2016 Fall Kansas Child

It’s Time to Get Involved
HON. TERRIE
HUNTINTON
Former State Senator
Terrie Huntington, retired state senator,
District 7, has been a member of the
Kansas Children’s Cabinet since 2010,
serves on the board of Kansas Action
for Children, and was an Early Learning
Fellow for the National Conference of
State Legislatures.
“If you have a plan, we want to hear it. Tell
your community leaders, your local officials,
your governor, … Believe me, your ideas count.
An individual can make a difference.”
Former President George Herbert Walker Bush
Dwight D. Eisenhower stated, “Politics ought to be the parttime
profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and
privileges of free men.”
Primary elections in Kansas often set the stage for the general
elections, and the 2016 primary elections were no exception.
With 125 House seats and 40 Senate seats in play, postcards filled
our mailboxes, and television ads ran day and night asking us
to believe the best or worst of a particular candidate. Political
forums were held in community centers from Colby to Overland
Park and from Wichita to Concordia, and candidates knocked on
doors for two months.
Campaigning has not changed much in the past 100 years —
candidates want to talk to as many voters as possible, and new
technology and media coverage have made that easier. Twitter,
Facebook and the ever-dreaded robo-calls seek to persuade. It’s
incumbent upon every eligible voter to study the issues, read
position statements, and fact-check information to learn the
truth about candidates and their platforms.
Because Kansas has a citizen legislature, candidates come
from many professions — farmer, doctor, community
volunteer, retiree, lawyer, and often a new college graduate.
While they might be familiar with a few of the important
issues affecting their districts, candidates need input from
advocacy groups to assess problems, formulate solutions,
and change policy.
The No. 1 issue this election season
is the Kansas budget: K-12 classroom
funding; a $17 million cut to higher
education; decreased funding for the
disabled; cuts to children’s programs;
cuts to safety net clinics and hospital
closures; cuts to infrastructure projects, due
to transferring money from the Department
of Transportation to the State General Fund;
Standard & Poor’s downgrading of our state
bond ratings, which makes money more expensive
to borrow; deferred payments to KPERS (pension fund
for teachers and some other public employees); and decreased
access to TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
dollars, leading to an increase in Kansans living in poverty.
When the Kansas Legislature convenes in January of 2017,
legislators will have to address a new education funding
formula and declining revenues that have led to budget cuts
that affect all of us, especially our children.
Legislators will need constituent information to help find
solutions to these daunting initiatives. Voting in the general
election in November should not be our final democratic
responsibility. We need to continue to study the issues,
contact our senators and representatives, attend their forums
during the legislative session, provide expert testimony in
committee hearings when asked, and seek information from
non-partisan organizations that serve both parties. Get
involved and stay involved! <
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