Meet the Candidate: Ephren Taylor III, A New Face

At just 20 years old, Ephren Taylor III is hoping to bring fresh energy and ideas to the Kansas Senate. The Gen Z candidate is challenging longtime incumbent David Haley to represent District 4, which covers northern and eastern Wyandotte County.

Taylor, a community organizer with civic engagement group Loud Light, says he was inspired to run because he doesn’t think Wyandotte County’s progressive politics are represented in Topeka. 

“I think Wyandotte has the potential to be a political powerhouse, but it just hasn’t been harnessed yet,” says Taylor.

Taylor says his youth would add to the diversity of the Kansas Senate, and that the young folks are not represented in the Legislature. He says that when he began knocking on doors to ask for their votes, he thought he’d receive push back due to his age but voters have been receptive. 

“People are excited to see someone that’s young, Black, doing something good and fighting for change,” says Taylor. 

Taylor grew up in the Kansas City area but is new to Wyandotte County. His father is incarcerated and he cites his experience trying to visit him as a child for opening his eyes to systematic racism and how institutions work. 

He became politically active in high school, speaking at school board meetings in favor of DEI initiatives and organizing rallies on progressive issues like abortion rights. After graduating, he took an internship with Loud Light, where he worked to educate and mobilize young voters.

Through that work, Taylor says he gained valuable experience in community organizing and coalition building that he believes will serve him well as a legislator. He pointed to his efforts on passing a municipal ID and on expanding the availability of government documents in languages other than English. 

If elected, Taylor’s top priorities would include:

• Property tax relief: Taylor wants to expand programs like the Homestead Tax Credit to provide more relief to homeowners struggling with rising property taxes. He believes current programs are too limited in scope.
• Medicaid expansion: Expanding Medicaid is “very important because Wyandotte County has some of the worst health outcomes in the entire state,” Taylor says. He views it as a life-saving policy.
• Defending civil rights: “Every single year, they’re coming after some sort of civil rights,” Taylor said, referring to Republican-led efforts. He pledged to be a vocal defender of LGBTQ rights, voting rights, and workers’ rights.
• Fully funding education: Taylor supports increased state funding for public schools to reduce reliance on local property taxes. He criticized the current funding model, and school vouchers, as perpetuating inequalities between wealthy and poor districts.
• Affordable housing: Taylor wants to encourage denser housing development to increase housing supply and attract businesses to the area.

Taylor pledges to be an “activist politician” who will keep voters informed and engaged in and out of the legislative session. He sees building community pressure as crucial to advancing progressive policies in a state legislature dominated by conservative politics.

“If you don’t have community pressure, then anything you try to do is just gonna die in committee and nobody’s ever gonna know about it,” Taylor says. “We need to engage with our voters constantly because if you don’t, they’re just gonna check out the system.”

Taylor acknowledged that some may question his youth and experience. But he argued the district is ready for change after years of representation by his primary opponent, Sen. David Haley.

“I’m certainly running to the left of Haley,” Taylor said. “I don’t have to be that far left to be to the left of him, which is a little concerning.”

Taylor says his work as a community organizer saw him interact with Haley, including a town hall where Haley was considering a flat tax. Taylor points to Haley’s flirtation with this tax and his votes on issues like school vouchers and a bill restricting local governments’ regulatory powers as examples of the incumbent being out of step with the district. 

Taylor feels the strongly Democratic district deserves different representation.

“Every community deserves real representation, people that will actually listen and advocate on their behalf,” Taylor said. “With David Haley being there for so long and acting the way he does — not voting with his community — I think that I could do a better job.”

Taylor says that his advocacy work in Wyandotte County and speaking up on issues in Topeka, even at his young age, shows that he will boldly step up for Wyandotte residents. No matter the result of the election, he says he’s eager to get to work on community initiatives. 

“People should vote for me if you’re looking for change and you’re tired of getting literally nothing for your votes,” says Taylor. “I’m someone who’s going to come to your door, listen to your concerns, and keep you updated. There’s a lot of work to be done here — it hasn’t been getting done — I’m gonna do that work.”