Face it, Kansas: Our new license plate design looks slapdash and dull. Surely we can do better. – Kansas Reflector

Beauty, as the poets say, is in the eye of the beholder.

Except when it comes to the design of new Kansas license plates. Those things are ugly as sin. And not the fun sins like lust and gluttony, but the nasty ones like avarice and wrath.

Rep. Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, spoke for us all on the platform formerly known as Twitter: “What in the straight hell is this design? Absolutely not.”

If it were a person, this license plate design would be your younger brother Trent, who never settled down and still lives in a studio apartment well into his 30s. He sells nutrition supplements and works as a part-time personal trainer while dabbling in cryptocurrency. Everyone in the family wants to tell Trent to wake up and make something of himself, but no one wants to go first and offend mom, who always had a soft spot for the annoying goofball.

I’m stepping up. Gov. Laura Kelly, this plate was a bad idea.

Perhaps the plate design needed replacing. David Harper, director of the vehicle division at the Kansas Department of Revenue, said that the old-style embossed tags deteriorated and made it difficult for law enforcement and emergency responders to identify cars. Fair enough.

But this eyesore just creates new problems. As the Kansas City Star reported, the plates made commenters online think of University of Missouri colors and New York state tags.

Blech.

Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican and member of the House Transportation Committee, wrote an official letter to Kelly asking for a reprieve.

“As representatives of the people, it’s imperative that we consider the sentiments and concerns of Kansans, particularly when it involves something as prominent as the license plates that will adorn their vehicles for the next decade or more,” he said. “License plates are more than just identifiers; they symbolize a sense of pride and belonging for the people of our state.

“The decision to introduce these new plates without prior public input or feedback seems to have overlooked the importance of engaging our citizens in such matters. As far as I am aware, there was no comprehensive gathering of public opinion regarding the new design, which raises serious concerns about the process.”

He goes on to suggest a submission process or “specialized platform” for design suggestions and feedback from the public.

Not for the first time, Hoheisel strikes me as absolutely correct.

To me, the worst part of the plate is its sheer laziness. Forget about the orange and resemblance to any other state’s plate. You can’t convince me that anyone worked on this design for more than 10 minutes — 20 if they sweated the details.

Kansas prioritizes and values hard work and dedication. Not shiftlessness.

You can look at plates the state has used since the early 1980s at this link. The five default designs that came before this one all looked better — more creative, more emblematic of the state, more aesthetically pleasing. The plates from most of the 1990s and 2000s emphasized our sweeping skies and a shock of wheat. Okay, they might not have been the most original graphic approaches in the world, but they sure said “Kansas” to me.

The new plates say to me: “Hey friend, have you tried this totally rocking chocolate-flavored protein power? It really helps you bulk up.”

Get a real job, Trent. You’re wasting your potential!

I offer two notes of caution.

First, Republicans have gone overboard in highlighting Kelly’s New York connections while lambasting the design. The party’s newsletter headline reads: “New Kansas License Plate Design Another Embarrassment for New York Native Kansas Governor Laura Kelly.” Yes, the plate resembles New York’s, and yes, Kelly comes from there. But spare us the “not from around here” implication of these comments. Get over it, guys: She beat you all twice, she’s going to be governor through the end of 2026.

Second, we really do have more important topics to talk about. The state must expand Medicaid for the sake of families across its 105 counties. We have a bunch of money in the state treasury that could fully fund special education and a host of other programs to make people’s lives better.

GOP legislative leaders give every indication that they plan to instead work on making people’s lives worse by denying expansion and handing out tax cuts to their rich pals.

That’s far uglier than any flawed license plate.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.