Isaac, who’s six, and Aiden, who’s two. Our goals for them are that they are able to accomplish whatever they decide that they want to, and that they don’t feel like they have to leave Kansas to do it. I think that is a common theme across Kansas. That (parents’) desire for their kids to achieve, but to not feel like they need to leave our state to do it. My hope for students at Pitt is that they’ll make the same decision my wife and I made, to build their life here in Kansas.”
Corson said an affordable middle-class life is the essential draw to Kansas, “the Kansas Dream,” that is “slipping away.” He has proposed a “Working Families Agenda” to make Kansas affordable to stay in or move to.
“The first thing we need to do is make Kansas the most affordable state in the country to build a middle-class life,” Corson said. “The Kansas Dream. We may not have mountains (or) oceans, but Kansas has always been thought of as a state where, for a reasonable cost, you could have a middle-class quality of life. That is slipping away and is out of reach for too many Kansas families. What I proposed is my ‘Working Families Agenda’ which is focused on specific ways that we can make Kansas more affordable and keep more money in the pockets of Kansans – particularly working families – and make Kansas a more attractive place to build a life.”
Part of Corson’s agenda is to increase homeownership by increasing the stock of housing units.
“We need to be building 100,000 housing units a year, because homeownership is part of the Kansas dream,” Corson said. “My wife and I, we didn’t buy our first house ‘till I was in my mid-30s. When I talk to people who are slightly younger than me, I know many of them feel like they’ll never be able to own a home, that it’s just not within reach. And that is not the direction that we want to go as a state.”
Corson, with experience in economic development at the U.S. Department of Commerce, plans to increase state revenue by bringing in new jobs and businesses to cover the tax cuts to working families.
“We need to focus on bringing good paying jobs and new businesses into Kansas,” Corson said. “My background is in economic development. I worked in two senior leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce, including as Chief of Staff of the International Trade Administration. So, I have the background and experience to continue what we’ve started under Governor Kelly and Lieutenant Governor Toland in terms of bringing new jobs and businesses into Kansas that are gonna offer young people exciting career paths in good paying fields. So, we ultimately have more revenue coming in that’s going to allow us to provide the kind of tax relief we need to make Kansas more affordable.”
Corson promoted the work in the State Senate such as removing state taxes on groceries and Social Security as well as proposals such as a child tax credit, raising the minimum wage, and lowering taxes on property, seniors, and renters.
“I’m the senior Democrat on the Senate Tax Committee,” Corson said. “I’m really proud that we worked across the aisle to eliminate state sales tax on groceries, eliminate state income tax on Social Security, and we’ve been able to do that in a fiscally responsible way and avoided the broad tax cuts that are reminiscent of what we did under Governor Brownback that took the state (backwards). I’ve also proposed a child tax credit to try to keep more money in the pockets of young families who are struggling with all of the costs from diapers to childcare that come with starting a family. Every year, I proposed raising the minimum wage, that’s something I’m committed to signing into law as governor. And we have a series of property tax proposals to try to lower the burden on all Kansans, but particularly around vehicle registration, fixed income seniors, and renters.”
Corson said he believes that party politics are not what voters are looking for in a governor, instead offering a moderate bipartisan approach to moving Kansas forward.
“What we’re offering is pragmatic, common-sense, leadership that is focused on how we can bring people together to solve the big challenges facing our state,” Corson said. “People are really sick of a lot of the negativity, partisanship, and extremism that we’ve seen at the national level. I don’t think that they want that style of leadership at the state level, that’s what we had under Governor Brownback, and that was not a period in Kansas history that anybody wants to repeat. When Kansans look at governor, they’re really focused on who can move the state forward, and who can work with members of both parties to do that. In the Senate, I’ve been one of the most moderate, pragmatic, solutions-oriented, bipartisan, and effective senators because I have worked across the aisle, and I intend to bring those relationships with me to the Governor’s Office.”
Corson was in Pittsburg to learn what the economic needs of the region are prior to meeting with the Collegio. He has taken this approach in other parts of the state as well, to get an idea of the unique needs for every region.
“We just came from a meeting with the City of Pittsburg and the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce, and I’ve been having similar meetings all across the state as we’ve traveled over 17,000 miles in my Ford Edge,” Corson said. “Because there are different needs, challenges, opportunities, and strengths in different parts of the state. Certainly, what economic development looks like in Pittsburg is going to be different than what economic development looks like in Ulysses and what it looks like in Overland Park.”
Corson said he hopes to use the World Cup as a test of how to improve transportation in Kansas stating, “I want to make sure that Southeast Kansas is not forgotten.”
“We need to look at the feasibility of all different kinds of transportation options,” Corson said. “I’m on the Senate Transportation Committee; I’m going to be very focused as Governor on our next 10-year transportation plan. I want to make sure that Southeast Kansas is not forgotten. If you look at the Kansas City Metro and what’s going on around the World Cup, transportation has been a big focus. My hope is that part of the legacy of the World Cup being in our region, is that we can look at some of the things we’ve tried around transportation and what might be things that we can look at being a good fit for Kansas going forward.”
Corson said state politics affects younger generations the most and that it is important for Pitt State students to engage with this year’s elections.
“It is incredibly important that students register to vote, engage with this year’s elections, get informed about the issues, and vote in August and November,” Corson said. “Young people have the most at stake in this election. They are the ones who are going to be most impacted by the policies that come out of state government. It’s very important that they make sure their voice is heard.”