Josh Svaty
Last week Governor Parkinson announced the appointment of State Rep Josh Svaty (D-Ellsworth) to be the Acting Secretary of Agriculture, replacing Adrian Polansky who is taking a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Svaty seems to be a good fit to be Ag Secretary since in his fourth term as State Rep he is familiar with Kansas government, and because he is a fifth-generation farmer from Ellsworth County.
I research most state appointments to try to determine if an appointment is a good fit, or whether an appointment is mostly for political purposes.
While researching Svaty’s appointment one mystery that I cannot explain is why Svaty has never reported any income from farming but will be the new Acting Ag Secretary.
Many elected officials and key state government employees file a Statement of Substantial Interest (SSI) form each year with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission at the end of each April. The SSI gives some financial interest information so the public can assess whether a public official dealing with tax dollars has some sort of conflict of interest in government actions.
Section E of an SSI is the “Receipt of Compensation.” This section usually provides information about places of employment. The requirement for this section is:
List all places of employment in the last calendar year, and any other businesses from which you or your spouse received $2000 or more in compensation (salary, thing of value, or economic benefit conferred on in return for services rendered, or to be rendered), which as reportable as taxable income on your federal income tax return.
One subsection of Section E is for the individual, and the other is for a spouse.
Svaty filed SSIs every year since he became a State Rep in 2003.
Svaty’s SSIs for 2003-2006 can be viewed online at the Kansas Disclosure Document Warehouse. Svaty’s SSI for 2007 can only be viewed at the Secetary of State’s office in Topeka. All SSI’s for 2008 and 2009 can be viewed online at a Secretary of State site, but only after registration.
It’s a mystery to me why none of Svaty’s SSIs from 2003-2009 show any farm income:
Blank SSI Section E’s were filed in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009.
Some income was reported in certain years:
- 2004-2005: St. Francis Academy, Salina
- 2005: Kansas State High School Activities Assoc., Topeka
- 2006: USD 327, Ellsworth
I asked Svaty about his SSIs and why they showed no farm income.
In an E-mai reply on July 14, Svaty said:
“when I returned from college I served in the Legislature and spent the rest of the year helping run the farm, through I received no compensation. “
Svaty gave some additional details about the farm partnership run by his family but some minimal personal money seems to be necessary each year. A State Rep’s salary does not provide that much income.
In an accidental encounter with Mr. Svaty on his first day of work at the Dept. of Agriculture in Topeka on Wednesday (the Ethics Commission used the Ag conference room for their meeting), I re-asked the question about farm income in Svaty’s office.
We talked about various aspects of farming, and especially how debt is one of the biggest concerns for farmers.
At the end of the meeting after additional explanation, I told Mr. Svaty I still did not understand how he could never show any farm income from 2003-2009. This is still a mystery to me.
Josh is young and seems quite capable, but some direct financial involvement in farming, like paying income tax on farm income, would make him a better Ag Secretary so he could better understand tax policy and farming.
Outgoing Ag Secretary Polansky’s SSI shows compensation from both Polansky Farms and Polansky Seed, which is consistent with his involvement with farming. Some entry on Svaty’s SSI Section E like this was expected but not found.
Related:
- Kansas Department of Agriculture
- Statement of Substantial Interests (SSI), Kansas Secretary of State
- Kansas Disclosure Document Warehouse, The Center for Public Integrity
- Committee to replace Svaty (as State Rep), Salina Journal, July 23, 2009.
Tags: Ag Secretary, Josh Svaty, Kansas Department of Agriculture
