Silver Lake graduate contends for district attorney
By Shelby Brokaw
October 14, 2008
In the past, students may have seen him on his parents’ farm, in their very own gymnasium, or wandering from class to class on a visit to Silver Lake High School. Most recently, people may have seen Chad Taylor, a former resident of Silver Lake, battling it out in a Topeka courtroom.
Most Silver Lake residents, though, have been reminded of the name Chad Taylor because of his recent nomination as the Democratic candidate for Shawnee County District Attorney. In November, Shawnee County voters will go to the polls and vote for either Taylor or Republican Eric Rucker as their next district attorney.
Taylor moved to Silver Lake in sixth grade after attending grade school in Topeka. He graduated from Silver Lake High School in 1992 and accredits much of his success to his high school experience.
According to Gail Naylor, debate and forensics coach, Taylor hasn't always felt this way. She said he left Silver Lake after graduation and vowed never to come back. After receiving degrees in business administration and accounting from the University of Kansas in 1996 and his law degree from Chicago-Kent College in 1999, Taylor returned to Topeka and began a private practice in 2001 in criminal defense, civil litigation, and probate.
His former debate and forensics coach and present client believes this shows a shift in Taylor’s priorities since the day he graduated high school.
“I think it’s really funny that he spent all of his high school career telling me that he was going to go far away from this place and do something else. And now he’s back in his very own home county, running for district attorney, which I think is to his credit because it means to give back to the community that gave to you. We change our priorities with lifestyle change after we've been out in the world and experienced it. Chad Taylor is a good example of that,” explained Naylor.
Taylor now throws his full support behind the Silver Lake school district and believes the people of Shawnee County should do the same.
“I think that when the people of Shawnee County look to the Silver Lake community and look to the kids that come out of the school system, I think that they know that they are going to be good people. They'll be well-educated, and there’s something about growing up in a small-town, rural environment that equates to a certain set of values. I think that that’s something that the constituents of Shawnee County are going to look upon very favorably,” said Taylor.
Taylor noted the three extra-curricular activities that contributed most to the experience he received in high school: debate with Naylor, football for CJ Hamilton, and basketball for Alan Cunningham.
His senior year, Taylor and his colleague won the first state championship for Silver Lake’s debate program. According to Naylor, debate and forensics contributed immensely to Taylor’s degree in law.
“It is a preparation for explaining your case to a jury, a judge, being able to persuade someone for either the pro or the con of an issue, so it is very, very necessary if you want to become a lawyer,” stated Naylor.
Cunningham believes that getting involved in any activity, whether it’s academic or athletic, can help a student acquire lessons that they would never have learned in the classroom.
“…any activity outside of the classroom…can teach you about perseverance. I think it can teach you how to deal with diversity because things don't always go right. You are pursuing your goals and you kind of have to redirect yourself when diversity happens… and obviously it’s a lot of time and effort to be part of a team, part of pursuing a goal. … I think that that is why we can still justify having sports in schools is that it teaches about things that are just not academic and you don't see in the classroom,” stated Cunningham.
Taylor said he decided to pursue law as a junior in high school. His decision to run for district attorney of Shawnee County occurred after numerous home invasions in his neighborhood.
“In the neighborhood that my wife and I live in, two of our neighbors were victims of home invasions about a year and a half or two years ago, and it was the event of when our neighbor two or three houses to the north of us came home to find someone robbing their home. That was kind of my 'Mr. Smith' moment to make the determination that this has to stop and someone has to do something about it,” said Taylor.
If elected to the office of Shawnee County District Attorney, the initial issue that Taylor said he would address is the prosecution of gangs and drug dealers in the county. He feels that these are central issues in the community with effects including violent crime, the economy due to the attractiveness of business sites, and property crime such as burglary, home invasion, and theft.
Taylor said, “I believe that I've got the passion for the job. I've got a vision for how the office should be run, and I've got a plan to get us there. My ability to cooperate and coordinate with law enforcement is going to have a lot of synergistic effect to it as it relates to the ability to efficiently apprehend and prosecute criminals to get them off the streets.”
According to 27News, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius proclaimed her support for Taylor on Oct. 2.
In relation to the district attorney’s office, that will help him in his pursuit of the district attorney title. Naylor and Cunningham noted some personality traits Taylor portrayed in high school.
“He’s relentless… He did not like to lose,” stated Naylor.
“Chad was always sure he was right, like all debate students, and I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean that when they take a stance, they've researched it, they've thought about it, they've contemplated reasons,” said Cunningham.
As for any other small town farm boy looking to go into law and government, Taylor offers a little bit of advice.
“It’s nothing like what you see on TV.”
(For more information about Taylor, go to http://taylorforda.com)
