The political landscape in Kansas has long been painted red, but one man seeks to blur party lines and unite state and local leaders under a new administration.

That man is House Democratic Leader Paul Davis. A Washburn alumni who attended the school of law from ‘95 – ‘97, Davis has been consistently gaining momentum in his bid to unseat Kansas governor Sam Brownback in the upcoming election. His 11 years in the Kansas House of Representatives has taught him the art of bi-partisan politics, a craft he feels his opponent is far from mastering.

“I’ve worked very closely with a lot of Republicans, which is why you see over 100 current and former [GOP] officials endorsing me,” said Davis. “They know I’m somebody that is able to build bi-partisan coalitions and get things done. That’s what we’re going to need if we’re going to clean up the mess that Sam Brownback has created.”

The mess Davis is referring to is rooted in the regressive tax plan enacted by the Brownback administration. The fallout from said plan has seen public and higher education budgets undergo massive cuts and drained the state’s cash surplus. Davis cites projections from the non-partisan Legislative Research Department that predict a $1 billion state deficit over the next five years.

“It’s just not working,” said Davis of the current administration’s tax plan.

While Davis and his running mate Jill Docking (Dem. – Wichita) are looking at a sizable hole to crawl out of if elected, the candidate has a plan in place and is ready to take immediate action.

“We have proposed that we freeze income taxes where they will be on Jan. 1, 2015 and hit the pause button on future great reductions until we restore the commitment that has been made to public education,” said Davis. “That is the initial step we need to take to get our fiscal house in order and to get the economy moving in the right direction again.”

Aside from the glaring issues of economic stability, education and employment, Davis also sees the state’s aging infrastructure and rising property taxes as priority items. Another focal point of a potential Paul Davis administration would be to ensure that Kansans who are about to enter the job market have something to look forward to.

“I think that college students have got a lot at stake here,” said Davis when asked why young voters should invest their faith in his policies. “They’re going to be in the job market in the next couple of years and I want to have opportunities for people who graduate from our universities and community colleges to have job opportunities here and not have to go someplace else. Let’s not be trailing the rest of the country, let’s lead the rest of the country.”

For more on Davis’ campaign to be the 47th governor of Kansas, visit www.DavisForKansas.com.