By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! I hope to see some of you at 6 p.m. tonight at Groover Labs in Wichita, where I’ll lead a conversation with former Supreme Court Justice Carol Beier and others about the Aug. 4 ballot question on whether to elect justices.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s union membership sparks political finger-pointing
TOPEKA — Kansas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cindy Holscher shared snippets of family history during a campaign appearance that included references to her sharecropper grandparents and a father who worked as a union carpenter and a mother employed as a school custodian.
During the KCUR forum with Democratic rivals state Sen. Ethan Corson and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog, Holscher credited her parents’ job opportunities for drawing the family out of poverty. Holscher, a Johnson County state senator, expressed empathy for Kansans struggling to afford inflated grocery and fuel costs.
“I know about working to make ends meet in that struggle. I come from a union family. I’m a union member myself. Come from a military family,” Holscher said. “I fight every day for public education and working families, not special interest groups and not billionaires.”
This biographical sketch offered by Holscher touched a nerve with Corson’s campaign, which has promoted his endorsements from the AFL-CIO and 18 other labor organizations.
Lily O’Shea Becker/Kansas Reflector
OPINION
The next fight for reproductive freedom in this state focuses on the Kansas Supreme Court
By Selina Sandoval
In 2022, Kansas voters made history.
Just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Kansans rejected the anti-abortion “Value Them Both” amendment, becoming the first state to affirm reproductive freedom at the ballot box after the Dobbs decision.
Today, Kansas voters are being asked a very different question: whether to replace the merit-based process for selecting Kansas Supreme Court justices with one based on statewide judicial elections.
At first glance, these issues may seem unrelated. One concerns Kansans’ right to reproductive freedom. The other concerns judicial selection.
As a physician caring for patients in Kansas, I can see they are deeply connected.
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Retiring Kansas revenue secretary lauded by governor as ‘dedicated public servant’
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Revenue secretary plans to retire from the agency at the end of July after serving during the two terms of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Mark Burghart, with four decades of experience as a tax attorney, plans to step down July 31. He’s been secretary of the agency responsible for collecting state taxes since 2019 after appointed by Kelly.
US Senate joins House in rebuke of Trump over his war in Iran
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led U.S. Senate served up a rare public check on President Donald Trump’s agenda Tuesday when it voted to approve a House-passed War Powers Resolution to end hostilities in Iran.
Trump administration in court win allowed to conduct nationwide fast-track deportations
WASHINGTON — An appeals court Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to use fast-track deportations within the interior of the country and not just at the Southern border, a key pillar in the president’s mass deportation campaign.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
6 p.m. June 24, Groover Labs in Wichita. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 25, Clint Bowyer Community Building in Emporia. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
7 p.m. June 27, Park City Senior Center. Host: Park City Community Pride.
1 p.m. July 11, South Branch Library in Kansas City, Kansas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone joins a panel discussion: "Elected vs Appointed: Inform Your Choice." Hosts: Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, and El Centro.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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