Editor’s note: The following are paid political letters.
Kelly will prioritize education as governor
I heard a Whitney Houston song recently, in which she sang, “I believe the children are our future.” Most of us know tat in the cycle of time, older generations fade away and younger ones come along to take charge. That’s why it is so important that we educate our children and youth. The next line of the song is, “Teach them well and let them lead the way.”
The need to teach them well is one reason I support Laura Kelly’s reelection as governor of Kansas. She made education a priority and saw to it that the state fully funded education in Kansas, after the massive cuts made by Sam Brownback, which the current gubernatorial candidate, Derek Schmidt, fully supported. And she funded education while at the same time improving the Kansas economy and achieving a budget surplus that has built up the state’s rainy-day fund.
Teach them reading, writing and arithmetic, American history and how our democracy works. Nurture their curiosity about science, art and music, and give them the critical-thinking skills to find things out for themselves. The next generations will face some challenging issues, and we must help prepare them for it. The best way to do that is to maintain the quality of our schools. Elect Laura Kelly governor and she will continue to prioritize the excellence of Kansas public schools.
Linda R. Johnson
133 N. Dartmouth Drive
Dodson getting into mud during race; Vote Zito for House
I’m a Lt. Colonel with the U.S. Army Reserves. For the last 20 years, the Seven Army Values have been drilled into my head. Army values are what drives a soldier to do the right thing.
Included in the Army Values are Honor, Integrity, and Respect.
Mike Dodson, as a retired General, I expected more from you. I expected you to run your campaign with integrity. I expected you to be honest with your constituents, and I expected you to have respect for your opponent, even as you campaigned to win.
I could not be more disappointed.
Kim Zito is my wife, and nobody knows this woman like I do. She is caring, loving and wants our son to grow up with good schools, wants people to live in houses they can afford and eat food that won’t break budgets. She truly wants to make our community the best it can be.
She’s knocking on every person’s door so they can get a tiny glimpse of the woman who’s going to make a difference for Manhattan, like she’s made a difference for our son and me. As a family, we sacrificed summer vacation, nightly family dinners, and weekend getaways. Our son has knocked on hundreds of doors with his mom.
I watch her everyday give, give, and give some more – and welcome her back home as she crawls into bed exhausted because she loves this community so much.
They say politics is a dirty business — Kim and I weren’t naive. But I’m surprised you got down into the mud. The lies and the hatred being hurled at my wife are atrocious. This is why good people don’t run for office.
You and I both know officers don’t lie nor spread rumors about other officers’ wives. I thought you’d still behave like your Army values mattered. I was wrong.
What you did prove right that I knew all along: my wife has more courage than you.
Christopher Zito
1013 Cassidy Drive
Dodson will bring constituents together for 67th District
Reelect Mike Dodson to the 67th District of the State Legislature. I have known Mike for over 25 years since our time of serving together in the United State Army.
We have worked and served together several times and it has been my pleasure and honor to support him as a Logistician in the Army. Mike knows how to plan and implement the tough jobs as demonstrated during our Army careers and he has carried that forward into his political career while serving on the Manhattan City Council and as Mayor of Manhattan. Mike is sensible and logical in his approach to problem solving and in working with the opposite parties so that we can advance in Kansas whether it be with reducing our property taxes, or state renewal of ad valorem revenue.
Always polite and considerate Mike when reelected to the 67th District willl bring constituents together with effective leadership and planning to improve Kansas healthcare and child care. Mike is simply the only candidate for the State Legislature 67th District!
Phil Mattox
1032 Brianna Court
Dodson has betrayed his stated beliefs
When Mike Dodson was elected state representative in district 67 to represent the west part of Manhattan, I recall thinking that although he was not my first choice, he seemed to be an old-style “good government” conservative who would adequately represent Manhattan. Instead, he has betrayed his constituents and his own stated beliefs. He says KanCare should be expanded as most countians want but acquiesced to the extremists in the GOP leadership who have blocked it and denied medical care to thousands of Kansans. Given the advanced training and the leadership positions he has held, he must be well aware of the military’s iron-clad gun-rules requiring training, safety, and accountability. Yet he flipped his vote under pressure from his authoritarian GOP superiors to force university officials to allow unsupervised, potentially untrained teen-agers to keep loaded guns in dormitory rooms. He says that Kansas’ current laws regarding abortion are “about right” but flipped his vote under pressure to support the draconian, no-excuse abortion-ban legislation that is waiting for legislators in the next session. He may be a good listener and planner, but don’t tell me that he shows integrity. Instead, he has demonstrated that he is a go-along-to-get-along rubber stamp for extremists.
Carl Reed
1418 Leavenworth St.
Zito an intelligent, energetic candidate who knows Manhattan
As a retired Army Colonel with 26 years of leadership experience (Red River Army Depot, Army Research Laboratory, West Point), I appreciate Rep. Mike Dodson’s years of public service, defending our nation and leading our community as mayor. His legacy will be remembered.
But we have an opportunity to elect an intelligent, energetic woman whose heart is in the right place and has shown this community her grit and determination.
Kim Zito knows Manhattan. She knows policy and understands its consequences.
And she knows how to drill down to find answers.
It’s time. It’s to hand the baton over to a generation that’s ready to lead. These are our adult children to whom we gave wings and taught them to fly. Its now their turn to soar.
Tom Dunn
5005 Colbert Hills Drive
Don’t vote for Republicans
I am writing to implore you NOT to vote a full Republican ticket, even if your family has been voting that way for generations.
Because the Republican party today is not the same Republican party of a generation ago.
Today’s Republican party is run by very, very rich people. People who are working to direct the party and have already managed to achieve a unified party vote. One of the Republican successes has been to defeat the legislation that would require identification of candidate supporters who provide them large sums of money. So I don’t know who the billionaires are who are spending so much money to insure a win for their selected candidate. A candidate who will then be indebted to the party and will vote as told.
I do not believe the way the Republican party is headed is a way that is helpful to our country.
I want the United States of America to be a country that believes in following our laws. I want the United States of America whose elected representatives work together to make decisions to benefit the whole country.
That will not happen if many of the present Republican party candidates win this election. I know there are many sources of information about candidates. I use VOTE411.
Check out the candidates, and vote. But PLEASE, Please, under so circumstances, do NOT vote a solid Republican ticket.
Ellie Lamb
3014 Sunnyside Drive
Today’s GOP subverts Constitution
Do you value the Constitution? The Founding Fathers created a secular government with checks and balances on each branch so no one branch would dominate. They feared special interests could overpower the will of the people and tried to make provisions to avoid that. Yet today’s Republican Party has a nationwide plan to silence voices and subvert the Constitution, and the values upon which our country has thrived for nearly 250 years. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) sends Republican model legislation to all the states, which explains why similar bills pop up all over the country at the same time. These bills target LGBTQ people, women, non-white people, environmental regulations, and voting laws. Our history, starting with the Bill of Rights, has been marked by expansion of personal rights, but now the Republican Party is taking them away, taking women’s personal autonomy, and making it harder to vote. There are threats to repeal gay marriage and birth control. States are trying to allow their legislatures to overturn elections. Republicans stacked the Supreme Court with justices chosen to approve the Republican agenda rather than judges who are independent, fair and impartial. Kansas Republicans are working to do the same thing to the Kansas Supreme Court. I ask: what do you think the Democrats will do that might, maybe, be worse than what Republicans are currently in fact doing to subvert democracy? I changed my vote from Republican to Democrat, and you can too. Our democracy depends upon it.
Dawn Olney
Prairie Village
Kelly, Dodson proven public servants
Our opportunity and responsibility to exercise our right to vote in free and fair elections in Kansas is NOW!
While there are a number of quality candidates willing to dedicate their time and talents in public service, I am sharing my thoughts on two separate endorsements. Both of these candidates reflect dedication and common sense because of their proven service to Kansans.
Gov. Laura Kelly is an exemplary governor, leading us through tough times while achieving credibility and solvency in our state. She and Lt. Gov. David Toland (who is also secretary of commerce) have restored vitality to Kansas while working with both political parties in order to achieve what is best for our state. The future looks bright for Kansans because of their passion and dedication. No grandstanding — just result from this team!
Our local state representative, Mike Dodson, is another proven public servant whose record as a thoughtful, pragmatic individual is deserving of support for a second term. Rep. Mike Dodson’s commitment and leadership at the local, state and national levels of service are the qualities we need in our area, reflecting a healthy and vibrant Kansas.
“Self-agendas” are not the make-up of either Gov. Kelly or Rep. Dodson. They are worthy of our support in order to keep them working for us and to keep the Kansas brand both pragmatic and proud!
Respectfully,
Lana Oleen,
former Kansas state senator who served Manhattan area for 16 years
3000 Stagg Hill Road
Firefighters union supports Kelly, Zito for office
The Manhattan Firefighters L-2275 PAC supports these candidates in the upcoming election. We support the Kansas State Council of Firefighters endorsement of Laura Kelly and David Toland for Governor/Lt. Governor. We further stand behind their endorsement of Chris Mann for Attorney General.
Locally, we endorse Kim Zito for District 67 Representative. We were impressed by her vigor, enthusiasm, and breadth of knowledge.
We further support voting YES on retaining Supreme Court Judges.
We also support a NO vote on constitutional amendments.
Tim Davenport
Manhattan Firefighters
L-2275 PAC president
