Finney, Joan Archives - Kansas Oral History Project

Interview of Edward Rolfs, September 23, 2024

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

Rolfs served during a productive period in Kansas politics and he was a key player in tax and fiscal policy, chairing the tax committee through reappraisal and classification. and major income tax reform. Rolfs tells great stories, about his grandfather, Frank Carlson, Governor Bob Bennett and why he wasn't reelected, and leadership races. His interview discusses the rationale for sales tax exemptions, the politics of the severance tax in the 1982 election, the "booster" tax affecting Johnson County, the working relationship on the House Taxation Committee, and the simplification of the Kansas Income tax in 1988. Rolfs Show Moredescribes the conundrum of property tax reappraisal and classification and its resulting impacts on the 1990 governor's race where Joan Finney beat both prior governors, Carlin and Hayden. And Rolfs had several Joan Finney stories and one about Kathleen Sebelius. There is also a great story about how Rolfs, the Young Turk who wanted to cut everything was put on the Ways and Means Subcommittee for SRS and Mental Health/Retardation. Bob Harder, Secretary encouraged Rolf to visit the state institutions and it changed his attitude. The interview closes with his reflections on the state of government 35 years after he served. Show Less

Interview of Wint Winter, August 9, 2024

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

This lengthy interview covers not only the decade of his legislative service, 1983-1992, but his continued involvement with politics up to the present time. The 80's and early 90's saw considerable change in taxes, education funding, abortion law, to name a few. The severance tax, the "booster" tax, classification and reappraisal and a new school finance law that lowered property taxes were all discussed. Senator Winter chaired the Judiciary committee and was Vice-chair of Appropriations during that period. He was able to shore up the KPERS fund for state employees and provide appropriate funding for educational Show Moreinstitutions, including colleges and universities. Senator Winter was a strong advocate for bipartisanship, saying, "No Party has a monopoly on good ideas." After leaving the Legislature, he was a founder of Traditional Republicans for Common Sense.

Highlights --short excerpts from the interview

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Interview of Robert (Bob) Tomlinson, August 2, 2024

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

Chris Courtwright's interview of Bob Tomlinson, former city councilman, legislator and Assistant Insurance Commissioner is one of the longest and most complete undertaken by KOHP. The entire interview (2 hours 23 minutes) is posted here. But in addition, several shorter clips, taken from the interview, are posted below and will also be used as part of Resources for Educators. Tomlinson's interview covers his wide political experience and lessons he learned. He tells lots of funny stories about other prominent politicians of the era and shares his political philosophy and technics for "vote-counting" for Speaker Glasscock and Show Moreothers. He also comments on the public policy issues of the day, including health insurance mandates, Medicaid expansion, school vouchers, the need for full funding for special education.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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Interview of Kenny Wilk, May 16, 2024

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

Representative Kenny Wilk described himself as "curious" when he first arrived to the House--curious about how committees worked, who the people were. A Farm Bureau Citizenship Seminar had kindled his interest in politics. Rochelle Chronister, Assistant Majority Leader mentored him to meet everyone in both chambers. And he did! The interview is full of stories about the people with whom Wilk served, and what he learned from them. He moved from one area to another: budget policy, tax policy and economic development policy. He lost two leadership races, but that allowed him Show Moreto focus more intently on policy initiatives that came from committees he chaired: Kansas Bioscience Authority, the animal health corridor, NBAF, tax relief for military veterans, the Economic Growth Act, the tax exemption for machinery and equipment. Even after leaving the Kansas Legislature, he continued to serve. First, by chairing newly elected Governor Brownback's transition team, then by serving on the Kansas Board of Regents and the Kansas Bioscience Authority. His current job with the University of Kansas Health System keeps him involved with public policy issues, such as Medicaid Expansion. Show Less

Interview of Bruce Larkin, April 12, 2024

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

Larkin's interview focuses extensively on his involvement with tax issues during his 20-year tenure in the legislature, and after, at the Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA). He tells lots of funny stories in the interview, particularly about legislative strategy. Larkin got interested in the legislature because of the American Agriculture movement in the mid-1980's. He joined the Department of Revenue's Use Value Advisory Group at a time when appraising farm ground was difficult. Larkin was a small family farmer who farmed ground that his great grandfather had bought in 1878. Larkin was also interested in education; Show Moreparticularly how small rural communities were faring under the school finance formula. But his consistent interest was in taxation. He was involved in almost every tax issue that surfaced during his 20-year involvement with the legislature, and afterward, as a staff member at the Kansas Department of Revenue or on the Court of Tax Appeal as a judge or as Chief Judge. His discussion of issues surrounding classification and appraisal is very informative. He described changes in the use value appraisal of agricultural land. Interviews with many of the people mentioned in this interview can be found on this website by using the Search box, or by going to the Statehouse Conversations Collection. Show Less

Photo of Les Donovan in Kansas Senate chamber April 10, 2024

Interview of Leslie (Les) Donovan, April 10, 2024

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

Les Donovan served twenty-four years in both the House of Representatives (four years) and the Kansas Senate (twenty years) from 1993 to 2016. From his position on the tax committees of the House and Senate, he influenced major tax legislation including the tax cuts of the late 1990's. While chairing the Senate Assessment and Tax Committee from 2009 - 2016, he was very involved with the legislature's efforts to correct the budget problems caused by the Great Tax Experiment in 2012. He often called attention to the high property tax rates on automobiles and finally Show Moresucceeded in lowering them. He was an advocate for small business during his entire term. He also advocated for using fuel tax to fund highway needs. This interview is a very substantive discussion of tax policy at a time of great change in Kansas. Show Less

Interview of Ed McKechnie, February 9, 2024

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

This lengthy and wide-ranging interview is full of interesting stories about how the legislature worked when its leaders realized the House Democrats were in the majority by one vote (1990 election) with a new Democratic governor. The 1991-92 session was historic because of the major changes in property taxes and school finance. McKechnie built relationships across the aisle which helped him accomplish things and pass legislation. His interview is replete with descriptions of legislators with whom he worked. McKechnie served on the Kansas Bioscience Authority and after its demise, on the Kansas Board of Regents. Show More He discussed the transition of the University of Kansas Hospital to being designated a major cancer center. One particularly interesting story for football fans is about the major conference realignment that occurred from 2011 to 2012. He described in detail the negotiations over which university would stay or leave the Big XII. Ordinarily the Regents would not have been involved, but the impact of these decisions was too great to ignore. McKechnie also talks about the decisions the Regents made about raising tuition.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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Interview of Lee Johnson, May 22, 2023

Interviewed by Jim Concannon and Richard Ross

Retired Supreme Court Justice Lee Johnson is interviewed by his law school professor, Jim Concannon and colleague, Richard Ross about his career as an appellate judge on both the Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court. Justice Johnson's path to the Supreme Court was a little different than most who served. He was a small town lawyer, a mayor and businessman from rural Kansas. He was appointed first by a Republican governor to the Court of Appeals; then by a Democrat governor to the Supreme Court. The diversity of cases in his legal practice Show Morewas a positive. The interview clearly describes how the Court of Appeals functions, and how the appointment of several judges from that court to the Supreme Court influenced how they decided cases. The role of dissents was discussed to point out their importance to the decision process. Upon his retirement, Johnson returned to Caldwell where he was born. Show Less

Interview of Ronald Wurtz, April 18, 2023

Interviewed by Nancy Parrish

Ron Wurtz always wanted to be a lawyer. He chose Washburn University because they had a law school and a ROTC program. He had interned with District Attorney Gene Olander as a law student, and after 4 years as an Air Force JAG, he returned to work as an assistant district attorney in Topeka before becoming a public defender in 1979. Wurtz's interview covers several interesting topics--the death penalty, which he has always opposed, and sentencing guidelines, which he originally supported and later opposed. He discusses several of the cases he had. More recently, he has worked on Show Morethe Expungement Project and now teaches at the Washburn University Law Clinic. Occasionally he has also served as a pro tem judge. Show Less

Interview of Thomas (Tim) Owens, October 14, 2022

Interviewed by Nancy Parrish

Owens described his career path from military officer to private attorney to city council member to the state legislature. He served seven years in the Kansas House and then ran for the Kansas Senate where he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee. Owens recounts the pressure from Governor Brownback to change the merit selection procedure for judges, making them elected. Also, the education bills were now being sent to the Judiciary committee because of lawsuits and that also caused friction because of the court's decisions on resolving the Montoy and Gannon cases. Owens also dealt with Show Morea death penalty bill which failed 20-20. He described frequent trips "across the street" carrying messages between the Chief Justice and the Governor's office. He lost his bid for reelection to the Senate in 2012 and ended up teaching at Johnson County Community College and retired from the military as a full colonel. He even served a year as municipal judge in Lenexa. Show Less

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