The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafting and voting on legislation, helping to create a state budget, and legislative oversight over state agencies.
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Campaign Phone
785-220-7580
Personal Biography
I am currently a middle school teacher in the USD 340 school district. My husband, Clint, and I live just outside of Meriden, KS and we have 2 children each and 6 grandchildren.
Education
I received my associates from Highland Community College, my bachelors from Washburn University and my masters as a Reading Specialist from Emporia State University. I have also attained and renewed my National Board Certified Teacher certification.
Community/Public Service
I have served as a treasurer for the JCN School District as well as the cities of Winchester and Oskaloosa. I have worked with Willow Domestic Violence, going into the penal system to help incarcerated women attain their GED's so they would have a better opportunity upon their release from the system. I have also prepared and served meals at the LINK in Lawrence (nutrition kitchen for those in need).
I believe I will be the best candidate for this position because the incumbent has been inaccessible to the people of our district. He doesn't vote in alignment with the people's responses and is generally non-existent when contacted. I will be accessible to the people of our district and hope they will always feel they can reach out when they have questions or concerns regarding business we conduct at the state level.
I have a strong background in budgets and being fiscally responsible with taxpayers dollars in the communities I have worked. I have taught in the public education system for over 22 years and I have a great deal of expertise in what we need for education and the best ways to do that without overtaxing our taxpayers.
We must pass Medicaid Expansion. In the rural communities that make up the 47th, we have many healthcare deserts and rural hospitals that are on the brink of closer without the funding necessary to keep them viable.
The second issue is that the state confiscates the death (military and social security) benefits of children put into the system due to the death of parents. There is no reason these funds cannot be set aside in a trust so that when they age from the system, they have the ability to continue their education or utilize their funds as their parents would have expected.
My final issue would be early childhood education and childcare. Families need safe, affordable care so they can work effectively without the added stress.
With technology, all bills should be available for all who wish to know more. With that said, those bills are often cumbersome and a quick CLEAR synopsis of the ramifications of the bill should be available for all (including putting them on our websites for our citizens to find easily). Legal language can be confusing and citizens lose interest so be concise.
And the Gut and Go is unethical. One of the worst things about our legislative process is when the citizens think a bill is being considered, only to have the name stay the same and the intent completely changed. This is not only unethical but is one of the reasons our electorate no longer trusts the legislature. This process is not acceptable for any reason.
We need to make the election process and voting systems as unencumbered as possible. While many say we have fraud, this hasn't been clearly proven and in fact, we spend too much time and money trying to prove something that isn't necessary.
We should encourage advance ballot and make mail-in ballots very accessible, especially for those who may not be able to physically attend the polls. I would also prefer that results not be offered piece meal but instead wait until the state has completed the process to begin announcing results. It often feels that those in a different time zone don't have the opportunity to have a clean election without data that could skew decisions.