As state legislatures continue to meet all across the country, really important decisions are being made that will have significant impacts. As the old adage goes, elections have consequences. However, what was said and made clear in the campaign likely had more to do with getting elected or re-elected than informing the voter on specific issues. As a result, there are major debates right now that were not flushed out during the campaign. On many issues, you did not get a chance to learn a candidate's position which might have impacted your vote.
This leads to asking: are you participating in any current debate or are you a spectator who knows little, or nothing, about the current activity in the State Capitol? Are you informed on specific issues and keeping your elected representatives advised of your positions? Or are you assuming that hired lobbyists who share your views are doing that work and your real role ended at the ballot box? If you are assuming the latter, which would be common, what you need to know is that your personal communication to an elected official has the potential to have far more influence. Citizens effectively communicating a position can, and often do, make a difference.
Right now in Topeka, there are pieces of legislation up for action that would dramatically shift the concept of three equal branches of government by: (1) changing from merit selection to partisan appointments for members of the Kansas Supreme Court and (2) abandoning our constitutional funding commitment for supporting public education in Kansas. I doubt many voters were aware of these issues when they voted last fall. Yet, now we face dramatic change. What happens in the end will likely depend on who sits this one out. Regardless how you feel, the system is always best served by the people being heard. Please let your legislators hear from you.
This leads to asking: are you participating in any current debate or are you a spectator who knows little, or nothing, about the current activity in the State Capitol? Are you informed on specific issues and keeping your elected representatives advised of your positions? Or are you assuming that hired lobbyists who share your views are doing that work and your real role ended at the ballot box? If you are assuming the latter, which would be common, what you need to know is that your personal communication to an elected official has the potential to have far more influence. Citizens effectively communicating a position can, and often do, make a difference.
Right now in Topeka, there are pieces of legislation up for action that would dramatically shift the concept of three equal branches of government by: (1) changing from merit selection to partisan appointments for members of the Kansas Supreme Court and (2) abandoning our constitutional funding commitment for supporting public education in Kansas. I doubt many voters were aware of these issues when they voted last fall. Yet, now we face dramatic change. What happens in the end will likely depend on who sits this one out. Regardless how you feel, the system is always best served by the people being heard. Please let your legislators hear from you.
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