Campaign Phone
913-390-3439
Personal Biography
Mel knows what it’s like balancing full-time work, raising a family, supporting a loved one through cancer treatment and having kids in public school. These experiences and others have led Mel to realize most of our current lawmakers either don’t know what real life is like for the rest of us or they choose not to support issues that affect our everyday lives. Mel understands and will take her experience, and yours, to Topeka to help make life better for Kansas working families.
Community/Public Service
Community banking, debt consolidation lending, active member of the Parent Teacher Organization in the Olathe Public Schoosl elementary school.
As a full time worker, raising a young family, and balancing the burdens of our current healthcare system and the unsustainable reality of what life is like for our working class today, I feel I can better represent the needs of this district.
From my first job in retail sales, to community lending and debt consolidation, to my current role as a Business Analyst, I've spent my entire career listening to people, identifying the root cause of their problems, and helping them choose and implement changes that solve those problems and improve their current state.
I plan to use this exact approach to drive policy in the State House, and it starts with actually listening to the people I represent.
Access to affordable healthcare- Expanding Medicaid is the single most impactful thing we can do to address this for all Kansans. It will drive down the costs for all, and increase the stability of our rural hospitals.
Working Families need relief- lower taxes on property tax by working with federal funds to bring our federal taxes back to KS, address sustainability of costs of raising a family, school funding and safety, curbing climate change that will affect our children and theirs.
Protecting our Rights- putting an end to the onslaught of bills that attempt to limit our personal rights to make medical and other decisions without governmental interference. Protecting the sanctity of local control.
The "Gut and Go" process is an affront to transparency in policy-making. There should always be continuity in the naming of bills. I would opt to update the 'single subject' rule to prevent this practice, the subject of a bill should not change.
I also advocate for a more user friendly way for citizens to read bills and track their progress through the legislative proccess.
Yes, I plan to introduce a Constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to vote and to establish an independent non-partisan redistricting body.
I would also clarify or repeal the law that has prevented many organizations from exercising their 1st amendment right to actively encourage and register eligible citizens to vote.
Campaign Phone
913-709-4246
Personal Biography
U.S. Army, Military Police/Correctional Specialist 1976-1979, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Correctional Officer 1979-1982, Retired Captain, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, 1982-2010, Kansas Legislature, 2017 committee assignments Federal and State Affairs, Corrections and Juvenile Justice, and Vice-Chair Transportation and Public Safety Budget.
Education
William Paterson University 2 years, Park University 3 years.
Community/Public Service
Johnson County Charter Commission, 2011
Serving in the U.S. Army, Kansas National Guard and retiring from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, I have dedicated my entire career to public service. Living and working in our community for 40 years I have learned what people in our district expect from elected officials.
I was appointed to the Metro Squad reaching the title of Officer-in-Charge during active homicide investigations and Supervisor of the Johnson County Office Involved Shooting Team. I played an integral part in the development of the Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, Computer Forensics Unit, and Sexual Predator Unit. In the legislature, with my background and experience in law enforcement I serve on committees that directly involve the law and public safety.
Lowering property tax is essential for seniors and first-time homeowners. I have voted for every tax bill that came up for a vote and will continue to the future.
On Corrections and Juvenile Justice, I am involved in legislation that helps treat individuals with mental health issues and drug addiction. KDOC estimates 70% of individuals entering prison have a mental health issue or addiction problem, making it the largest mental health facility in the state. The committee introduced legislation to ensure success.
The fentanyl is the greatest drug threat to human life. In Committee we heard how deadly “one pill can kill”. The committee and legislature gave law enforcement and prosecutors new tools to combat this crisis.
Following bills as they flow through the legislative process can be difficult even for legislators. Combining bills during conference committees, creating shells to insert the contents of another, makes it complicated. However, it may be necessary considering we have 90 days to complete our work. The legislature could modify its rules. At the start of the biennium sessions the legislature votes on our rules. A change in the rules may help. I don’t particularly like “gut and go”. During this process most times the entire chamber is not aware of an upcoming attempt of a “gut and go”. As a result bills sometimes haven’t gone through the committee process and lack public comment.
Currently I do not support any changes in our election laws. I would like to see a review of our mail in ballot procedures in the future. During the last election I received someone else’s mail-in-ballot delivered to my home. The true recipient lived miles away and was waiting for their ballot. In some parts of Kansas mail is sent to out of state and then returned to ours to be mailed in state. We have heard some ballots that aren’t cancelled by the post office and thereby considered invalid. Some type of review should be done.
