The One With All The Kansas Political Updates - Oct. 2022
“What is going on in Kansas, anyways?” is a question I’ve gotten a lot over the past several months. I’ve wanted to share about my stance on the primary election back in August, but in order to do that I feel I have to go back even further than that, so bear with me.
Back in April, the Libertarian Party of Kansas (LPKS) had our Annual State Convention here in Wichita. I was a big part of planning that event and as exhausted as I was after, it was all worth it. We had our largest convention ever with close to 100 attendees and both our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates from 2020 as speakers. It was the first time we had a 2-day convention, which meant by the time we got to public comment/new business, we were all pretty weary. It was during that time in the agenda that my friend Faith brought up a Constitutional Amendment that was going to be on the primary ballot in August. At the time all I knew was that it was in regards to abortion. The room was admittedly quiet when she pitched supporting the opposing side, but it was not my impression that it was due to a lack of support, just a lack of understanding the issue at hand.
The next month (May) I attended the Libertarian National Convention in Reno. I was so pumped to be chosen as an official delegate and really had no idea what I was walking in to. It was not at all like I had expected, but I am still glad I went. The biggest thing that happened there (in my opinion) was that the national party decided to remove their position on abortion. They decided to basically go neutral on the issue. At the time, I was extremely upset, but I eventually came around to seeing that it was a ground breaking move. No other political party has just gone silent on one of the hot button topics.
Later in May we had an open Executive Committee meeting via Zoom. My friend Faith did not attend National Convention in Reno and so was well prepared to make a proper pitch to our state leadership in regards to opposing the “Right to Abortion” Constitutional Amendment. At the end of that meeting it was decided that I would draft up a statement not in support one way or the other on the act of abortion itself, but on the State of Kansas’ involvement in the issue. I did that and it was sent out to our leadership to vote on whether or not to roll it out. On 6/30/22 it was approved with 5 in favor, 1 opposed, and 1 abstaining. You can view that statement here.
Back to the national stage, on 6/24/22 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which effectively paved the way for states to outright ban abortion access. What this meant for Kansas was that all eyes were going to be on us, as we were the first state to take the vote to the people.
In July, our Executive Committee met in person in Emporia, KS. I knew going into this meeting that not every single Libertarian in Kansas was in support of our previous statement, but I had been watching the reactions online and for every negative reaction were several more in support. Even people with no Libertarian bone in their bodies could tell that this was an attempt at an extreme overstep at the hands of the ultra conservatives. I personally invested time meeting with Libertarians in my area to discuss the issue and was fairly surprised not in the disagreement, but with how the disagreement was handled at that in person meeting.
Here’s the thing about politics: sometimes your ideas win and sometimes your ideas lose. I felt a devastating loss in Reno and anyone who saw me there or right after could tell you that was true. But I stuck around and got to work. You learn so much about a person by watching how they act not when they are winning, but when they are on the losing side of something. Many people asked me why I was sticking with the Libertarian Party after Reno. I told them the same thing I’d tell those who still feel slighted by our state party’s statement: at the end of the day, Libertarian principles are still the most pure. They are worth fighting for and their very existence depends on a certain level of diversity and grace.
Now, before I move on to some of what I’m currently working on politically, I want to address my personal position on the Right To Abortion Amendment. I know that I have baffled friends and family with my outspokenness on it lately, so I am happy to explain here. I have sat with two friends as they’ve had abortion procedures and I know the deeply personal decisions they each had to make. The last thing they needed on top of that was government involvement. The Kansas laws around abortion that existed before the vote and that were heroically upheld are a great compromise. I would challenge you to be well versed in them before vehemently asking for more rules in this area. As a Christian, I know that God gave us free will. He wants us to choose him and he wants us to actively work against worldly standards. If we go around changing laws to match our morality, then what is there left for us to work against? Not once in the Bible did Jesus bring people to him by changing the law. I am extremely proud of every single voter, regardless of party status, that showed up to defend women’s rights! It was a beautiful sight to see right from the front lines! <3
So, what’s going on in Kansas currently? We are gearing up for Election Day! I am mostly working with the Libertarian Governor candidate Seth Cordell, but we have a whole slate of Libertarian candidates running across the state. There are two new Constitutional Amendments on the ballot that you can read about here. I am leaning towards voting no for both of these, but there seem to be decent cases for both sides. I encourage you to do your own research and make plans to vote on 11/8!
Another big project of mine is the Cannabis and Candidates Forum coming up on 10/29. I had this idea for an event to highlight cannabis-friendly candidates back in August. I think a few people thought I would not be able to pull it off in such a short time frame, but all systems are go! We have a handful of Libertarian and Democrat candidates coming to speak as well as a handful of local vendors in the cannabis industry who will be on site. I even took a shot in the dark and emailed the Mayor of Wichita to see if he’d like to participate and he agreed! This is going to be a great exposure for our candidates, our party, and our cause!
I am passionate about legalizing all forms of cannabis because it’s just time. From the beginning it was largely vilified for naive and racist reasons. The City of Wichita recently removed simple marijuana possession from its city code which is unprecedented. I got to be in the room when they voted and it was extremely cool. What wasn’t cool was when I went to my County Commissioner to ask that the county follow suit and got shut down. My friend Erren got it on video if you are interested in watching here. If you’re still reading this, I am happy to go into more detail or answer any questions on any of these topics, but only if you promise to find an issue that is important to you and fight for it! :-)
XO - Olivia
