Who Am I?

I'm a 26 year old woman from Phillipsburg, Kansas. My two sisters and I were raised by my mother, who is blind, with the help of state and community programs. I wouldn’t have had a fraction of the opportunities available to me if it weren’t for free lunch programs, the food pantry, community theatre, Girl Scouts, neighbors who drove me to school in blizzards, churches that provided us with turkeys and presents from Santa for Christmas, the local library, and so much more.

The kindness of others, along with the hardships we have faced, has made me eager to repay the community that has shaped me into the person I am today, so that their children’s children have even more opportunities than I did. Additionally, with my mom’s cancer diagnosis, I’m motivated now more than ever to make things better for her and everyone else going through the worst times of their lives. I need to try.

I’m currently working as a bartender at The Black Sheep Taphouse, but I’ve worked in customer service for over a decade. I’ve babysat and mowed for my neighbors, made them sandwiches on their lunch breaks, helped them navigate paperwork for the worst days of their lives at the hospital, served them champagne to celebrate the best ones at the taphouse, and cleaned up trash on our streets while singing and dancing to music in my free time.

From serving people for a corporation, healthcare facilities, and small businesses, I know small town Kansas well and will strive to represent my neighbors proudly. I owe you all at least that, please let me repay you.

What I Stand For

The Big Picture:

When it comes down to it, there’s only so many hours in the day, so many resources to be allocated, and it’s my goal to give the voters back the right to decide: what kind of world they want for themselves and their children. I represent you. You get to choose, and I’ll relay those decisions. Do we want to ensure employees don’t have to work overtime, leaving time for a higher quality of life or to raise their children with their ideals and values? Do we want to channel resources into childcare and education to pick up the slack so that kids are ensured better opportunities than their parents have been afforded. We must decide what we can stand to see change, and what we must demand remains fundamental. We must prepare for the future while still keeping in mind the past, how we got here and how to achieve the things we’ve always idealized. One thing is certain: at some point we stopped communicating as if we assumed we knew how the conversation will go; and I promise you this now, I have absolutely no clue how this is going to go, but I’m ready. I’m motivated by necessity and an expert problem-solver, so if you are willing to speak up, I’m here to listen.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is truly the foundation of life. Without our people working before the sun comes up and long after it goes down, life as we know it would cease to exist. Lawmakers must prioritize the farmers who ensure our state has produce, grain, livestock, dairy, fiber, and raw materials for fuel, through actions regarding land, water, commerce, air, chemicals/substances, compensation, liability, worker protection and any and all concerns our farmers have for their livelihoods. People working the land are the best resource we have to keep track of the tangible effects our lifestyles cause to the environment. Open channels of communication shouldn't be an innovative concept, but as it stands, it's something I'm hopeful for the opportunity to introduce.

CHILDREN & FAMILIES

I am so grateful to those who are able and willing to have families in a day and age that actively works against that goal. From hospital bills, to career sacrifices, to the rising cost of living, parents are heroes, rarer by the day. It's an important reality to be aware of when taking into consideration legislation that effects life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, in the form of reproduction and the pubic funding of welfare. I want to do everything I can to keep myself educated on how to be respectful and helpful toward our communities goals; so it’s essential ensure people have supportive options when looking toward the future of their families. It's scary to bring a life into a world that feels unsafe, unwelcoming, or unaccommodating, and as someone who grew up heavily benefiting from programs put into place to ensure having no dad and a disabled mother wouldn't shun me to a life of desolation, I will fight for these programs that help future parents see that they aren't alone with the weight of the world, and that it DOES take a village, and their village is there for them.

CORRECTIONS

The percentage of people with non-violent charges in our state prisons continues to increase, as does the length of their incarcerations. This is a significant waste, from tax dollars to the human life. It's time to ask ourselves whether we see our correctional facilities as a place capable of correcting behaviors, or if it, in itself, needs correction; because if we use these facilities and their funds for every person on the street who needs reforming, without providing a decent chance of reform, it's a financial sinkhole shaping dehumanized villains who never stood a chance at the American Dream. It's time to re-evaluate what we want correctional facilities to be dedicated to accomplishing, and shaping our legislature en suite.

EDUCATION

Teachers don't get paid enough. Schools are underfunded. Students aren't being given a realistic education that prepares them for paying bills, car maintenance, navigating the world independently, etc. These skills that some of our parents taught us are now being taught through social media, which further weakens the bond of our real world communities, but with parents working overtime or multiple jobs to afford groceries for quick meals, it leaves little time for good old fashioned life lessons. We need to listen to what our teachers are imploring and begging for, and pay attention to the ways technology can be reshaped as a helpful tool, rather than a divisive setback. We finally have what it takes to efficiently hear from the voters and the communities they are shaping, and I cannot stress enough how important their input is in making informed decisions.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

I think we can all agree that how our government responded to the pandemic was embarrassing to say the least, and 4 years out we're still feeling the effects. We were ill-prepared and allowed misinformation and hysteria to dictate our lives and redefine communities. Going forward this division needs reviewed and revised to stay current and effective whenever or however the next emergency presents itself. Furthermore, information about protocol and explanation of its necessity needs to be widely distributed so the public is never blindsided again, leaving them questioning everything with nothing feeling reliably trustworthy.

HEATH & ENVIRONMENT

Everyone deserves healthcare, mental and physical, and it’s needlessly out of budget for many. The average profit margin for food is about 30%, pharmaceuticals is more than 75%. These are essential medications that aid people who have been negatively impacted by negligence and complacencies in the quality of our food, water, air, and environment as a whole; because allowing our communities to get sick, and then charging them 2.5 times more than expected for the solution, is not-so-shockingly a very lucrative business tactic; I find it reminiscent of putting the Pink Ribbon on carcinogenic products. I will always prioritize the health and well-being of all when considering laws proposed.

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Nobody knows what our communities need more than our communities themselves. City Council meetings notes should be accessible to all citizens, as well as placed directly on the desk of the districts’ representatives for review and reference when voting for the changes that affect those who elected them in the first place. In the age of live-streaming it seems only right that these meetings are available. A strong foundation is necessary for us to build upon, and that starts with you and your local government.

Fun Fact: When you are bumped into a higher tax bracket, only the amount within that bracket is taxed at that percentage, everything else remains in the lower bracket at the lower percentage. The idea that your entire income will be taxed at a higher percentage is a misconception that keeps taxpayers confused, and legislators take advantage when voting on their behalf. Taxation shouldn't be a sacrifice or a cause of stress, but rather a built-in expense account for our communities to collectively designate toward improvements we'd like to see in our world; and we should see those improvements.

REVENUE

It's become too commonplace for taxes to be confusing and frustrating. Our citizens need to see the tangible results of their tax dollars going to work for them, and have clear information on how taxation works. I was wondering why we don't, like many countries, send bills to our citizens with the exact amount of taxes due, eliminating the guessing game. I found out it's because tax confusion is a billion dollar industry, and the companies you pay to handle it for you then turn around and lobby to keep it confusing, so they stay necessary. (lobbying often just amounts to money) I have this crazy idea that instead of circulating billions of dollars in a manipulative industry, we put that money to something ultimately more productive?