Merrick didn't seek re-election in 2016, and today, the 27th District is represented by Sean Tarwater. Tarwater's voting record is significantly more liberal than his district. His predecessors, Merrick, former Reps. Jeff Colyer, and Charlotte O'Hara, are significantly to the right of Tarwater.
In Tarwater's first month in office, he voted for a retroactive tax increase. He voted to override the Governor's veto of that tax increase, and he voted for the enormous $1.2 billion tax increase that will cost the average Kansas family an extra $600 per year. Despite the tax increase, the budget will be busted in two years, because Tarwater (and others) voted to balloon spending along with the tax hike.
Voters in the 27th District are likely anxious to find a representative that more accurately reflects their positions on small government and fiscal responsibility. Merrick, it appears, may answer that call.
Merrick may be right about the stupidity of this tax increase, but he was a terrible speaker who couldn't communicate, and punished anyone who voted on principle, even conservatives. He is not the answer. It's time to move on from his era.
ReplyDeleteTarwater and others were backed into a corner and forced to make that vote because of the failed policies that Merrick had in place. More sickening is the fact that Merrick could have fixed the issue with small changes to the tax code rather than bankrupting the state with one time money fixes and pushing off major expenses into the futre, leaving no way out.
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