ShawneeDispatch.com

Rep. Ray Cox, R-Bonner Springs, has announced he won't seek re-election.

"I'll be 73 when I get out," he said, "and 14 years of public service -- that's long enough. There's other things I want to do."

Cox, whose 39th District also includes western Shawnee, said he looked forward to taking a winter vacation with his wife, something he hasn't done in 14 years, and playing golf again.

Cox said he'd planned to not retire until he found a suitable successor. He found that person, he said, in Quentin Brewer, the co-owner of Brewer's Price Chopper in Bonner Springs.

Brewer, who has no political experience, said he was running because "I feel I could be a good voice for the people."

Brewer has run the grocery store in Bonner Springs for 21 years and lives in Shawnee, where he graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School.

Brewer characterizes himself as a moderate Republican in the mold of Cox, and said he didn't have "any wild issue."

Brewer said he thought the gaming bill the Legislature was considering, which would legalize gambling in the state, was an important issue. The state is losing money to Missouri, he said, because residents are crossing the border to spend their gambling money there.

On one of the burning issues of the day, illegal immigration, Brewer said he believed there had to be a reasonable way to deal with the problem, and perhaps making it easier to become a citizen would be a solution, because "they're already here."

Brewer said that if elected he would work not just for the interests of citizens but for those of businesses.

Brewer, who, has a 9-year-old daughter in the Shawnee Mission school district, said he had some good ideas for the school districts and that he thought school districts ought to be able to raise by a reasonable increase their local budget options in order to pump in extra money to their schools.

But, he cautioned, "one size doesn't fit all -- one program doesn't work for 400 districts."

As far as his campaign efforts go, Brewer said he planned to begin visiting homes in mid-May and meet with some organizations to answer question. He said he expected to do fine in Bonner and as of this week there was no opponent on file in the race.

Brewer said he wanted voters to feel free to ask him questions by either calling him at 913-441-2999, or e-mailing him at kiles@kc.rr.com.