By Robert Tomassi

In the Aug. 4 primary election the voters of Kansas are being asked to approve an amendment to the state’s constitution that will change the manner in which judges of the Kansas Supreme Court are selected.

Currently the candidates for a seat on the Kansas Supreme Court are selected through a merit-based system.  A supreme court nominating committee of nine members is selected.  The committee consists of four attorneys each from one of the four congressional districts.  These attorneys are chosen by the Kansas Bar Association. Four non-lawyers are selected by the governor. The ninth member is an attorney who serves as the committee’s chair and is appointed by the governor.

The committee reviews applications of those seeking a position on the supreme court. The committee investigates its applicants for their integrity, professional competence, academic achievements, experience and commitment to service.

After the investigation, a public hearing is held to which members of the state legislature are invited to attend as well as members of the general public.

Following the public hearing the committee submits the name of three candidates to the governor who then makes the final decision.

One year after the selection the name of the newly selected justice is placed on a statewide ballot to decide if the justice should be retained. Then if the justice is retained every six years there is another ballot on retention of the justice.

It is important to vote NO on this proposed amendment for the following reasons:

Corrupting influence of political donations. The State of Wisconsin authorizes the use of popular votes to select members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  In the 2025 election cycle, Elon Musk paid into the campaign coffers of a Republican candidate for the state Supreme Court approximately twenty-one million dollars (yes, $21,000,000 to elect one candidate).  Why? Because he was seeking to have the state’s Supreme Court declare unconstitutional the Wisconsin Statute that prohibits automobile manufacturers (such as Tesla) from owning automobile dealerships.

It was not just Republicans who donated outlandish amounts of money into campaigns of the candidates for the Supreme Court.  In the same election cycle George Soros donated two million dollars ($2,000,000) to the campaign of the Democratic candidate for the Supreme Court and Illinois Gov. Pritzker gave in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000) to the Democratic candidate. Neither Mr. Musk, Mr. Soros nor Gov. Pritzker is a resident of the State of Wisconsin.

Altogether, the two parties spent over one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) to elect one Supreme Court Justice. It is important to ask yourself how beholding are those candidates who solicited money for their election to the people who provided the funds.

Imagine if you have a lawsuit pending before the Kansas Supreme Court and your opponent supported the Supreme Court judges with multi-million-dollar contributions to their campaigns.

Legislative schemes: The Supreme Court is the third branch of our constitutionally founded government. Its function is to act independently from the executive and legislative branches of government to determine if the acts of the executive and legislative branches are supported by the Kansas Constitution. One of the most important functions of state legislature that impacts both the current and future needs of Kansas is the funding of public education (K-12).  In 2005, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2005 (Montoy vs. the State of Kansas) and again in 2014 (Gannon vs State of Kansas) that the Kansas Legislature failed to provide the constitutionally required sufficient funds for the education of the Kansas children (Article 6 section 6 of the Kansas Constitution). After being rebuffed twice by the Supreme Court on the issue of fully funding education, the legislature then froze for several years the level of the funding required to operate the judicial system (revenge?).  This created hiring freezes and denying pay raises to clerks of the court, court reporters, district court judges, appellate and supreme court justices. It is evident that the legislature wants a lapdog for a Supreme Court instead of the watchdog it is now; and through this proposed amendment it desires to elect legislature-backed candidates.  If the amendment passes, you might as well kiss equitable funding of education goodbye.

Voter knowledge: In every election cycle, the voters of Kansas are asked to vote upon the retention of district court justices, appellate court judges and supreme court justices.  How much knowledge of the judges and justices does each of the voters have, when they vote? Unless the voter has a case pending in the court system, then probably none.  Should we now have uninformed voters select one of the most important judicial positions in the State of Kansas.

Sources for information on the judicial candidates: If a voter wishes to know more about the candidate to where will he or she look for more information? It has been estimated that 80% of the populace receive their news and information through the internet. The tag line “if it is on the internet, it must be true” is a derisive statement pointing to the inherently unreliability of the internet. Yet this will be where the campaign managers for the supreme court candidates will wage their war.  How is the voter to know what is true and what is rumor, what is actual and or has been photoshopped or distorted by artificial intelligence.  The reality and the fiction will be indistinguishable from one another.  The interference of the internet actually highlights the importance of the nominating committee’s investigations.

Candidates:   Under the proposed amendment, anyone with a law license over the age of 30 and has practiced law for 10 years and a substantial campaign coffer can run for the seat on the Supreme Court. There will be no screening process, no investigation into their ethical merits, no safeguards that the person selected is an intelligent, well-educated, hard-working, competent, ethical individual.  

We believe that the current selection process in which the nominating committee screens all the applicants and after the public hearing makes recommendations to the governor has served Kansas very well since 1958 (when political shenanigans by the governor, who, while in the middle of his term essentially appointed himself to the position of chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court even though he had not practiced law for approximately eight years). There is no fear that a judicial opinion has been “bought”, no confusion over the qualifications of the candidates, no concern that the newly selected justice will simply do the bidding of the legislature regardless of the constitutional requirements.

Simply put, the current system of selecting a justice to sit on the Supreme Court is the most honest, ethical, knowledgeable means to appoint a Supreme Court Justice.

VOTE NO on this amendment.

History and the Best Path Forward

By Chris W. Courtwright

The Kansas Constitution, as currently interpreted by our courts, requires that K-12 public schools in this state be both adequately and equitably funded by the state legislature.  This interpretation has been upheld over many decades and reinforced with many successful lawsuits.  Kansans who believe that schools need to be adequately and equitably funded need to vote “no” on the constitutional amendment appearing on the Aug. 4 ballot that would authorize direct partisan elections of our courts.  Should that amendment be approved, powerful special interests would quickly descend on Kansas and pour dark money into judicial election campaigns – similar to what we saw last summer in Wisconsin – in an effort to buy up our courts.  Were that to happen, within a few short years the courts would surely decide to interpret Article 6 to the Kansas Constitution differently. 

But at the same time, we know that school district levies account for about 40 percent of all property taxes statewide.  So, one question policymakers in Topeka are always grappling with is how can the overall property tax burden be addressed if schools have a laying on of hands by the Kansas Constitution and the courts.

Many of the balloon-squeezing schemes being pushed at the Statehouse by supermajority Republicans in recent years would do little in terms of reducing overall property taxes but would instead simply shift relatively more of the burden on to others, including younger Kansans; modest-income families; first-time home buyers; and all owners of motor vehicles.  Before looking to other approaches that would be more equitable, let’s review some history.

Kansas had a property tax revolt that made national news in 1989-90.  Gov. Joan Finney swept into office in 1990 along with a majority of Kansas House Democrats for just the third time in state history.  Even as courts were demanding that schools receive adequate funding, policymakers in the early 1990s were simultaneously faced with addressing public angst over property taxes.  Gov. Finney and legislative Democrats pushed to solve both problems at once and enacted the historic 1992 school finance law – probably the most important piece of public policy enacted in Kansas since World War II – which raised income and sales taxes and used the money to allow schools to significantly reduce property taxes.

So, the “three-legged stool” concept was born during these early 1990s school finance debates.  After 1992, the overall state and local property, sales and income tax burdens were relatively equal.  This three-pronged balanced concept was embraced by policymakers in both parties for the next 20 years – until Sam Brownback and his far-right enablers came along in 2012 and insisted on implementing their self-described “tax experiment” designed to amputate the shortest leg of the stool – the income tax leg.  Of course, that experiment failed spectacularly, and fallout from the 2012-17 period put even more pressure on local property taxes that has continued to this day.

Back to what works and what does not in 2026 and beyond.  The valuation caps being pushed by most Republicans are derivative of Prop 13 from 1978 and badly distort real estate markets and over time set up a landed aristocracy like what we see in California.  Even the right-of-center Tax Foundation (nobody’s liberals) say these caps are poorly targeted and has many unintended consequences.

What policymakers instead should consider is a four-pronged approach that would target most relief to homeowners and renters.  A constitutional amendment to lower the assessment level on residential property from 11.5 to 9.0 percent should be considered.  The “circuit-breaker” programs that target relief to households meeting certain demographic and income thresholds should be expanded. Cities and counties should be able to ask voters about other non-sales tax alternatives to ever higher property taxes, including potential local liquor, cigarette, motor fuels, income, earnings and severance taxes. And some form of revenue sharing from the state to help locals hold down their mill levies (that existed from the 1930s until 2002) should be restored.

Chris W. Courtwright served for 34 years as chief economist for the Kansas Legislature

The Crawford County Young Democrats are having a bake sale fundraiser at Headquarters on July 4th. It will be from noon to 3pm, after the parade but before the fireworks. Please consider stopping by! Donations of baked items for the sale are also welcome, and can be dropped off prior to the event. For any questions regarding the bake sale, please email Sophia Stapleton via sophia.luthien@gmail.com. 

And celebrating 2026 elections filing day

On June 1st, CC Dems (and some Republicans & Independents joined us, too) gathered together to share a wonderful SEK evening weather, at the beautiful home and yard of Patrick O'Brien in Pittsburg (thank you, Pat). Attendees enjoyed delicious catered refreshments, lots of hugs, handshakes, and friendly conversations. We all applauded the committed and caring Democrats who had filed for local, state, and national offices as they were introduced by Dr. Emily Walters.  She also reminded us that signs, stickers and buttons were available for pickup at Headquarters.

Jim Fredette was honored to give an introduction of Adam Hamilton, a Kansas Democratic primary candidate for the U.S. Senate. Adam had just spent his first day on the campaign trail with a tour of Wesley House Ministries, CHC/SEK, and Pittburg State University, among other agencies serving the public in our area. Adam observed the excellence of these facilities and their amazing stories of service. He stated that he was thoroughly impressed.

Rev. Hamilton is the founding and senior pastor of the Church of the Resurrection with campuses in metropolitan Kansas City. The Church of the Resurrection is the largest United Methodist Church in the United States with a membership of over 40,000 persons. Adam's vision imagined a church where people were free to discuss their doubts as well as their faith. But a thoughtful discerning church, he believes, would also focus on outreach to those who feel left out. As an example, this congregation has built wells in African villages to bring safe water to people. Villages without electricity now have it, thanks to this church's determination to bring light and learning to adults and children. They also provide most of the food insufficiency support and service, among many other outreach services to the greater Kansas City area. With such an amazing ministry, one may wonder why Adam Hamilton decided to run for the U.S. Senate. Over the last year, Adam Hamilton has been disturbed and disheartened by civility giving way to rancor, bi-partisanship being discarded for lock step party loyalty, and democratic principles endangered by the siren's call to authoritarianism. As Hamilton put it: "We HAVE to be better than this. And we CAN be better than this."

At a gathering including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, Adam Hamilton shared his message of closing the gap from where things now are, to a higher ground of where they could be. And there he was encouraged and supported to run for this seat in the U.S. Senate where Kansans would again have committed representation.  He shared that he had been traveling around the state in past months to seek out and listen to people expressing their needs and concerns. With this experience and information he had recently filed his candidacy for this office.

It was a feeling that the Crawford County Democrats who were there were very encouraged and supportive of Adam Hamilton as well as the candidates who were there and introduced.  They were especially appreciative of the opportunity to meet Adam Hamilton and numerous donations of support were made. He engaged in many conversations and answered several questions. It seems that this gathering was a successful opportunity for the CC Democrats to meet candidates. A big THANKS to all who planned and participated.  Let's look forward to more of these opportunities (and don't forget the yummy cream puffs)!

— Jim & Nancy Fredette

Back again to inform the world that the purpose of our Headquarters is to provide a safe, centralized meeting location, comfortable and efficient workspaces for party officers and volunteers, social support to our members, and reliable information about candidates, voting registration, community organizations and activities to the community.

The Facebook page I spoke of last month has been cancelled, too much drama.  If you need information about things that are going on, call HQ at 620-670-6867, leave a message and we’ll get back with you as soon as we can.  OR come work for a couple of hours! The shift signup sheet is on the bulletin board, the office is open every weekday, so just do it!(please)

I’m counting on all of you to seek the truth when conflictual situations arise by going to the source. We’ve got to look at the big picture and keep working to elect qualified candidates.

The next ACTION meeting will be Thursday, July 9, 4pm at Headquarters, 217A North Broadway in Pittsburg.  We will be setting down plans for this year’s Crawford County Fair. A spot has been reserved, a watermelon feed has been discussed, merch orders need to be made. Please, come contribute some time and ideas toward making the fair successful in getting out the vote!

— Sally Harryman,, HQ manager

Liberal Ladies met on June 3. at noon, at Dem HQ. 

Sally, Emily and I will meet with Don Pyle about ways to have money available for LL We will meet on our off Wednesday, the 10th at 1:30. Harriet shared a deep canvassing moment. Nancy T. brought cards for birthdays and get well cards for HQ. Avery Rowland 's brother has designed signs and info sheets for her campaign. They are very well done. The orange is a Scottish orange.

Isys Galindo visited with her campaign manager, Hadrian.  We introduced ourselves by telling her our concerns about our local, state, and national government. She signed up on June 1 to run for the District 2 House seat. 

Ruth presented a program called Blue Envelope. We'll have the organizer visit to explain the details.  Ruth is painting her old campaign signs black and then writing VOTE NO in white. Very eye catching.  Next week on Wednesday the 10th, 5 to 8 p.m. at Dem HQ there will be supplies to paint signs or write postcards.

The Frontenac Parade was on Saturday, June 6 as well as Pancakes for Pride.  Also, on June 6 at Homer Cole, information about Judges selection was presented.

Some Sources for independent media include Thom Hartmann, Scott Pelley, Kansas Reflector.  Nancy T brought a list of fundraising ideas.  And favorites were Banned Books and Bake Sale.  Isaiah Harris discussed fund raising for his campaign. We will have future meetings to explore fundraising. Our second June meeting was on June 17.

Liberal Ladies met again on June 17, at noon, at Dem HQ. 

We gathered money for pool passes for children whose families get any kind of government assistance.  Republicans passed a law that the people in those families can't use that money to go swimming. We have $251 so far. I'll ask for donations at the picnic.

We discussed why people don't vote. We introduced ourselves to Shirley Menghini. The Education of an Idealist a book by Samantha Powers was recommended.  Also, the show, The Diplomat, on Netflix. 

I recommended Dionne Blakemore for photos me @ vividfocusphotag. 620/230-8657

Nancy T.  brought a sample of an address book for LL. Sally will work on that.  UPS will print for cost. A reminder:  County parties can't do anything for federal candidates that costs money.  Always ask Emily if in doubt about KS rules.

Dem picnic is June 28 at Lincoln Park, at 1:00, at Shelter # 3. 

Bring a side dish if you can. Burgers and hot dogs are provided. 

Speakers include: Scott Kleeb (his wife is chair of Nebraska DNC).  Scott heads a group training vets to canvass other vets. And Mike Fleming will speak on the amendment regarding the selection of KS Supreme Court judges. There will be other speakers as well.

Come and soak up the wonderful Democratic energy!

Our next meeting is July 1st, at noon, at Dem HQ.

Susy Hammons, LL facilitator

By James Orwig

Prior to 2025, I confess that I did not know there are four Congressional Districts  in the State of Kansas, and I could not name the current Representative in the first and the fourth district. My attention to who was running for a particular office and what values they espoused emerged when I received my ballot and sat down to consider the choices and ponder the effect those choices might have on the outcome of the election. I did my civic duty of voting and then got back to the activities of daily living: meeting with clients, gardening, working in my shop building things or repairing things, nurturing relationships.

Inspired by my partner’s involvement in Crawford County Democrats, and meeting and talking with people as a precinct co-chair, I have been learning more about Kansas politics. Add to these factors my involvement in starting a Kansas Chapter of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) and I can say I am better informed than I was, but I have a long way to go to challenge a native Pittsburger, let alone a native Kansan, in the finer points of Kansas politics..

As co-chair of the Kansas Chapter of PDA I have had an opportunity during our zoom meetings to learn about the backgrounds and motivations of candidates and to ask them questions about their priorities and goals. Cole Epley was our guest for the May zoom meeting. He earned the endorsement of the Kansas chapter to be the Democratic candidate to run against Ron Estes in CD4. Cole is a 28-year-old young man who embraces the progressive values of universal healthcare, affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, and stopping military aid to Israel, among other things. Mr. Epley has a special interest in promoting the rights of children in foster care. He was employed in a program that focused on keeping foster kids out of human trafficking, finding housing, jobs, and education, after aging out of the foster care system. For the curious, CD4 includes Wichita and is west of CD2.Cut the map of Kansas in half east to west and CD4 is in the lower half,  the central third of the lower half.

Our June guest was State Sen. Dinah Sykes, who is running for Kansas Insurance Commissioner. Sen. Sykes emphasized the importance of the insurance commissioner in determining which insurance companies can offer their products in Kansas, based on their performance and fiscal stability. The commissioner handles complaints about existing companies who are determined to maximize profits at the expense of their clients by denying claims.  She discussed how Medicare Advantage can seem like a better choice than traditional Medicare, but Medicare Advantage is profit-driven, while traditional Medicare is not. Sen. Sykes is running against State Rep. Dan Hawkins of Wichita. He works in the private insurance industry and has been an outspoken advocate for Medicaid cuts and opposes Medicaid expansion. Lack of Medicaid funding has been one of the drivers of the closure of rural hospitals.

Our July 8 zoom guest will be Juan Luengo, who is running for State Treasurer. You can register for the zoom meeting at Mobilize. Here is the link: https://mobilize.us/s/Y99qbs

We are inviting Democrats to go to our Facebook page, PDA Kansas, and follow and like it. It has been obscure and neglected, but we have a new administrator who will hopefully resuscitate it.

Crawford County Democratic Party

Volunteer Appreciation Picnic — June 28, 2026

Secretary’s Report

Attendees: Chair Emily Walters, Vice Chair Jack Bertoncino, Secretary Dionne Blakemore, Vivian Blakemore, Harriet Bachner, Shirley Beer, Jack Brooksher, Jim Brumfield, Shawn Bugni, Phil Burgert, Robert Cannon, Sandy Casey, Don Coover, Cathy Dean, Zach Ferguson, Don Frevele, Gretchen Frevele, Robert George, Susy Hammons, Isaiah Harris, Sally Harryman, Jim Hill, Harry Humphries, Jean Hurlbert, Molly Jamison-Harris, Chuck Menghini, Kyle Million, Jim Orwig, Mark Peterson, Avery Rowland, Neva Rowland, Cecily Stephens, David Su, George Sypniewski, Marietta Sypniewski, Kathy Thompson, Bob Tomassi, Nancy Tomassi, Betty Urich, Skip Urich, Rexine Warehime, Marcia Weeks, Juan Luego, Mike Fleming, Debbie Grisolano, Joe Grisolano, Joyce Menghini, Pat Waltrip, Peggy Fleming, George Parsons, Denise Farris, Elliott Norman, Allen Childers, Curt Skoog, Andriy Bilyk, Amy Skoog, Elizabeth Galindo, Jen Bush, Jason Peters, Talia Sheehan, Jenna Spencer, Scott Swenson, Claudia Blancett, and Cheryl Craig

Opening & Welcome - Emily Walters

Emily Walters opened the event, noting it was a full afternoon of speakers. We are so lucky to have so many candidates running in this election cycle!

Special thanks were given to Joe Grisolano for cooking the burgers, and the Coover Cattle Co. for donating the Wagyu beef for the picnic.

Keynote Speaker

Scott Kleeb — Director, Operation Earned Trust | Hastings, Nebraska

Scott addressed the group on the importance of getting folks to vote for their own interests, referencing the “Amazon Army” as an example of regular people changing the way labor is addressed in our country. Remember to get out there and Bang Some Pans!

Operation Earned Trust works with over 250 candidates across 13 states engaging veteran voters. Kansas was the first state to embrace this program and currently has 26 House District candidates participating.

Candidate & Guest Speakers

‍Mike Fleming — Supreme Court Ballot Initiative

Discussed the Supreme Court ballot initiative and it’s importance.

Question: What is the best talking point when talking to others about the legislation? Answer: Ask who is behind it. Elon Musk, Koch Brothers, Brownback, and Kobach. Billionaires are pushing for this in our state and others so they can bypass the will of the voter by buying candidates for the state courts.

‍www.KUIC.org

Juan C. Luengo — Candidate for Kansas State Treasurer

CEO & Business Owner with 20 years in insurance & risk management.

‍Platform: Helping small business owners, seniors, and property tax relief.

‍Website: www.jcfortreasurer.com

‍Curt Skoog — Mayor, Overland Park, KS | Candidate for Governor

Running mate: Dr. Jen Bacani McKenney for Lt. Governor.

Platform: Thrive Agenda — expanding rural healthcare, lowering property taxes, fixing infrastructure, protecting reproductive healthcare, conserving water & natural resources, and addressing affordability.

Website: www.curtskoog.com

‍Isaiah Harris — Kansas House of Representatives, District 3

‍Platform: Expand Medicaid, raise minimum wage to $15/hr, support unions, and fund education in Kansas.

‍Website: www.isaiahforkansas.com

‍Isys Galindo — Kansas House, District 3

Platform: Disability rights, expand Medicaid, fully fund education.

Website: www.galindoforstatehouse.com

Avery Rowland — State Representative, House District 2

Message: Break the supermajority — talk to your neighbors.

‍Website: www.averyforkansas.com

‍Special Recognition & Announcements

‍Volunteer Thank-You

‍A surprise thank-you was presented to Emily Walters for her hard work over the last four years, congratulations on her Board Certification, and happy early birthday!

Newsletter

Members were reminded to submit articles for the newsletter by the 25th of each month.

Raffle

A raffle was held during the event, with Bobby Million and Vivian Blakemore assisting.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn: moved by Jack Bertoncino, seconded by Elisabeth Peters. Motion carried.‍ ‍

Article submissions are needed from Crawford County Democrats and friends about issues and topics we should all be thinking about. Let us publish your thoughts in this Revue, for distribution to county Democrats and others across the state. Back issues of thr newsletter are also on the website at https://www.crawfordcountyksdems.org/newsletter.

Please email your thoughts or those of your caucuses and interest groups for publication in the county party’s newsletter to news@crawfordcountyksdems.org. Accompanying photographs or other ideas for illustrating your articles are also welcome. Feel free to ask questions by text or phone of newsletter crew Harriet at 620-704-8566 or Phil at 708-466-0659. Also please include your phone number with your message in case we have questions for you.

We look forward to hearing from you!