Topic: Gun rights
Interview of Ronald Wurtz, April 18, 2023
Interviewed by Nancy Parrish
As he tells it in this oral history interview, Ron Wurtz always wanted to be a lawyer. He chose Washburn University because they had a law school and a ROTC program. He interned with Shawnee County District Attorney Gene Olander as a law student, and after four years as an Air Force Judge Advocate, he returned to work as an Assistant District Attorney in Topeka before becoming a state public defender in 1979. Wurtz's interview covers -- the death penalty, to which he has always opposed, and sentencing guidelines, which he originally supported and later opposed. He discusses Show Moreseveral of the cases he worked on. More recently, he has worked on the Expungement Project and at the time of this interview, taught at the Washburn University Law Clinic. Occasionally he has also served as a judge pro tem. Show Less
Interview of Richard Carlson, February 9, 2024
Interviewed by Chris Courtwright
Richard Carlson held several important positions in Kansas government --Secretary of Transportation, Chair of the House Taxation Committee, County Commissioner of Pottawatomie County--in addition to being a farmer/cattleman, banker, businessman. In his interview he speaks candidly about his efforts as Tax Chairman to pass and implement Governor Brownback's tax plan of 2012. He acknowledges the plan as finally passed was "unsustainable." In 2016 Governor Brownback appointed Carlson as Secretary of Transportation (2016-2019). During his time as Secretary, he oversaw the implementation of various transportation projects around the state.