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.
phone
9133025955
Campaign Phone
9133025955
Personal Biography
I have lived in Olathe for 40 years now and received my BA in Business Administration from MNU. I met my husband there, a public school teacher and coach for 36 years now, and we have 3 grown sons. My professional background is in education and public service. I was a corporate trainer, a preschool teacher, a library and kindergarten aid in OPS, and then an immigration and passport caseworker in the U.S. Senate. I am an Olathe City Councilwoman and the incumbent State Rep.
Community/Public Service
I have served on the Olathe Planning Commission, the Olathe Historic Preservation Board, and the state special interim committee on attainable and affordable housing. I am currently serving on the KS Board of EMS, the YMCA Community Mission Board, and the Sunflower Club Board. I currently sit on the House Local Government, Water, and Taxation Committees and I serve as Vice Chair of Transportation. I am also a youth mentor and volunteer in our schools.
Education
BA in Business Administration with a psychology minor. Graduate of Darden School of Business Emerging Legislative Leaders Program. Graduate of Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development.
Ballot City
Olathe
County
JOCO
I believe public service is about solving problems, not advancing agendas. My qualifications come from experience serving at every level of government-local, state, and federal-as well as my time on local and state boards, where I've worked directly on issues that affect families, taxpayers, and communities. As an Olathe City Councilwoman, I have a strong understanding of how decisions are made closest to the people and how these decisions impact daily life. Combined with my experience at the state and federal levels, I understand how these systems connect and how to navigate them to get things done. I am an independent voice who is not driven by partisan agendas but by a commitment to listen, solve problems, and deliver results.
1) Affordability...Property tax relief, affordable housing, healthcare and prescription drug costs, and good paying jobs. Put guardrails around property tax rates; ease regulation and cost around affordable housing; increase transparency in the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) system, limit fees and require clearer pricing practices on prescriptions to prevent hidden markups, encourage generics.
2) Education...Teacher retention and student success. Reform KPERS 3 for teachers. Invest in early literacy and math proficiency. State support with targeted funding for special ed and mental health.
3) Public Safety and Strong Communities. Focus on crime prevention and accountability. Invest in first responders and improve local/state coordination.
We need to modernize the legislative process so bills can be easily tracked in real time. It gets complicated during conference committees between the House and Senate when things suddenly change in bills to earn support in both chambers, however, all legislative activity is recorded and publicly available. The best way to get updates is through kslegislature.gov or your legislator. The "gut and go" process is used to move bills that would otherwise die due to time restraints. It gets confusing when the contents change but the bill title stays the same. We should require a new title or label it as "new subject matter," We need to adopt a germaneness threshold and a 48 hour hold until the new language is posted before allowing for a vote.
Kansas election laws are generally strong but no system is perfect. It is appropriate to make targeted improvements when there is a clear need- due to court rulings, legal clarifications, or issues that arise over time. Every new bill goes through the House Elections Committee and is carefully reviewed, debated, and improved in a transparent way. My approach is to ensure that any updates continue to protect election integrity, improve clarity and access for voters, and comply with legal rulings. When implemented responsibly, these changes should have the goal of protecting the integrity of the process, maintaining public confidence, and ensuring every legal vote counts and is properly counted.
