Running for Kansas House of Representatives this year is my first time as a candidate, but it reminds me of a story from my time in student government during my undergraduate days. One year, the student body began raising concerns about the ways the university was spending money to construct a new building. As tensions were escalating, the university president invited me and some of my fellow student leaders to his office to talk through the situation. He shared why the university was making the decisions they were making about the building and I, along with my colleagues, expressed the concerns of the student body. We all left with a shared understanding of the situation. The university president modeled for me the importance of bringing stakeholders to the table to solve problems, and I had my first experience representing and advocating for the needs of my constituents.

I believe responsive representation is important. When it comes to the dayto- day ways we live our lives, what party we back matters far less than what community we belong to. We are all experiencing challenges like the high grocery and housing costs and the potholes and construction on Main Street. If you have kids like I do, you’re familiar with the shortage of childcare providers and the staff vacancies in our school district. Business owners, senior citizens, veterans, and those with disabilities all have their own sets of shared experiences and challenges as well, none of which are based on their party affiliation.

I know these are our challenges because I’ve been connecting with and listening to voters seven days a week since this campaign began. See, when it comes to the position of State Representative, “representative” is in the job title; you can’t represent a community if you’re not listening to voters. Unfortunately, our current representative has spent more money and time on a campaign-funded trip to Las Vegas this year than he has spent hosting public events in our community. He’s simply not representing us well.

This is why I’m running for office. We deserve a representative who will listen to voters and advocate for practical solutions. We need someone who will communicate about what’s happening in Topeka, host town halls, listen to concerns, and encourage civic engagement. We need a representative who understands how economic development works, who has experience managing efficient government programs, and who is willing to work for everyone in our community regardless of their party affiliation. This election day and during advanced voting, I hope you will consider voting for the only candidate who will represent our community’s needs in Topeka.