Libertarian Party gubernatorial nominee Keen Umbehr offers fair warning to the legislative branch of Kansas government.

Until dramatic tax reform becomes law, don't expect anything but vetoes from Gov. Umbehr.

"I can't accept passing any legislation until this gets fixed," said the Alma attorney and lone third-party nominee in Kansas.

Umbehr, who will be on the November ballot next to the Republican and Democratic party nominees, is emphasizing the economy, jobs, taxes and education in a campaign designed to attract support across the political spectrum. A cornerstone piece of the Libertarian Party's agenda — legalization of marijuana — doesn't warrant front-row attention in this Kansas election cycle, he said.

"It's coming. Times are changing. Attitudes are changing. I get it, but right now in this election it's jobs, taxes, schools and economy. That's what people are interested in," he said.

"These are kitchen table values that we all have in common. I say Libertarians can hold hands with Republicans and Democrats and Independents."

The Libertarian Party platform does include planks to legalize hemp cultivation, repeal capital punishment and create a mechanism for statewide voter-sponsored referendums and initiatives.

Umbehr, who is paired with a son, Wichita physician Josh Umbehr, on the Libertarian Party ticket, said he had been a longtime conservative Republican who turned to the Libertarian Party a year ago when the GOP's top-down philosophy compelled him to look elsewhere for a political home. People with alternatives are routinely dismissed by the GOP elite as "Republicans in name only," he said.

"If you don't follow lock step you're called the RINO," he said. "The Republican Party has to be a big enough party to accept inter-party disagreements."

Umbehr said the state government's revenue problems required substantive reform of Kansas tax law or extreme spending cuts. He said Gov. Sam Brownback's approval of a bill eliminating income tax on 190,000 business owners was unfair to 1.3 million wage earners expected to pick up the slack. The state's simultaneous tweaking of individual income tax rates didn't go far enough, he said.

"It's unfair," Umbehr said. "They're becoming the tax slaves in the state of Kansas."

The solution is repeal of Kansas' personal income and sales taxes and implementation of a consumption tax on all goods and services, he said. This 5.7 percent tax on transactions — called "fair tax" by advocates — will provide a platform for successful entrepreneurship and job growth across the state, he said.

If the Republican-led House and Senate refused to approve this foundational tax reform in favor of the status quo, Umbehr said, deep budget cuts must be imposed. He would shield K-12 education, public safety and programs for needy Kansans, but otherwise proceed with across-the-board reductions.

In terms of Kansas schools, Umbehr said he supported educational choice. State and federal funding should follow students to public or private schools because "every child deserves access to an education setting that meets their personal learning style so every student can thrive," he said.

Umbehr said he would instill a new sense of respect for the Kansas Open Records Act. State government agencies have damaged transparency by reducing KORA to "a peephole with a finger over it," he said.

He would elevate penalties for breaking of the Kansas Open Meetings Act and KORA by requiring government agencies to pay legal fees of anyone winning lawsuits challenging illegal concealment of information or deliberations.

Umbehr, who closed his Wabaunsee County law practice to campaign full time, had a trash-hauling company for 17 years. After county commissioners terminated his contract, Umbehr filed a First Amendment suit alleging the action was retaliation for a column he wrote for a weekly newspaper. Umbehr's case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 7-2 in Umbehr's favor in the 1996 case that had national implications for private contractors.

He sold the trash company and enrolled at Kansas State University at age 40. He later graduated from Washburn University's law school and worked in private practice since 2005.

Umbehr said he would expect to be included in the general election's candidate debates with likely GOP nominee Brownback and Democrat Paul Davis.

"We all want a lean, efficient government," Umbehr said. "We all want either low taxes or no taxes. We all want government accountability and transparency. We all want the best education possible for our kids. We all want a booming economy."