Laura Kelly’s Taxpayer-Funded Vanity Tour

Photo credit: Charlie Riedel, AP

Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly is campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime and time – again.

A new report in today’s Topeka Capital-Journal reveals how Kelly has been on a statewide tour to repeatedly sign the same bill cutting the grocery tax, but Kelly won’t tell the same taxpayers just how much her vanity tour is costing them. To make matters worse, Kelly says the events are about telling Kansans relief is coming, but fails to mention it was her veto of a reduction to the grocery tax three years ago that left Kansans paying the second-highest grocery tax in the country since then. The grocery tax would have hit 0% in January had Kelly signed the bill the first time it came to her desk.

This isn’t the first time Kelly’s used state resources to boost her campaign. Last month, Kelly’s campaign tapped her governor’s office Chief of Staff and DCF Secretary Laura Howard while they were on taxpayer time in a failed attempt to take down a political ad critical of Kelly. Read more about that here.

“Democrat Laura Kelly and her staff have repeatedly made it clear they have absolutely no concern with misusing state resources and powers to try and salvage her political career,” RGA spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said. “Kelly made Kansans pay a higher grocery tax for three years after she vetoed the first reduction, and now that she’s finally signed a bill to reduce their costs, she’s going to make them pay for a tour across the state so she can give herself a few more pats on the back.”