KS-02: Paul Davis (D)
About Paul:
Paul spent the early years of his career as a liaison to state lawmakers at the Kansas Insurance Department. At the time, the agency was leading an unprecedented charge as a consumer watchdog. The department’s agenda included cracking down on HMOs that refused to cover legitimate medical expenses, helping Kansas seniors save millions on prescription drugs, and blocking a massive insurance company merger that would have prioritized corporate profits over affordable premiums for Kansas families and small businesses.
By 2003, Paul transitioned to the private sector. He entered the legal profession to help families and businesses solve problems and resolve conflicts in a fair and equitable way. Paul has practiced family law, estate planning, and advised small businesses, nonprofits and some of the largest corporations in Kansas. He’s been a proud member of his local chamber of commerce for almost 20 years and has as a firsthand appreciation for making a payroll and navigating burdensome regulations.
Paul’s colleagues in the Kansas House of Representatives also took notice of his leadership abilities, electing him Kansas House Minority Leader at the height of the Great Recession. During his first term as leader, Kansas grappled with a $500 million budget shortfall despite six earlier rounds of budget cuts. After spending years cultivating friendships on both sides of the aisle, Paul was uniquely qualified to negotiate a commonsense budget deal. In both 2009 and 2010, he engineered the bipartisan passage of two state budgets that cut more than $1.2 billion in spending, protected vulnerable Kansans during an economic crisis, defeated an $85 million cut to Kansas schools, and still managed to fund a statewide transportation plan that was projected to create 175,000 Kansas jobs. He also led by example, voting to reduce his own office budget, end a lavish legislative travel program, and cut his own pay.
The biographical information above was sourced from the campaign website; see link above for more information.
