Topeka Capital-Journal. April 12, 2024.

Editorial: Thinking ahead on accessibility

No one ever claimed politics were a game for the faint of heart, but when it comes to making sure our state has adequate infrastructure like roads and highways, we wish it wasn’t a game at all.

The Topeka Capital-Journal’s Jason Alatidd reports a failed effort by Kansas Senate Republicans to defund a highway project north of Topeka is alleged by Democrats to be a case of political retaliation. The Senate’s budget negotiators proposed a proviso earlier this month to strip funding for the planned expansion of US-75 highway to four lanes north of Holton, an area represented by Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha.

Ultimately, the proviso didn’t make it, but if it had succeeded, it would have cost the needed infrastructure boost to the region. A four-way highway is extremely needed in this area.

We regularly give reports on deadly accidents on this strip. A four-way will make this a safer infrastructure for all travelers. This action was simply taken to spite a senator in their Republican Party’s own rank-and-file — albeit a somewhat disgruntled member — but still a member nevertheless.

Alatidd reports Pyle has had a long-running feud with Senate Republican leadership. He left the Republican party in 2022 and ran for governor as an independent, a move viewed as siphoning votes away from Republican nominee Derek Schmidt.

Pyle has since rejoined the Republican party ahead of an anticipated three-way GOP primary for his Senate seat in the 2024 elections.

Were Republicans mad at Pyle? Sure. Did Pyle’s constituents and others who use that road deserve to have their safety put at risk to teach the senator a lesson? No.

Do Kansans deserve better? Absolutely.

When Rep. Troy Waymaster, R-Bunker Hill, said he didn’t like the idea of legislators designating specific transportation projects for funding, he pressed Sen. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina, to explain why the Senate wanted that proviso.

Claeys said it was about prioritizing the southwest Kansas project. And when pressed further, he cryptically answered that he simply preferred a southwest highway. Sure, Senator.

Will Waymaster face consequences for calling out Claeys? We sure hope not, because Republicans won’t just be hurting a colleague, they’ll be hurting the Kansans they represent.

There’s no place in politics for this grandstanding.

We demand better of our lawmakers. We need them to focus on funding our roads, not sticking it to one another for petty political purposes.

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