Kansas Democrat sees ‘awakening’ in suppressed public comments that criticize DOGE and COGE

TOPEKA — As the ranking Democrat on a Kansas Senate committee modeled after Elon Musk’s supposed efforts to make federal government more efficient, Sen. Cindy Holscher was “a little bit suspicious” of what GOP leaders in the Legislature really had in mind.

Instead of looking for waste, she said on the Kansas Reflector podcast, Republicans at both the federal and state level have hurt people by eliminating critical services and jobs. In Kansas, the Committee on Government Efficiency, or COGE, took its cues from out-of-state lobbyists who promoted extremist legislation, she said. Much of the committee’s work resulted in adding red tape to public assistance programs.

Meanwhile, everyday Kansans from all corners of the state responded in real time throughout the legislative session with suggestions and comments that showed the ruling party was at odds with the people they serve — but the committee chairwoman, Republican Sen. Renee Erickson, of Wichita, kept those voices hidden until the session was over, in defiance of state open records law.

For Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat, the comments showed how frustrated Kansans are with Republican leadership.

“I do think there’s been an awakening to some degree and respect that what’s happened on the federal level is hitting people in the pocketbook, and so I think people are taking more notice,” Holscher said.

She added: “The thing I think that is very important is that, you know, people need to connect the dots in terms of, then, what’s happening on the state level that’s coming, that’s going to affect them.”

Among her concerns: a looming budget crisis that could imperil public school funding. She appeared in a red “I (heart) public schools” T-shirt at a May 1 rally at the Statehouse, where hundreds of Kansans protested Musk’s work with DOGE.

When Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, announced the formation of COGE before the session launched in January, he said he wanted to explore ways to make government more efficient. The committee launched an online portal where Kansans were invited to submit their ideas.

Those who navigated the portal were informed that their comments would be subject to open records law and could be made public. Kansas Reflector submitted a formal request for those comments in early February, and the request bounced around for three weeks before landing in Erickson’s inbox.

Erickson initially said it would take two months to comply with the request, ostensibly to allow time to redact comments that revealed personal information. She then agreed to release the emails on April 9 — two weeks after the Legislature had concluded almost all of its work.

But Kansas Reflector independently obtained copies of more than 1,500 of the public comments in advance of their official release. Nearly all of the comments were antithetical to the committee’s work, and some of the comments questioned the committee’s existence.

“What are you doing? Have you not, as an elected representative, practiced efficiency in all the bills you have introduced and votes you have taken? Give me a break. COGE is not necessary bureaucracy,” wrote Christopher Berg, of Kansas City, Kansas.

Kansas Reflector didn’t verify the names provided with submissions.

Max Kautsch, a First Amendment attorney, wrote in a column for Kansas Reflector that Erickson had make a mockery of open records law by delaying the release of public comments.

“The real reason for her delay became clear: The portal was a repository for criticism of the supermajority’s legislative agenda, and it was in the supermajority’s interest to keep that fact from the public for as long as possible,” Kautsch wrote.

Erickson told the Committee to Protect Journalists that allegations she mishandled open records requests were “patently false,” but Holscher said “there’s no doubt” Erickson violated the Kansas Open Records Act by not turning the comments over in a reasonable amount of time. Holscher said she didn’t even get access to the records, which could have informed the committee’s work, until the end of March, in the final days of the session.

“I think they were just trying to run out the clock of session, honestly,” Holscher said. “And really, I think it’s because the suggestions that were received showed that this Legislature is very much out of step with the will of the people.”

The comments included complaints about Republican lawmakers’ attacks on transgender Kansans and reproductive rights, as well as their failure to expand Medicaid or legalize marijuana.

Holscher declined to identify her favorite public comments, as so many were shockingly profane.

“Well, it’s a family podcast,” she said. “I don’t know if I can share some of those. I will say there were some that were very pointed in terms of their feelings about this Legislature and the direction that this committee was going.”

A multitude of people who submitted comments through the portal took aim at Masterson, the Senate president who created the committee.

They questioned Masterson’s lucrative Koch-funded post at Wichita State University, his generous use of hair gel, and blockage of medicinal marijuana bills.

“Get Ty Masterson to quit being a chode and allow legalized marijuana to be grown and sold in Kansas,” wrote an individual who identified themself as Blake F, of Wichita. “It’s like printing money, but that d*** tickler keeps c***blocking a slam dunk.”

Jason Young, of Lawrence, directed his comment to Masterson and other GOP leaders: “Quit swinging from Trump’s nuts and spending all of our hard earned Kansans money on election denying lawsuits and worrying about who f***ing uses what restroom.”

Other comments submitted through the online portal directly addressed the existence of COGE and the work Musk is doing through the federal counterpart, known as DOGE.

“Seriously, government would be more efficient if it didn’t waste its time and our money on things as obviously stupid as this portal,” wrote Matt Paul, of Wichita.

Noreen Carrocci, also of Wichita, said the Legislature shouldn’t do what Musk and DOGE were doing, which she described as “dismantling the government in a chaotic fashion with NO strategic thinking or planning.”

“If you decide you want to legally audit departments then do so transparently and thoughtfully, and consult the professionals in the respective departments,” she wrote. “What is happening at the federal level is illegal, immoral, and tragic. Let’s not follow that kind of leadership here in Kansas.”

Holscher said the Legislature should pay attention to comments that complained about the legislative process. Several people said committees should provide a three-day window to submit testimony on bills, or complained about the “gut and go” process, in which lawmakers at the end of the session “amend” a bill by inserting the contents of other bills, sometimes including ones that received no hearing.

And she noted that Republicans failed to deliver on their campaign promises to provide property tax relief. Instead, they passed another plan to lower income taxes.

“They have a supermajority,” Holscher said. “They can pass whatever they want. If they really wanted to get property tax relief, they could have.”

An interim COGE meeting is scheduled for May 13.