Candidate, Kansas State House of Representatives, District 60, 2020

No caucus information on file.

Aviation Technical Writer II, Garmin International, 2015-present

Instructional Systems Specialist II/Assistant Director of Programs, FlightSafety International, 2010-present

Traffic Safety Specialist II, Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office, 2009-2010

Volunteer, Ronald McDonald House

Volunteer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, 2009-2012

Priority Issues:

Healthcare-As we have seen in the recent months, our healthcare workers and first responders are vital to keep our community healthy and thriving. As state representative, I would work hard to help expand Medicaid for Kansans, because having healthy, insured citizens results in a safer and more productive society for all of us.
Many other communities throughout the state have lost medical centers, hospitals, and doctor?s offices as a result of legislators? lack of expanding Medicaid. With hospitals having the certainty of reimbursement from Medicaid, this could slow or even reverse the negative results of the last several years with the shuttering of those offices and hospitals across the state.

Taxes-Just like a lot of household budgets, the state tax revenue picture has worsened as a result of businesses, organizations and government offices being closed due to the coronavirus situation. When discussions begin to happen in earnest at the state level as to how to manage with the expected shortfalls, those among us that were the most impacted by this pandemic should be kept in mind. When it comes to taxes, both individuals and companies should both pay their fair share. We should be looking for efficiency gains where possible across the board while impacting our citizens in the least impactful ways possible. Where gains can be made, we should be looking to reduce the state sales tax on groceries and food as well as we are one of the few remaining states that tax this at the full rate.

Education-After years of a failed tax experiment here in the state, we had begun to made headway into shoring up the state financial picture right as the coronavirus pandemic struck. We need to continue to fund education equitably across the state and across the spectrum from Pre-K all the way through technical colleges, junior colleges, and universities. Deferring on investing in our future, the education of fellow Kansans, should not be an option.

Local Economy-Small and large businesses alike have been hit hard in the recession that has formed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Although several pieces of legislation have been passed by the United States Congress, there still is work to be done on ensuring that our local economy continues to grow and thrive.
We should be leveraging as many public-private partnerships as we can in order to help the Lyon County area grow well into the 21st century and we should look to similar regions as ours for guidance on how to accomplish this. Recruiting the companies and workers that are in growing sectors of the economy are key to this. Putting all our eggs in one basket, whether it be factories, retail, or technology is not a wise move as we have seen with the pandemic shuttering the doors of many retail, hospitality, and dining establishments. It will take a mix of all the above for our region to have a balanced shot at successful years to come.

Reason for Seeking Public Office:

I'm Todd Maddox and was born and raised in Emporia and want to see it continue to grow and thrive. My post-secondary education was at Wichita State University and graduated during the Great Recession with a degree in Communications. I've worked in the aviation and software areas over the years, primarily dealing with communications, education, and training in those industries. Having a degree in Communications as well as a background in working with those of all ages and abilities can help me connect with constituents here in our great district as well as the varied agencies that legislators are tasked with overseeing.

My spouse is a teacher in the district, and we have seen first-hand the result of recent cuts to education funding. This is something that plays out immediately and over the long-term, with negative consequences that can last a lifetime for students who receive subpar education due to crowded classrooms, outdated textbooks and underinvestment in teaching our students the skills needed to compete in a 21st century economy. As someone who has followed politics closely over the years, I felt the time was ripe for change in Topeka at the Statehouse and decided to throw my hat in the ring running for the 60th District.

I will work to expand Medicaid and quality healthcare in general. This is just one piece of our healthcare puzzle, but it is an important one that can allow for ~150,000 Kansans to be insured. In addition to having access to healthcare, this is expected to bring jobs to support providing services for those newly insured Kansans and revenue to support doctors? offices and hospitals in the more rural areas of our state.

I will work to reduce the regressive food sales tax and that on feminine hygiene products. This is something can be done with a plan to step down this levy on citizens of Kansas over the coming years and absolutely should be done. If we can find ways to come up with incentives to entice mega-corporations at the drop of a hat, we must be able to work to reduce the impact of something that all citizens need to purchase and disproportionately impacts the working and middle class.

I will work to ensure the education budget is not cut further. Where possible and where it makes sense, I will work to make sure K-12 and higher education is supported more as it is not only key to our student?s futures but is a large driver of our local economy.

They key takeaway here is I will work for you, the hardworking, taxpaying, responsible citizen of District 60.

I have not been a lobbyist unlike my opponent and have no desire to do so. The only thing one could say I would lobby for is the genuine best interests of those who reside in District 60. I?m not in this race as a favor to those who have paid my salary for the past 40 years. Nor am I campaigning for this seat to satisfy some of the dozens of out-of-state PACs such as those that have donated to my opponent?s campaign.

The better candidate, I believe, for this race is someone who is not tied to such funds and questionable sources of funding. I am in this race to do what?s right for our local residents and only our local residents, not what is viewed as right according to these mega-corporations and PACs from out of state.