The November 8th election left us with some bright spots and also made clear some of the challenges our state and country will face moving forward. Looking back on the outcomes, I intentionally waited, giving myself some time to reflect and get over what was disappointing. I wanted to get in a frame of mind that is ready to move forward, by building off of what was successful and learning from what didn’t work. On the successes, I want to thank and give credit to the thousands of you who read and, I believe, acted on the challenge to influence others and advance the conversation on issues. Your work helped make the difference on the retention of Judges as well as provided the opportunity to improve the quality and problem solving capacity of the Kansas Legislature. The positive results are very significant, and you deserve credit and gratitude. And, going forward, your voice will be more important than ever.
We have sent a powerful message that the people of Kansas like merit selection and do not want any Governor to have too much power in selecting future Justices or Judges. In the process, we have held off a move where the blatant use of politics and money would have controlled the Judiciary. What we have been proud of, an independent and equally powerful Judiciary, will continue adding to sixty years of success.
As a result of this year's primary and general elections, we now will have a legislature, particularly in the House, that will be much more in tune with the people and issues that need to be addressed. A coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats will, at the very least, be able to stop crazy things that in the past made it to the Governor for signature. As we look towards the 2017 Legislative Session, there are a host of issues that will need immediate and sustained attention. On the policy front, this blog post from Duane Goossen, "Rise Up, Kansas" lays out some of the important places to start and points to an upcoming policy roll-out event that will take place next month at the Capitol.
On the engagement side, one way you can continue to help out going forward is to share with me in your comments, your observations of both the campaigns for retention and individual legislative races. I want to know what you think worked and what didn’t. Does the candidate and/or supporters going door to door impact your vote? Were the postcards and mailers effective? Did getting so many make a positive impact? Did the use of digital ads showing up online have impact? What about taped robo calls versus live calls? I want to know whatever you can share that might be helpful going forward. Knowing what works can really make a difference.
I will have more to say as time passes as to what the decisions of November 8th will mean for Kansas, including the Presidency and how it will impact our state and nation. In the meantime, please consider sharing this message and any feedback you have that can assist in future efforts to bring change to Kansas.
We have sent a powerful message that the people of Kansas like merit selection and do not want any Governor to have too much power in selecting future Justices or Judges. In the process, we have held off a move where the blatant use of politics and money would have controlled the Judiciary. What we have been proud of, an independent and equally powerful Judiciary, will continue adding to sixty years of success.
As a result of this year's primary and general elections, we now will have a legislature, particularly in the House, that will be much more in tune with the people and issues that need to be addressed. A coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats will, at the very least, be able to stop crazy things that in the past made it to the Governor for signature. As we look towards the 2017 Legislative Session, there are a host of issues that will need immediate and sustained attention. On the policy front, this blog post from Duane Goossen, "Rise Up, Kansas" lays out some of the important places to start and points to an upcoming policy roll-out event that will take place next month at the Capitol.
On the engagement side, one way you can continue to help out going forward is to share with me in your comments, your observations of both the campaigns for retention and individual legislative races. I want to know what you think worked and what didn’t. Does the candidate and/or supporters going door to door impact your vote? Were the postcards and mailers effective? Did getting so many make a positive impact? Did the use of digital ads showing up online have impact? What about taped robo calls versus live calls? I want to know whatever you can share that might be helpful going forward. Knowing what works can really make a difference.
I will have more to say as time passes as to what the decisions of November 8th will mean for Kansas, including the Presidency and how it will impact our state and nation. In the meantime, please consider sharing this message and any feedback you have that can assist in future efforts to bring change to Kansas.
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