The Lyon County Democratic Party has new leadership with new energy that will invite a younger generation of people in Lyon County and in particular in the 60th District to come to the table. Nothing against the old guard, but new leadership was needed. Besides, the old guard will still be a valuable resource, rich with needed wisdom. I can attest to that needed wisdom for I was the recipient of much.

If you look at the new leadership, you’ll see people connected to the community, some with children, some with deep roots, others wanting to establish a life here for themselves and their families. You’ll see working folk, business folk, people with commitments to this community. You’ll see people who are open to new ideas, open to listening.

Though folk legend has it that we are all born with a D or an R on our ass coming out of the womb, it ain’t true. Each voter, and this goes for both sides, as they reach voting age gets to decide for themselves whether they are a Democrat or a Republican. And did you know… you don’t have to vote for straight party ticket. (That is, except in the primaries.)

If you were born in Kansas, which has voted Republican for most of its years, what kind of Republican are you-- Lincoln, Reagan, Bush, Eisenhower, Ford, Nixon, Roosevelt, Trump?

Though I’m not a Presidential historian I can tell you there’s a wide gulf between Abraham Lincoln and Donald J. Trump. I mean a wide gulf, like the Gulf of Mexico wide.

If you’re a Republican and were born and raised in the 60th District, did you know the founding editor of the Emporia Gazette, William Allen White, stood up against the KKK and its racism because he was a “progressive” Republican? Wonder what he would think of doing away with DEI? I think he’d hate it. What kind of Republican are you?

If you're a Democrat, what kind of a Democrat— Carter, Obama, Clinton, Biden, Gov. Kelly? Though I know a little more about the Democrats, the one thing I can say for sure, they aren't all made from the same cookie cutter. There are pragmatics, liberals, conservatives, fiscally responsible, etc. What kind of Democrat are you?

No matter what your party affiliation is, if you’re in the middle class, lower middle class or working poor, is your party and your representative working for you? In Lyon County, middle class income has not kept pace with inflation, especially over the last 8 or 9 years. You should ask your Representative if his income has kept up with inflation, or even beat it. It’s a fair question. After all, he works for you.

The Kansas legislature received a pay increase of over 90% this session on day one. Wouldn’t you like to have received that from your employer?

With the number of billionaires, millionaires and their minions running around Washington D.C. and Topeka, you should really pay attention to whom they’re representing. Do you really think the person you’ve elected has your best interests in mind? If not, quit voting against your best interests.

Parents with children in Public Education. Is your political party working to fully fund your school district, including special education? Our Representative says he has tried. But during his tenure all that has been accomplished is a court ordered mandate that the legislature fund public education, which is part of the Kansas constitution. Poignant that the legislature should have to abide by the constitution.

Yet, our Representative has failed to convince his party to fully fund Special Education, and his letter to the Dept. of Education in D.C. made no difference. And another letter now won’t make any difference, especially since DOGE and Elon Musk want to do away with the Dept. of Education.

One might have hoped that electing Mike Argabright, a former School Superintendent to the Senate would add weight to the dialogue in Topeka. Not yet. Maybe it’s because he’s a rookie.

USD 253 is getting ready to hire a new SuperIntendent. Are you ok with that person having to start with an underfunded budget? Or would you rather they be able to focus all their energies on supporting your children, including special education, and the teachers and staff who will educate your children?

Warning to all those who care about Public Education. Republicans in the legislature want to offer school vouchers to the rich, which will take away money from an already underfunded public education system. Are you really ok with that? If not, contact your Representatives.

Speaking of education and the economy in the 60th District. Emporia State University is a political entity directly tied to the State of Kansas and is an economic engine for the 60th District. Emporia State University is in year three of a restructuring turnaround. Is the plan to rebuild ESU working? We know money is being raised for scholarships and new buildings are going up. But are those buildings and scholarships increasing enrollment?

Even though we may applaud these efforts, the Republican party in Topeka is trying to do away with tenured faculty, with ESU being the guinea pig for the state of Kansas, which is putting ESU at a disadvantage. This is having an adverse effect on college enrollments and faculty. It is keeping ESU in the news cycle with negative publicity, and lawsuits are adding expenditures to ESU.

By the way, did you hear that the ESU President got a raise for next year? With all the layoffs and cuts to government jobs coming from the new administration in the White House, including jobs here in Kansas, was this raise merited?

Speaking of government jobs, I want to remind you of an article entitled “D.C. wrecking crew has taken sledgehammer to services for Kansas rural communities,” written by Christie Davis and printed Feb. 28 in the Emporia Gazette. What an incredible article describing the destruction that is happening right now in Kansas-- at the direction of the new administration in the White House. Senator Marshall is backing these cuts from the new administration.

Speaking of Senator Marshall, he made headlines this past weekend. It seems Senator Marshall didn’t have time for the meetings he scheduled. Maybe it was poor time management. Maybe he had tickets to the KU basketball game. Or maybe his tan fades if he’s away from the Florida sun too long. Whatever, Kansans deserve to be heard by their representatives. He didn’t even pretend to be “Kansas nice.” At one point, calling the gathered “rude.” Cutting his first town hall short by 23 minutes, he walked out the door, hastily adding, like an afterthought, “God bless America.”

The meeting between the President of the United States and the President of Ukraine was not what we would have wanted to see, although the President of the United States said, “This is going to be great television.” So maybe it is what he wanted us to see. Who cares about how many lives are lost in the war-- soldiers, innocent women and children? Who cares if Russia is allowed to continue to expand westward? It’s all about the optics.

I saw a video of one American expressing his great sorrow over the meeting between the two heads of state. This person even uttered the words that he “hated” this nation, meaning the U.S.

When I watched the meeting between the two leaders, I was very disappointed and left unsettled. But, even in our flawed humanity, I still believe we are a nation held together by the vision that every human being is endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And that is a vision for this nation, and even the world, I cannot hate.