Kansans have picked a less-awful license plate. Just like politics, we deserved better choices.

A public, online vote selected a new license plate design featuring the Ad Astra statue at the Statehouse. But Kansans had only five, preselected options. (Kansas Reflector illustration)

You can’t always get what you want in life, politics or license plates.

That’s the tough lesson for Kansans after voting concluded on a new batch of designs for our state’s next plate. The popular pick, revealed Monday, stood out as the least offensive of several banal options. The first version, if you’ll recall, was called “ugly as sin” by a noted commentator. Oh, I guess that was me. Gov. Laura Kelly executed a deft political backflip of the kind she’s pulled off throughout her terms and offered up five new versions for a popular vote.

The problem, as online commentators noted, was that the alternatives didn’t look much better than the original.

This led to some minor disagreements between myself and family members. They believed the new versions worked just fine. I said they looked like watery variations on a fundamentally mistaken design. No Latin state motto. Not even the full English version of said motto. Poorly integrated graphic elements.

Still, we now could choose among bad options rather than having a single one foisted upon us.

Ben Tegtmeier, of BT Creative in Eudora, took on the challenge headfirst. He designed his own proposal for the plate, kicking off a social media sensation and a sheepish explanation from the governor’s office that “we are not accepting constituent designs to adhere to stringent guidelines that comply with the needs of law enforcement entities and best practices established by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators … and to continue this process quickly.”

In other words, they want to get the danged license plate business wrapped up already, better options be darned. With a busy legislative session coming up, I can sympathize.

The Kansas license plate option designed by Ben Tegtmeier, of BT Creative in Eudora, uses multiple state symbols. The governor’s office didn’t include it as a choice in voting. (Ben Tegtmeier)

Tegtmeier acknowledged that the winning plate stood out, at least compared with the other options.

“That is the one I would have voted for of the five,” he told me. “Ad Astra is iconic Kansas. But so are all the things I included in my design. Anyone who’s ever seen a buffalo, our landmarks or a Kansas sky knows you never get used to seeing any of ’em. Just didn’t think ONE of our icons was near enough. My thinking was a little too busy would be far better than one image and a gradient.”

Indeed, his proposal crowded in an abundance of state symbols — prairie, buffalo, sunflowers, Ad Astra sculpture and full Latin motto. On the other hand, no one can deny that his design was created with more time, care and attention than the official ones.

The whole business reminds me of politics in this state and nation.

The vast mass of people may find a politician objectionable. They can pound the table and say: “We don’t want that terrible person!”

Because we (for now) live in a representative democracy, that objection can lead to candidates losing or bowing out of a race early. Thank goodness, right?

The problem, as we’ve seen time and again, is that our political system spits out five more candidates that look and sound basically the same. Sure, they might be less offensive than another particular candidate, but they’ve been shaped by the same toxic stew of cable news, social media and extreme polarization.

Every now and then, the public takes to a figure who looks different and better than the rest. But good luck in getting that person into an actual race. Democrats have dreamed of running Michelle Obama for president. Back in the day, Republicans imagined elevating Gen. Colin Powell to their ticket. A parade of third party candidates — from Ross Perot to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have spun outlandish yarns that they could somehow win the White House.

The point, my friends, is that we don’t always get to choose the best options. We don’t always get to choose a moderately good one. No, sometimes we have to pop a clothespin on our nose and pick one of five similar-looking options and hope for the best. Sometimes, we have to vote for the Mitt Romney of license plates.

We needn’t surrender, however.

Simply expressing yourself makes a difference. That can expand the range of possibilities for next time, or the time after that.

“I would never have imagined people would rally like they did for this,” Tegtmeier said. “They put up a real fight. People were calling the Capitol, writing emails, creating petitions, it was unreal. Can’t possibly message them all to thank every one, but I wish I could.”

And while his design won’t be officially affixed to Kansans’ cars, you’ll likely see it out and about soon.

“I have had so many messages from people saying they want a copy of this design,” he said. “They’ve asked if we can personalize vanity plates, shirts and stickers, etc., so we are working as quickly on that as we can right now.”

Making a change can frustrate even the most patient among us. On one track, we have a duty to handle the challenges of the present in a practical way. That sometimes means casting a ballot for the lesser of two evils. Such votes help nudge the system toward better outcomes. On a parallel track, however, we can dream big. We can imagine a world with candidates who truly represent us, our cars with license plates that don’t offend the eyes, Kansas with a Legislature that expands Medicaid or fully funds special education.

If we refuse to engage, we’ll be letting someone else make all the important decisions for us.

And that person might even like the original, Mizzou-colored plate design.

Never forget: This could have been the new Kansas license plate. (Kansas Department of Revenue)

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.

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