Welcome to the office of Representative Charlie Roth!

You have reached the new online home of Kansas State Representative Charlie Roth! This website will be a resource for you — both to learn about what is going on in Topeka, as well as how to help the campaign.

My Take on the Massachusetts Senate Election

January 22, 2010

Fourteen months ago, November 2008, America voted for change. We were promised that there would be a bipartisan effort with greater transparency to enact this change. We believed the promise and the political pendulum swung from the right (Bush/Cheney/DeLay) to the left (Obama/Pelosi/Reed). But we didn’t get change. What we got was the same partisan, heavy-handed politics we have seen from Washington before, only this time it was from the Democrats instead of the Republicans. We got Cornhusker Kickbacks, cash for cloture, the Louisiana Purchase, earmarks too numerous to choke down, a new mountain of debt that we will leave our grandchildren, a health care bill voted on straight party lines, government ownership of our largest domestic auto maker, and an activist EPA ready to enact climate change policy without legislation.

The political pendulum swung too far to the left and the voters of the very blue state of Massachusetts said “STOP, ENOUGH!” And now the pendulum is starting to swing back to the right. This is where Americans need to be cautious. We need to be cautious that the pendulum doesn’t swing all the way back to the extreme right as an over reaction to the left. America has always been a center right political nation. Most people claim to be fiscal conservatives in their personal life. Most people care about the well being of their neighbors and the most vulnerable amongst us. Most people want to reduce the high cost of health care and expand benefits to those not covered by health insurance. Most people want to minimize the effects of climate change. Most people want these things but our choices for solutions seem to come from the extremes of the political spectrum and not from middle ground forged by consensus and compromise.

Our current two party system tends to purge those that want to reach out and work with the other side for compromise. Arlen Specter and Joe Lieberman come to mind on the national level. Voters vote for ideologues who claim to be confident in their solutions to the problems we face. That tendency is most evident in the primary season when candidates appeal to the base of their party. Conservatives become more conservative and liberals become more liberal. Woe be the candidate who says, “When elected I want to work with all members to find solutions to our problems.” And when we elect ideological candidates the pendulum swings to the extreme right, or left, poised to swing the other direction the next election cycle.

The message from the Massachusetts election is not that the voters want more Republicans in office. The message is that voters want solutions and less partisan politics. The message is that we want less noise from the edges and more solutions from the middle, even if those results are slow and incremental. And yes even if they mean we have to experience a bit of sacrifice. The nation and state deserve more elected officials willing to work with, and form coalitions with, members of the other party to find balanced solutions to our common problems. Are you willing to vote for them?

Charlie Roth — Front & Center

Listen to Charlie and his opponent debate the issues

Recorded Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at KSAL radio (a Salina Media Group station), Salina, KS, you can listen to Charlie Roth debate his opponent on Friendly Fire.

Charlie Roth Answers Salina Journal Questionnaire

Recently, Charlie Roth answered a questionnaire from the Salina Journal. You can now view his answers on the Issues page of this website.

George Bernard Shaw — A Splendid Torch

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no "brief candle" for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

— George Bernard Shaw

A note from Charlie...

Hi, I am Charlie Roth, member of the Kansas House of Representatives in the 71st District. The 71st district is mostly east Salina, from 9th street east to the city limits. It has been my honor and pleasure to represent you in the House for the last five years.

I have lived in Salina all my life. While this does not qualify me to serve in the legislature, it does qualify me as an expert on the bounties that our city has to offer. I have raised a family, had a terrific job, and grown up spiritually and emotionally in the best city in Kansas. I will continue to give back to the Salina community what has so freely been given to me. Let me tell you a little about my background: I served on the Salina City Commission and the Salina Airport Authority, and had a term as mayor of our city. During that time, I helped keep taxes low, and brought new business to Salina.

For 36 years I owned a small business. As many of you know, owning your own business requires weekly if not daily decisions on changing conditions and how best to meet those changes and stay competitive, decisions that effected the lives of our employees and our customers. I made a twice monthly payroll for some twenty employees for all of those years. I have had the privilege of and felt the yoke of collecting and paying taxes. I have paid payroll taxes, state and federal withholding taxes, sales taxes, unemployment taxes and corporate taxes, to name just a few. In short my business experience has helped me make decisions in the Legislature that will help our citizens lead more prosperous lives.

I believe strongly in limited government and a strict adherence to the Constitution. I don’t believe in the redistribution of wealth, and therefore I am reluctant to raise taxes, and will lower them whenever possible. I voted to reduce taxes three times and helped businesses and employees by reducing the burden of the State Unemployment tax while securing additional benefits for unemployed workers. I believe that our citizens prosper when our economy and businesses are expanding. I voted for the expansion of Wichita’s Cessna Aircraft and the National Bio and Agro Defense facility proposed for Manhattan. Both projects would create thousands of new jobs, millions in new construction, and increase tax revenues for our state.

I don’t believe that throwing money at a problem is a solution. I believe that the people’s money is better spent by the people rather than the government. I believe that government runs more efficiently when its citizens are spending their own money, rather than their legislators. I believe in the strength of the free market, and that the government should not constrain it with rules and regulations, especially regulations made on the fly with no basis in law. I strongly believe in the value of property rights.

As your representative I support:

1. A comprehensive energy policy that includes the expansion of renewable energy as well as the development of clean coal and nuclear. We must leave all of our energy options open.
2. Working within our revenues and holding down taxes that will leave more money in the pockets of citizens.
3. A strong education system for our children, including early childhood programs.
4. Development of economic policies that encourage the growth of business in Kansas.

I am a family man, with a new found humility and respect for God. I admit I don’t know the answers to all the state’s problems but I have and will base my decisions on my past business and civic experience, my strong beliefs in the importance of a free market, lower taxes, limited government, and the traditional values I grew up with in Saline County.

Sincerely,

Charlie Roth