Opinion: $141,122.61???

By Michael Glenn

• Facebook
• X
• ShareCopied to clipboard

$141,122.61.

$141,122.61.

$141,122.61 

No, I don’t have a stutter.

I want that number to sink in with the readers of this publication.

This is the amount that we were able to identify as being spent to sway and influence the election in one of the most competitive, if not the most, seats in the Kansas Legislature. 

Republican Kyler Sweely alone saw the support of six groups spending $108,816 to help get him elected. Probst saw $32,306.88 in similar support. 

Who in their right mind would spend this much money to change the outcome of one house seat? What is so important about Probst’s seat that we require so much outside money to tell our neighbors who to support? 

Let me ask you guys something: How many mailers do you need to decide who to vote for? How many YouTube ads do you skip in a day leading with things like: “Topeka is broken…” or “My opponent sucks but I don’t?”

I’m writing this in a slightly upset tone because these groups act as if we have no clue who to vote for or that we’re stupid. We know who Jason Probst and Kyler Sweely are. And if we care to find out the facts, we can find out who these people are and what they say they believe in or are going to do. 

These groups are trying to prey on Hutchinson voters who may not be connected to local politics, as most people aren’t. But they know that if they keep pestering you, or they keep telling you how bad the other guy is, you might just listen.

We don’t need a postcard every day reminding us how horrible people in D.C. or Topeka think our government is and how one person is going to fix that.

Luckily, I live in South Hutchinson. I literally live in a district with no truly competitive races. The Republican candidate, Kevin Schwertfeger, will be my representative come January. He doesn’t even have an opponent. 

But I hear and understand that the residents of the 102nd district have been bombarded with text messages, postcards and digital advertisements, and I have a feeling we’re a little tired of it. 

We don’t make endorsements for any races, but we hope to have given you enough information within the past few months on who makes a better candidate for you. 

Go out and vote with honesty and integrity. Vote for who you believe will represent your values and fight for you and for your district. We’ve already seen huge voter turnout before the election has even started, and I hope it continues. 

For those of you who don’t vote, there’s only one rule: don’t complain about who wins.

I can’t vote but my young adulthood years will be largely controlled by who wins these elections, all the way from the President of the United States to the Reno County Commission.