By Isaiah Harris

This past Sunday, July 26, the Isaiah for Kansas campaign, in collaboration with the Southeast Kansas Democratic Socialists and SEKWIN, hosted a School Supply Drive Cookout, where free meals were given to anyone who brought school supplies to donate! It was a massive success; dozens and dozens of community members dropped off hundreds of items.

On Tuesday, July 28, we held a distribution event. We advertised the event for less than 40 hours, and over 250 people showed up.

Before we even opened the doors to our event, we had a line of folks waiting to the end of the block. Our team on Tuesday saw a desperate community, abandoned by our government, but not abandoned by us. We passed out waters and shared smiles while they waited. We were able to distribute over 100 backpacks and 50 bags filled with pencils, notebooks, folders, and other school essentials. 

Due to the demand, we sent a couple members of our team to go buy more supplies to give to families. We ended up spending about $500 directly from our campaign account. All of our supply donations came from people like us, individual contributions. We are deeply grateful to our excellent team of volunteers, donors, and everyone else who helped make this event possible.

We believe politics should be used to help people, uplift each other, and support our neighbors, not sow division and hatred. The turnout to our distribution is proof of our community's needs, which is why it’s so important that our state government takes our lives seriously.

What are they doing instead? 

Ty Masterson and Dan Hawkins are running for statewide races, abandoning the mess they made in the legislature. DJ Perry is running as a pass-the-torch candidate with his endorsement from Chuck Smith. He actually told a journalist that he plans on keeping his elected seat on the Pittsburg city commission if elected to state rep.

We are tired of the same old power-hungry politicians that care more about their position than us down here struggling to pay rent, pay for groceries or pay for school supplies. We need change. We can do better.

If you have not already done so, make sure to vote in the Primary on Tuesday, August 4 and then come out to our next regular Crawford County Democratic Party meeting on Sunday, August 16 at 1 pm at the Crawford County Democratic Headquarters.

It's an opportunity for us to come together, discuss our strategies and plan for the November 3 General Election and other upcoming events. Your participation is vital to our collective success.

Please let Emily know if you have any items you'd like to see added to the agenda at emily@crawfordcountyksdems.org .

We are hoping to see everyone there!

‍By Avery Rowland - (she/her)

‍Candidate for Kansas House District 2‍

I grew up just across the line from Opolis, and as a child I loved knowing I was from the same state as Mark Twain. One of my favorite quotes—often attributed to him—is, "History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme." Whether he said it or not, the sentiment has always felt true.

My dad is an avid gardener. Every spring he plants the same varieties of tomatoes, and every July they reward him with fruit that tastes like summer. Year after year, he follows nearly the same routine, yet no two harvests are exactly alike. The soil, the rain, the heat, and the luck of the season always leave their mark.

When I was a kid, he also grew sweet corn. Some of my favorite memories are of muggy Saturday mornings after the Farm Show, sitting on the porch shucking corn and pulling away stubborn strands of silk before lunch. He doesn't grow sweet corn anymore. It's simply too much work. Instead, one of the local farmers quietly plants an acre of sweet corn tucked inside forty irrigated acres of field corn. You must know where to look, but it's there every summer.

The years have changed us, but the rhythms remain. People still worry about the weather, the crops, the livestock, their children, and their schools. They still complain about the roads and debate whether the new local restaurant will become a fixture or disappear before harvest. In a community our size, you're far more likely to cross paths with the dogcatcher or the clerk at the DMV than you are with the governor.

Politics works much the same way. Despite all the noise from Washington, politics is — and always will be — local.

Like locally grown produce, local politics comes with imperfections. Nothing worthwhile is flawless. Grocery store tomatoes and sweet corn are perfectly shaped and remarkably consistent, but they rarely taste like something grown in Kansas soil. The blemishes, the crooked ears, the odd-shaped tomatoes — those are signs of something real. They carry the memory of the ground they came from.

In my own garden, I plant heirloom tomatoes. They aren't always pretty, but they have character, depth, and flavor that no supermarket variety can match. They're rooted in something older than convenience.

‍If we keep electing the same garden-variety tomatoes, we shouldn't be surprised when we keep getting bland sandwiches in Topeka. Kansas deserves leaders with deep roots, distinct character, and the courage to grow in our own soil rather than be engineered for the shelf to be bought and sold.

As the years pass, I'll keep searching for those hidden patches of sweet corn and those imperfect tomatoes that taste like home. And I'll keep believing that the best things Kansas has to offer aren't always the prettiest—they're the ones with strong roots.

‍I'm going to the stars, and I want to take Kansas with me.

‍Ad Astra per Avery.

‍www.averyforkansas.com

By Mike Sand.

Liberal Ladies met on July 1, at noon, at Dem HQ. 

Emily asked that we walk with Heather Guernsey, State Board of Education candidate, and other candidates in the 4th of July parade.

Liberal Ladies continued their tradition of donating money for pool passes for children whose families receive any government assistance, which can't be used for swimming. Matt 'Malley at Wesley House will distribute the pool passes to children who want to go swimming at the pool this summer.

Emily's birthday is the 4th of July. Nancy T. had a card for us to sign. Bob Tomassi, who is known for his baking, will make a cake to celebrate after the parade.

I celebrated Dionne and Vivian's picture taking skills. And they make it fun!

Harriet gave us a deep canvassing moment she had with an old friend. She realized they just have different values. Delma shared a Rant to our enthusiastic appreciation.

Harriet reminded the group of our postcards to send to registered voters reminding them to vote in the August 4 primary and explain the importance of voting NO on the judges’ amendment. So, we decided to have a workday on the 8th from 10 to 3 to write postcards to be sent in plenty of time before the August 4 primary. 

I will check with Emily about the use of Dem HQ and using Dem money for candidates. We can't show any favoritism

We discussed fundraising ideas and identified the idea that we might call Banned Books and Baked Goods in honor of Nancy Fredette who insisted that the Bargain Bonanzas had to have a Bake Sale and then baked for this good cause. Our next regular meeting is July 15th, at noon, at Dem HQ.

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Liberal Ladies met again on July 8th from 10 until 3 and wrote postcards to encourage voters to VOTE NO  to the Amendment about the way we decide on judges. Harriet is very impressed with our enthusiasm about this important action for the Vote NO on August 4 campaign.

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Liberal Ladies met again for our regular meeting on Wednesday, July 15, at noon, at Dem HQ. 

Delma shared a Poem/Rant that was met with much appreciation from the group. Harriet described the Deep Canvassing contacts she and Jim had with folks in their precinct who were Democrats, Republicans, or Undeclared, and had plenty of questions. On one occasion they were invited in the home to continue the conversation out of the heat. 

Harriet brought cards for us to sign for Dems who have health issues or other challenges and are missed at LL and CCD meetings.

We discussed the Democratic candidates’ campaign platforms who have primaries. Campaign information for various Democratic candidates was distributed to those who would like to work on their campaigns. 

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Susy took $405 for Pool Passes to Wesley House to be distributed to children. Thanks to Liberal Ladies and the Crawford County Dems for their generosity in providing children the opportunity to go swimming at the aquatic center.

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Liberal Ladies met again for our regular meeting on Wednesday, July 29, at noon, at Dem HQ. 

There is a new schedule for sign up to work at the CCD Headquarters.  If anyone would be willing to fill a spot or to be on a reserve list please let David know at 501/482-5055.  

If you can spend some time at the fair to work the CCD table or donate bottles of water, let Sophia know at 620/469-8812.  The fair starts Wednesday night, July 29.   

The LL with the help of CCD planned to collect school supplies for two elementary schools in Crawford County: Westside USD 250 and Cherokee USD 247.  School Supplies can be brought to the CCD Headquarters M-F 10am to 4pm by Aug. 11 and then they will be given to the schools for the teachers or administrators to give to students who may need them.

— Susy Hammons, LL Facilitator, and Harriet Bachner

The purpose of our Headquarters is to provide a safe, centralized meeting place, comfortable and efficient workspaces for party officers and volunteers, social support for our members, and reliable information for our community.

July's day-to-day happenings at Headquarters were largely out of my control while I was away. I haven't heard of anything catastrophic happening during my absence, so that’s cool.  Thank you to everyone who stepped up to cover for me.

I'll be glad when the primary is behind us and the campaign signs at Headquarters can go home.  The hole in the back parking area has been filled, so if you have signs you'd like us to recycle, please leave them outside in the back. If anyone would be willing to take on the job of recycling, and/or storing the returned signs, we'd love the help.

THANK YOU FOR THE NEON VOTE SIGN, BOB! I marveled at it like the dad in a Christmas Story with his leg lamp. It’s definitely my new favorite thing on Broadway.

We're working hard to keep Headquarters open Monday through Friday. A volunteer shift schedule is posted on the bulletin board , please sign up to donate a few hours. If sitting at the front desk isn't your thing, don't worry—there are plenty of other projects and chores that need attention that could be done in the evenings or on weekends. Stop by and see how you can help!

Finally, the next ACTION Meeting on Thursday, August 13, at 4:00 p.m. at Headquarters, 217A N. Broadway, Pittsburg. Everyone is welcome! New ideas are encouraged. With so much happening, these meetings are our opportunity to share information, organize our efforts, and work together.

— Sally Harryman,, HQ manager

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!