Ty Masterson ran a business that filed for bankruptcy

Republican Ty Masterson is running for Kansas governor on a platform of fiscal responsibility, despite his own business having been forced to file for bankruptcy.

Masterson was the CEO of MasterBuilt Homes, a residential construction company based in Andover, KS. He co-founded the company in the early 2000s and continued to help run it after he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2004.

The company went under in 2006 and officially filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy at the end of 2010. Chapter 7, also known as “liquidation bankruptcy,” helps individuals and businesses eliminate outstanding debts that they cannot realistically repay.

MasterBuilt reported owning roughly $300,000 in assets while owing $1.13 million in debt. Some of the outstanding debts included $209,000 to Corner Bank, $53,890 to Emprise Bank, and $85,000 to Fisher Lumber of Garden Plain. The company also reported more than $160,000 in credit card debt.

The case closed in 2012 without most of the creditors being fully repaid.

Masterson was elected to the Kansas Senate in 2009. Despite his business record, Republicans in the legislature chose Masterson to lead the Senate Ways and Means Committee in 2012. The committee is responsible for reviewing state agency budgets and proposed expenditures.

Ed Nazar, who represented the creditors in the MasterBuilt bankruptcy case, told the Wichita Eagle that he hopes “Masterson is a better steward of the people’s money than he is his own.”

Masterson blamed the bankruptcy on an employee and claimed he had little oversight of the company in this period because he was “getting engaged and excited about politics.”

Masterson chose businessman and state Sen. Jeff Klemp to be his lieutenant governor running mate on June 1. Klemp has been CEO of the Century Van Lines moving company since 2010. The Kansas Department of Revenue issued a warrant in 2023 seeking $21,429.18 in delinquent corporate income tax from the company. The warrant was lifted 42 days later.

Masterson’s Democratic opponent is state Sen. Cindy Holscher. A Global Strategic Group poll from last month showed Holscher narrowly leading Masterson by one point.