KS Gov. Kelly vetoes Quindaro funding GOP allocated for KCK Dem who backed trans bans

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday vetoed $250,000 for the Quindaro ruins, a priority of state Rep. Marvin Robinson, the only Democratic lawmaker to help Republicans override vetoes of key policies restricting the rights of transgender Kansans and increasing work requirements for food stamps.

Republicans had inserted the funding into the state budget to offer Robinson, a freshman legislator from Kansas City, Kansas, a “win” after he voted against the Democratic governor and the rest of the Democratic caucus.

Robinson, 66, campaigned on securing funding for Quindaro, a Civil War era town in Kansas that operated as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The money would have gone toward developing a strategic plan for the area, which is a National Commemorative Site.

Robinson has denied any dealmaking with GOP lawmakers — though state Sen. J.R. Claeys, a Salina Republican and vice-chair of the Senate budget committee, has previously said he asked for the Quindaro funding to be included because he wanted to give Robinson “a win in his first year since he was clearly being treated poorly by some select individuals.”

Kelly vetoed the earmark as she signed a $17.1 billion annual state budget that includes pay increases for state employees earning below market rates, matching grants for infrastructure projects and additional funding for services for children with intellectual and development disabilities. The governor made no mention of Robinson in her veto message.

“This request for funding for a master plan for the Quindaro Ruins historic site was not considered until the final moments of the 2023 session. As a result, there was no opportunity to vet this proposal to ensure that it truly serves the needs of the community for whom the site is named,” Kelly said in her message.

Kelly added that her administration recognizes the importance of Quindaro, which she called culturally significant, and said she would support efforts “to elevate this fundamental piece of Kansas history” and honor the surrounding community.

“Advocates should work through the proper channels to seek funding for this measure and ensure that it receives the recognition it deserves,” Kelly said.

The Legislature has adjourned for the year, giving legislators no path to override Kelly’s line-item veto absent a special session.

Robinson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said Kelly had put politics ahead of protecting a historical site important to the African American community in Kansas City.

“Preserving the archeological and educational importance of the Quindaro Ruins should be a bi-partisan priority and excluded from the wrath of political punishments,” Hawkins said in a statement.

The Kansas Black Republican Council issued a statement denouncing Kelly’s veto, saying Kansas “deserves leaders who take tangible action, not just utter hollow rhetoric.” The council’s vice-chair is Talia Penn, who is married to state Rep. Patrick Penn, a Wichita Republican who said in his end of session newsletter that he worked with Robinson and Claeys to secure the funding.

Kansas Democrats have been infuriated by what they view as a betrayal by Robinson, who provided the decisive votes to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports and to ban trans people from single-sex spaces, such as restrooms, that don’t match their sex at birth.

House Minority Leader Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat, has said Robinson’s district “deserves an honest Democrat” — effectively inviting a primary challenge. Several Democratic groups, including the Kansas Democratic Party’s LGBTQ+ Caucus and Progressive Caucus and the Kansas Young Democrats, have called on him to resign.

But state Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat who lives in Robinson’s House district, said he was disappointed by Kelly’s veto. Prior to the past few months, Robinson was primarily associated with efforts to restore Quindaro, Haley said.

“Neither the governor, nor previous administrations, has done anything to enhance and to capitalize on the rich history that the Quindaro Township represents to our state,” Haley said, calling the veto “a bit short-sighted.”

Robinson has previously told The Star that he was confused and surprised by the stringent line Democrats drew when it came to supporting transgender rights.

“I thought the definition of a woman was the cradle and portal of life,” Robinson said. “I found out that’s not what the definition is to the people of the Democratic Party.”

He has said he would never have run for office if he had known the session would be so dominated by debates over transgender rights — an issue he said he was unaware of despite an intense focus in last fall’s governor’s race on whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in girls and women’s sports.

“I would have never even signed on the dotted line to try to go to the House if I had known it was going to be so contentious and full of so many heart-breaking personal, private choices,” Robinson said.

Robinson, a Navy veteran, has spent decades advocating for the recognition and preservation of the Quindaro ruins. He ran for the Legislature after his cousin, former Democratic Rep. Broderick Henderson, retired after 28 years in office.

Robinson won the Democratic primary with nearly 59% of the vote and the general election with 80%.

The Star’s Katie Bernard contributed reporting