Now that he’s had a few weeks to think of himself as a candidate, Ed Bideau said he’d argue hard for the state’s 31 judicial districts have the option to elect district attorneys to replace their current county attorneys.
“It’s not a problem here in southeast Kansas,” he said. “But in western Kansas there are some counties that have to share a county attorney because there aren’t enough qualified people to fill the office,” he said Monday afternoon in a visit to the Register.
Bideau is a former county attorney for Neosho County and is now in private practice.
Bideau faces Iolans Judy Brigham and Bud Sifers for the Republican nomination to the Kansas House. He said he doesn’t know the positions of either candidate to weigh an opinion.
He does know Sifers has the endorsement of the ultra-conservative Kansas Chamber of Commerce PAC.
“I’m disappointed they didn’t contact me to ask my opinions,” Bideau said.
Bideau said he considers himself “A traditional Republican with conservative thoughts and leanings.”
He said if elected he would not sign an anti-tax pledge or necessarily toe the line of any one specific group, especially those from “the East Coast.”
Bideau said he was concerned with Gov. Sam Brownback’s overhaul of Medicaid and the new KanCare system which will be managed by three private insurance companies instead of the state.
“I’m very concerned about the reform, specifically for the disabled people and those in nursing homes, 80 percent of which receive Medicaid benefits,” he said.
Bideau said it looks as if the Kansas economy is gaining traction.
If “Kansas gets back to prosperity,” then Bideau said he would favor approving more funds toward education, “and abide by the court order,” for adequate funding.
