Heading into a presidential election year that includes the first Kansas presidential primaries since 1992, the Sedgwick County Election Office will spend more than it has in at least 10 years. The election office will get $3.5 million in 2024 under a budget recently adopted by the Sedgwick County Commission. But a request to send […]
Polly Basore Wenzl
Posted inLea en Español
La economía de Kansas depende de los latinos y los hispanos, el grupo demográfico de más rápido crecimiento del estado
El 29 de julio, la Comisión de Asuntos Hispanos y Latinoamericanos de Kansas celebró una Cumbre de Liderazgo Latino en la universidad Wichita State. Atrajo a 180 asistentes un sábado para discutir cómo los hispanos y latinos pueden aumentar su impacto en las urnas y en áreas de educación, salud pública y economía.
Posted inDIY Democracy, Education, Elections
A tale of two campaigns: Wichita’s school board candidates can’t match large sums raised by mayoral candidates
Although Wichita Public Schools consume nearly double the tax dollars that go through City Hall, candidates for school board have drawn far less campaign money than local government candidates in this year’s races. In the mayoral primary, candidate Lily Wu notably raised $207,000 during the first campaign reporting period, which ran Jan. 1 through July […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Kansas economy depends on Latinos and Hispanics, state’s fastest growing demographic
Hispanic people represent 18% of residents in Wichita and the fastest growing segment of the Kansas population — making them an integral part of the state’s workforce, critical to the state’s overall economic success. On July 29, the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission held a Latina Leadership Summit at Wichita State University. It […]
Posted inData, DIY Democracy, Elections, Local Government
Lily Wu outraises all others in Wichita’s mayoral primary. Who is behind the money?
In the Wichita mayor’s race, there is one major takeaway from the filings submitted this week to the Sedgwick County Election Commission Office: Lily Wu, a first-time political candidate who calls herself “the outsider” in the race, is anything but. Wu is just one of eight candidates challenging incumbent Mayor Brandon Whipple in the Aug. […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Elections, Local Government
Wichita mayoral forum: Candidates talk policing, homelessness and neighborhoods
Wichita will choose its next mayor on Nov. 7, but first voters must narrow the field of candidates from nine to two in the primary on Aug. 1. Seven of those nine mayoral candidates shared their views on how to strengthen neighborhoods, engage citizens in advisory boards and tackle such problems as homelessness and police […]
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
Meet Sister Ursula, a glamorous nun advocating for gay and trans youth
By his own account, Scott Sullivan leads a boring life. He’s a 58-year-old white male who works at the local tag office, as he has for 25 years. He’s married. He grew up mostly in the Midwest, one of two children in an upper-middle class, two-parent “white-bread” family. He knew little trauma as a child, […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Elections, Local Government
You have until July 11 to register to vote in the August primary election
The primary election in Wichita is on Aug. 1, giving voters the opportunity to narrow the fields in races for mayor, City Council and school board. Here’s who is running. Because local elections are nonpartisan, any registered voter regardless of party affiliation may vote in the primary. If you want to vote in this year’s […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Elections, Local Government
What should voters know about the Wichita 2023 primaries?
The Sedgwick County Election Office — responsible for all voter registration and elections within the county — is heading into Wichita 2023 primary elections with a new commissioner, following a fair amount of controversy and turnover in recent years. In 2020, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, whose responsibilities overseeing elections include appointing county election commissioners, […]
Posted inEnvironment
What you didn’t know about curbside recycling in Wichita
Local environmental activist Jane Byrnes was so excited after her group ReGreening Wichita toured a recycling plant in April — recorded here on video — that she created flyers to spread the word and contacted local media. The flyers declare: “Recycling in Wichita is NOW much, much easier! NO more washing or rinsing! Pizza boxes welcome! […]