Juan Luengo is the Democratic Party candidate running for the Kansas Treasurer post in the November 3 midterm elections. Luengo spoke exclusively to HT.com about what motivated the former CEO to make a pivot to politics, and his views on the duties and roles of the state treasurer. His campaign manager was also present at the meeting.
At a time when the Democratic and Republican Parties have a wider-than-ever chasm between them, Luengo has promised to work with people on both sides of the political aisle, describing it as the ‘need’ of the hour.
“I’m going to have to work with both political parties. This partisanship that’s going on, it’s not good, it’s hurting everybody,” Luengo said. He added that both sides needed to ‘get back to the table’, noting this was more of a ‘need’ than a ‘want’ given current circumstances.
Notably, Luengo was earlier the CEO of Engage Insurance Group and his campaign page notes that he ‘led a complete turnaround diversifying a single-carrier business into a multi-carrier brokerage, doubling clients, growing the team 40%, and expanding into six states.’ While critics have pointed to his lack of political experience, Luengo has maintained that he has the skills needed for the job. In his conversation with HT.com, Luengo also shared his views on how he intended to carry out the political negotiations that might come with the post of the Kansas Treasurer.
When asked about what made him want to run for the Treasurer’s post, Luengo said it was a mix of what was happening all over the world and in Kansas. He felt there were many wrongs that needed to be corrected, and the key moment came in May, just before he filed the papers expressing intent to run for the Treasurer’s post.
Luengo said that for him becoming the Treasurer meant “not only being able to help the younger generation, but also small business, farmers, women-owned businesses, and disabled too.”
In the past, Kansas Treasurers have gone on to the US Congress, but Luengo said he had not thought that far ahead. “Right now, I’m focused on this race,” the Democrat said. The candidate said that he wanted the four years to prove to the people of Kansas that they’d made the right choice, if he were to become Treasurer.
Luengo also laid out some of the immediate steps he wanted to implement if he were to become Kansas Treasurer.
Juan Luengo explains vision for Kansas Treasurer’s office
Luengo said that he’d want to establish a non-partisan economic council where he’d have the ‘government, private sector, small businesses and farmers’. He added that he wanted women at the table as well as the trade unions.
He indicated that they’d help draft the policies which Luengo would try to get passed by the legislature. Luengo also noted that he’d work with the governor’s office and the commerce department, saying they’d bring the ‘bigger deals’.
Luengo also hoped for some abatements or incentives for farmers and small businesses so they can continue to grow, innovate, and scale their businesses. “It can’t always be the top firms getting tax incentives all the time,” Luengo remarked saying that small businesses were the largest employers in the US.
Juan Luengo: ‘Responsible capitalist’
Luengo called himself a ‘responsible capitalist’ noting that the US was founded on ‘freedoms and capitalism’. The candidate noted that ‘capitalism’ was not a ‘bad word’ and said it was created to push ‘people from the bottom’ up. However, he said that times were tougher now for people because of the rising costs.
When asked about Republican candidate Steven Johnson, who Luengo will go up against, the candidate said “He’s a good guy, but just because he’s a good guy doesn’t necessarily mean he’s getting the job done.” Luengo noted his political opponent’s knowledge in finance. However, he touted himself as an ‘operator’ and said this job needed one to go out and meet people on the ground level.
“You have to be out in the communities that you’re serving. By sitting at your desk, you’re putting the same sized shoe on everybody, instead of understanding what needs are there in each community,” Luengo said.
Signing off, Luengo said Kansas needed ‘someone who can fight’ and asked for an opportunity to prove himself.