Incumbent Sen. Marci Francisco and challenger Christina Haswood, currently a state representative, discussed their individual platforms and answered questions on topics including school funding and renewable energy during a forum Saturday.
Francisco and Haswood are both Democrats running for Kansas Senate District 2. They’ll face off in the Aug. 6 primary, and the winner will advance to face Republican David Miller in the Tuesday, Nov. 5 general election.
Francisco has represented Lawrence in the Kansas Senate since 2005. Haswood has represented Lawrence in the Kansas House of Representatives since 2021.
Ursula Minor moderated the forum, hosted by the NAACP and League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County.
The forum also included all five candidates running for Kansas Senate District 19: Democrats ShaMecha King Simms, Vic Miller and Patrick Schmidt, and Republicans Cynthia Smith and Tyler Wible. Read about them at this link.
Where is District 2?
You can check your voter info at myvoteinfo.voteks.org to make sure you know which Senate district you’re in. A lot of districts have changed significantly in recent years.
Senate District 2 changed with redistricting in 2022. It previously contained a large portion of Jefferson County but now includes only Douglas County: most of Lawrence and parts of the Grant and Wakarusa townships. It includes most of North Lawrence and all of downtown, central, southeastern and eastern Lawrence. Some parts of its western boundaries extend as far as Wakarusa Drive in Lawrence, but it follows along Kasold Drive in other places. Its southern boundary extends to Kansas Highway 10 west of Iowa Street and West 31st Street east of Iowa, and its easternmost boundary is East 1810 Road.
See a zoomable map of the district at this link. See a map of Senate seats in Douglas County with markup at this link.
Marci Francisco
Francisco said the biggest concerns she’s heard from voters are about property taxes and affordable housing. She and another senator introduced a bill (SB 2) during special sessions last month that would have cut property taxes, and cut them even further for disabled veterans.
She also said she and her husband, Joe, have experience renovating housing and “keeping it affordable.”
She said she understands that income is also key to affordability. In 2009, she introduced the bill (Senate Bill 160) that raised Kansas’ minimum wage up to the federal minimum wage. Now, she said, she wants to further increase that and make it a living wage.
Francisco said the Legislature “could do a much better job” of funding public education, and school finance formulas will be up for review during the next session.
She said she was concerned that a majority of the Kansas House had voted to make certain school district funds be counted as part of the state’s funding of special education, or SPED, though that effort was ultimately not successful. She said SPED funding is currently falling far short of what it should be. She said she’d also like to see more funds go toward early childhood education.
Francisco said she proudly voted to support Medicaid expansion several years ago, but then-Gov. Sam Brownback vetoed it.
She said she was appalled by Republicans who hold the majority of seats in the Statehouse not even allowing expansion to make it to the floor for a vote in the most recent session. She said if expansion doesn’t pass in the upcoming session, it might be time for a citizen-led ballot initiative.
Francisco said wind energy is cost-efficient, and that it now generates about 40% of the state’s electricity. She said she thinks the Legislature should add more funding for the State Energy Office, work toward an energy plan and adopt statewide energy conservation building codes to ensure that new buildings meet energy efficiency standards.
“If utilities are not affordable, housing will not be affordable,” she said.
Francisco said in closing, “I’ve earned a reputation for reading the bills, understanding the intent, and suggesting changes to improve the wording of legislation and the outcomes. I’ve built relationships based on trust. I am well positioned to get the best outcomes for Lawrence and Douglas County.”
Christina Haswood
Haswood, Diné, said her lived experience is needed in the Kansas Senate. She’s a renter who has worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, and she holds student debt, like “many Kansans across our state,” she said. She also holds a Master of Public Health from KU, and she said her background has helped her combat misinformation and shape policy from a public health lens.
Haswood said that being the only Native American currently in the Kansas Legislature has “widened my eyes to how important it is to have someone in our Legislature who knows about tribal law and policy.”
She has worked on a bill, HB 2772, that she said is currently under review by tribal judicial councils. It would create a state version of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, which is designed to keep Native children connected to their cultural roots.
“At least once a year, the Legislature handles tribal business, and I spend a lot of my time happily educating my colleagues,” she said.
Haswood said the Legislature should be working to fully fund public education and passing policies that will improve the educational workforce and provide holistic service to children. She said she was disgusted to see SPED “used as a political chess piece.” She said the state needs to better help school boards with more robust budgets at the state level, and to support teachers and unions in their fight for fair wages.
Haswood said it’s no mistake that Medicaid expansion didn’t come to the floor for a vote in the recent legislative session — she believes some legislators don’t want their votes against expansion to be on the record. She said she worked with state organizations and the governor’s office to make a gameplan to try to ensure constituents’ voices are heard, and she will work with people strategically to make that happen in the Senate.
Haswood said she’s a champion of the Green New Deal. She said the state must combat policies “rooted in climate change denial” that create more barriers for renewable energy projects — not by dismissing people’s concerns, but by providing more information and studies.
“We must continue to protect Mother Earth,” she said. “We must support policies and promote the empowerment of development for renewable energies and conservations.”
The last day to register to vote in order to cast a ballot in the Tuesday, Aug. 6 primary election is Tuesday, July 16. Early voting begins July 17. See more details in this article.
Kansas voters can take care of their voter registration and request an advance ballot to vote by mail at ksvotes.org.
Look for more forum coverage and candidate questionnaires still to come at lawrencekstimes.com/election2024.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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