Should old acquaintance be forgot?
It’s a New Years question etched in dichotomous reflection as we find ourselves thinking back and looking ahead at the same time. A conundrum summed up by When Harry Met Sally’s Harry Burns (aka Billy Crystal) “Does that mean we should forget old acquaintances? Or does it mean that if we happened to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot ‘em?” Got it?
As we reflect on Kansas political affairs circa 2025, these four notable “acquaintances” caught my eye as maybe something we should have forgotten.
Property Tax Cuts (cough) – The Kansas Legislature leadership had made property tax cuts the first, second, and third priority of the 2025 session. By the end of the session, they had saved a $200,000 homeowner $35 in property taxes and passed the largest income tax cut since Brownback. Furthermore, any future budget savings are dedicated to lowering income taxes until it hits 4%. Gov. Laura Kelly proclaimed this switcheroo the “kiss of death for the Kansas budget”. Meanwhile, a November legislative post audit found substantial underfunding of counties for mandated state services like elections, law enforcement, and motor vehicle registration which Counties primarily funded with…you guessed it…property taxes.
Gerrymander Fever – Was there a more undemocratic contagion threatening the sovereignty of states than the presidentially induced re-districting for partisan control of the U.S. House? Kansas statehouse legislative leaders – Ty Masterson and Dan Hawkins – caught the fever boldly proclaiming their desire to gerrymander Kansas’ only Democratic congressional representative (Sharice Davids) out of existence in a special session. The fever was broken by a handful of inoculated GOP House members only to be petulantly banished by Hawkins to the political equivalent of Siberia. But Masterson, a GOP candidate for governor, has vowed to rally a veto-proof supermajority in 2026. Gov. Kelly says its unpopular with Kansans.
Town Hall Flex – The federal government wasn’t the only thing shut down in 2025. In March, videos surfaced of U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall ending his own town hall early in Oakley after calling the crowd “one of the rudest audiences I’ve ever had” and being pressed on health care for veterans in light of massive DOGE cuts. Sen. Marshall didn’t answer. He walked out. Town halls are not political rallies. It’s one of the few chances our elected officials in Washington get to face the people they serve. Listening is their job. Contrast this with Kelly’s People’s Budget listening tour which drew mockery from Speaker Hawkins. Marshall is up for re-election in 2026. Hawkins is running for Insurance Commissioner.
Farm Blues – It’s been a rough 2025 for the Kansas farmer. First, DOGE put USAID and Food for Peace through the woodchipper, decimating wheat farmer exports without warning. Thanks to Sen. Moran, Food for Peace was re-appropriated $1.2 billion in 2026. Secondly, farmers became entangled in President Trump’s tariff/ trade wars. China finally resumed soybean and sorghum commitments late this fall which is important to Kansas as the leading sorghum-producing state ($1.1 billion in exports). A $12 billion federal bridge payment for farmers softened these self-inflicted “market disruptions” but stands as a conspicuous indictment of federal ag policies and the first of more bailouts.
Let’s raise a cup of kindness to these “acquaintances” and in the words of Sally Albright (aka Meg Ryan), “… remember that we forgot them.” Or would like to. Happy New Year!
Bill Fiander is a university lecturer in Kansas specializing in public administration, urban planning, and state/local government.
