Richard L. Bond (Kansas politician)

Richard L. "Dick" Bond is a former Kansas State Senate president, from Overland Park.

Political career

Bond served in the state senate for 14 years, retiring in 2010 after four years as its president.[1]

A fiscal moderate and prominent Republican, Bond endorsed House Minority Leader and Blue Dog Democrat Paul Davis for Governor in 2014, over incumbent Republican Governor Sam Brownback. His rationale for doing so was created by the state's fiscal difficulties brought on by Brownback's substantial tax cutting policies.[2][1]

Bond will leave his state capitol in much better shape than he found it — literally as well as figuratively. Thanks to his fiscal skills and precision characteristic of his long political career, Bond balanced interest accrued betweeen the state’s unclaimed funds and pension accounts to raise $40 million for the renovation of the Kansas capitol building in Topeka, the first since World War I. He called it, “the only thing I’ve done that will have lasting value and importance.” In his last term, he pushed particularly hard for policy changes including for higher legislative salaries and the reshaping of K-12 education. "Government is reactionary,” Bond said. “It just sort of reacts to crisis, and we never really lay out any kind of plans or direction.”[1]

As Thomas Frank has described it in his best seller, "What's the Matter with Kansas?," the state has, in effect, a three-party system: conservative Republicans, moderate Republicans and Democrats. The Republican Right was especially infuriated with Bond for diluting a death penalty bill as well as ban on “partial birth” abortions. Bond's efforts killed "English-only" legislation, and even extended to the length that there would be a requirement of the state's students to become proficient in Spanish. Bond deftly retained the loyalty of enough Republicans to maintain effective control of the senate for most votes. In 1999, he persuaded even senators who had signed no-tax pledges to support an increase in gas taxes to fund a $12.6 billion highway bill.[1] A senate Democrat recalls telling Bond that the exchange for seven crucial votes on the highway bill would be $50 million in local road improvements. Bond just leaned on his ally, Governor Bill Graves, and raised the funds. Bond always knew how many votes he controlled but, to increase his leverage, generally kept his own desires close to his vest.[1]

Bond's deep commitment to Kansas education caused he and his wife Suzanne, both University of Kansas graduates, to donate $250,000 to establish a professorship at KU.[3]

Prior to his senate service, Bond spent 25 years as top aide to three members of Congress from eastern Kansas and rejected opportunities for a congressional run himself, he returned home, becoming a banker instead. When his district's Senate seat opened, he finally decided to seek office, won, and rapidly emerged as a legislative power. He retained his modesty as he approached retirement, stating, “No one’s indispensable.” “They just think they are.”[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Public Official of the Year, 2000 Dick Bond, Governing Magazine, Alan Greenblatt, 2000. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  2. ↑ A raft of Kansas Republicans announce their endorsement of Democrat Paul Davis for governor, The Pitch, Steve Vockrodt, July 15, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  3. ↑ Former Kansas Senate president commits $250,000 for law professorship, University of Kansas, John Scarffe, September 4, 2002. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
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