Rep. Owen Donohoe files for State Representative

Owen Donohoe, former three-term State Representative for the 39th District in Kansas, has filed for the Republican primary for the State House of Representatives.

In his three terms as State Representative representing the citizens of Shawnee, Rep. Donohoe was known as a "Champion of the Taxpayer" and a strong, pro-life supporter of family values.

"I want to bring the focus of the legislature back to supporting family values and fiscal accountability," Rep. Donohoe explains. "This is what the citizens want -- accountability and a strong foundation of values in our policies."

"The legislature has lost its focus on representing the taxpayers," says Rep. Donohoe, explaining why he is seeking office after three successful terms ending in 2012.

Citing that education funding will again be a lightning rod issue for the 2018 election, Rep. Donohoe offers a common-sense solution.

"I want the highest-ranked students at the most efficient cost. That means effective teachers that are evaluated with standards, like in any other profession. The NEA is against teacher standards, and as a result, we have schools in Kansas where only 25% of students are college-ready when they graduate high school," he says. "How is this efficient?"

"The NEA teachers' union has corrupted the representatives of the people with its power play for a liberal agenda. And they're holding kids hostage with strikes that are going on around the country."

Rep. Donohoe cited that nearly 70% of the state budget is spent on education, leaving other priorities like healthcare, services for vulnerable populations, transportation and infrastructure compromised.

As long as the NEA teachers' union keeps pressuring the Kansas Supreme Court to unprecedented levels of spending -- without accountability measures or teacher effectiveness standards -- Kansas taxpayers will continue to be squeezed into an unsustainable tax burden, which stifles growth and hurts small businesses and families.

The average Kansas family has seen dramatic increases in state income taxes and local property taxes in the past three years.

"This tax burden is crippling small businesses and families trying to make ends meet," says Rep. Donohoe.

Rep. Donohoe has already pledged that he will not vote for a tax increase and will not enroll in KPERS retirement plan if elected again as a State Representative. He has never taken KPERS. Members of the state legislature, who work part-time, are given KPERS benefits at four times their annual salary when they retire, and the benefits last for life.

Rep. Donohoe's opponent is a supporter of the NEA teacher's union lobby. She has not yet stated if she will accept KPERS retirement benefits.

MAP OF DISTRICT 39 IN KANSAS