Outgoing state senator says he gave plenty of notice w/ Sen. Barone announcement letter

By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Some members of the Crawford County Democratic Party said they believe the timing of state Sen. Jim Barone’s announcement last week not to seek re-election was aimed at his critics in his own party.

“I think he did have an ax to grind, and we all should have an ax to grind,” said Steve Langerot, one of several people who partook Saturday in breakfast at the grand opening of Crawford County Democrat headquarters in Pittsburg. “When they took away his (committee) seats, they weren’t punishing him as much as they were the 13th District.”

The ax Langerot was referring to involved several clashes between Barone and party leadership in the Legislature over the last 18 months. Democratic leaders in the Senate removed Barone from the Ways and Means Committee in advance of the legislative session. He also was removed in 2006 from his post as ranking member of the budget committee to the Elections and Local Government Committee. As president of the local political action group D Wild Ones, Langerot said he considers himself a supporter of Barone, despite the timing of the announcement.

Party officials in Southeast Kansas said Barone’s last-minute decision left the party scrambling to find a candidate.

“My fingers did a lot of walking over the weekend,” said Beth Bradrick, the chairwoman of the Crawford County Democratic Party. “We have been on pins and needles waiting for him to make a decision.”

Barone has stated for more than a year that he would wait until the end of the legislative session in 2008 to announce whether he would seek re-election.

The last day for the session was May 29, and Barone waited several days before revealing his intentions to the local party and the public, leaving only a few days to field a candidate by the deadline on Tuesday, June 10.

Bradrick said Barone telephoned her at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, to tell her his plan. She said she believes that the timing of the decision may have affected other potential candidates.

“I think people interested in running were waiting for his decision,” she said. “Nobody wanted to face him in a primary situation. He’s formidable.”

Reached for comment Friday at his home in Frontenac, Barone dismissed the notion that the timing of his decision was a detriment, and said he spoke often with party leaders and encouraged anybody interested in running to file.

“I am significantly troubled that if the party discouraged people who thought about running or encouraged people to run,” he said. “We’ve always had a big tent, and we always would encourage anybody and everybody who wanted to seek public office to do so and let the voters decide.”

Barone said he struggled with the decision to run for re-election after 12 years of serving as the senator from the 13th District, which includes Crawford, Bourbon and portions of Cherokee counties, and that leaving the local party in the proverbial lurch “wasn’t my intention.”

“If I wanted to make it difficult for the party, I just wouldn’t have filed, and then not told anybody,” he said. “I previously told (Bradrick) that if they had someone that wanted to run, have them file, have them talk with me. Only one person did, and it’s not the candidate they’re running.”