News - August 2005
Dean: Hackett Race Highlights Success
of Fifty-State Strategy
Washington, DC - Iraq War veteran
Paul Hackett showed that Democrats can be competitive all over
the country by running a remarkable campaign to replace former
Rep. Rob Portman in a district that voted overwhelmingly for President
Bush in 2004.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean
said that Hackett's strong performance, where he came within a
few thousand votes of victory, was another signal that voters
are increasingly dissatisfied with the culture of corruption that
has taken hold among the Republican leadership in Congress and
are ready for the positive agenda Democrats are offering. Given
the Ohio Republican Party's woes and the scandals surrounding
Tom Noe, these results could turn the tide in the state.
Hackett faced a vicious television ad blitz financed
by Washington Republicans who spent more than a half a million
dollars trying to discredit his service as an Iraq War veteran
in an attempt to hold onto a seat that they have controlled for
40 years.
Democrats will aggressively contest elections up-and-down
the ballot, all across America. The DNC sent 28 campaign staff
to Ohio to help respond to the Washington Republicans' desperate
attempt to keep this seat. The operation on the ground was complemented
by an integrated Internet organizing campaign to empower grassroots
volunteers and small donors both in Ohio and around the country.
DNC Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement
praising Hackett's campaign:
"Paul ran a very close race in a tough district. His success
is a wake-up call to Republicans in 2006 that the culture of corruption
they've brought to Washington is on its way out. Paul's strong
performance shows that Democrats can be competitive when we show
up and talk about what we stand for."
Other information of note about Paul Hackett's unprecedented showing
in Ohio's 2nd Congressional District:
• Voters in Hackett's district voted nearly two-to-one for
President Bush in 2004.
• In 2004, more than 70 percent voted for the Republican
incumbent, Rob Portman.
Republican Party’s
Choices No Good for Hispanic Voters
Washington, DC - The Republican National Committee's
annual summer meeting, titled "Give Us a Chance, We'll Give
You a Choice," begins today in Pittsburgh, PA. Democratic
National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today noted that President
Bush's choices never seem to be in the interests of Hispanic workers
and families.
"It's no wonder that President Bush is sinking in the polls
and losing the confidence of the American public," said Dean.
"The Republican Party's leadership may be traveling the country
reaching out to minority voters, but anyone can see through their
empty rhetoric and broken promises. After four years of failed
leadership from President Bush, more and more Hispanic families
lack health insurance; unemployment rates are soaring; President
Bush is slashing small business loans; and the failure to fully
fund No Child Left Behind is leaving behind low-income children.
The best Hispanic outreach for the Republican Party is not to
keep making the same tired promises they have long since broken,
but to pledge to not make divisive use of immigration issues in
the 2005 and 2006 elections and to pursue an agenda that truly
promotes opportunity for all Americans."
REPUBLICANS' CHOICES GIVE HISPANICS NO
CHANCE
The Republican Party and the Bush Administration have gone to
great lengths to reach out to Hispanic voters, but their agenda
does nothing to provide equal opportunity to all Americans.
In fact, in nearly every measurable category, conditions have
deteriorated considerably for Hispanics under President Bush's
failed leadership.
HEALTH CARE
13.2 Million Hispanics Do Not Have Access to Affordable
Health Care, an Increase of 400,000 From Last Year. Nearly
60 percent of Hispanics went without health coverage at some point
during 2002-2003. Hundreds of thousands of Hispanics have lost
their health coverage under Bush, and have seen important health
programs slashed. [US Budget, www.omb.gov; HCAP; HHS Release,
9/7/00; Miami Herald, 6/20/03; WP, 6/20/03; New York Times, 6/13/03,
Families USA, One in Three, June 2004; AP, 2/22/05]
Hispanics Suffer From Highest Uninsured Rate Of Any
Group. According to Aetna U.S. Healthcare, the highest
uninsured rate in the United States is among people of Hispanic
origin. Over one-third, or 39 percent, of Hispanics are uninsured
compared with only 14 percent for non-Hispanic whites. When President
Clinton left office in 2000, 32 percent of Hispanics were without
health insurance. According to the Commonwealth Fund, in small-
to medium-sized companies with fewer than 100 workers, 63 percent
of white workers have health benefits compared with 38 percent
of Hispanic workers. This recent data confirms recent U.S. Census
Bureau findings that 34.2 percent of Hispanics are uninsured,
compared with 12 percent non-Hispanic whites. [Latino Coalition,
www.thelatinocoalition.com, House Commerce Committee Hearing,
6/16/99; Aetna U.S. Healthcare, "Concerning the Uninsured
Worker: An Introduction to a Critical Issue for All Americans,"
May 1999; Census.gov]
UNDERMINING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
Hispanic Unemployment Skyrocketing, Homeownership Dropping.
Over 132,000 more Hispanics have become unemployed since Bush
took office in January 2001. The national unemployment rate for
Hispanics is almost 6 percent. In the fourth quarter of 2004,
Hispanics lagged 20.3 points behind the national average homeownership
rate. [Bureau of Labor Statistics; US Census Bureau]
Bush Decided to Stop Awarding Small Business Loans That
Help Hispanic Businesses In 2004, 2006 Budget Provides No Money
For Program. In January 2004, Bush decided to halt the
Small Business Administration's 7(a) loan program. The Small Business
Administration stated it had run out of money only three months
into the fiscal year. The 7(a) program is the most commonly used
SBA loan, and backs over $10 billion in loans to small businesses
each year. An SBA spokesperson noted the program especially helps
business owners who could not qualify for traditional bank loans.
In 2000, the 7(a) loan program helped more than 3,200 Hispanic
businesses with over $660 million in loans. After a public outcry,
SBA announced that it would reinstate the program, but with a
63 percent cut in the maximum loan. Bush's 2006 budget proposal
provides no funding for the 7(a) loan program, instead choosing
to increase fees on lenders. [Chicago Tribune, 1/8/04; Washington
Post, 1/8/04; SBA, 1/13/04; Senate Committee On Small Business
Democratic Release, 2/8/05, emphasis added]
EDUCATION
Bush Has Deemphasized Education of Minority Students.
Bush has opposed affirmative action in college and university
admissions and has attacked student financial aid programs that
provide education opportunities to low-income students. Bush has
consistently flatlined the maximum individual Pell grant and terminated
the $67 million Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships
(LEAP) program; despite the fact that minorities demonstrate greater
financial need and graduate college at lower rates than average.
[WP, 2/1/03; 5/23/03,4/30/02; Budget of US; Chronicle of Higher
Education, 1/10/03; 2/14/03; National Association of State Student
Grant and Aid Programs; NYT, 4/28/02, 5/3/02; George W. Bush Statement
On Affirmative Action Case, 1/15/03; Community College Week, 2/28/05]
Bush Chose To Underfund No Child Left Behind Program
By $13.1 Billion. Bush's budget provides $13.1 billion
less in funding for No Child Left Behind than the 2002 law authorized.
This is the fourth year in a row that Bush has underfunded his
own program. [National Priorities Project, 2/14/05]
Underfunding No Child Left Behind Has Denied 3 Million
Children Reading and Math Help. Bush's budget offers
Title I schools $7.2 Billion less than promised. As a result,
Title I will be able to serve 2.4 million fewer low-income students
than the amount authorized under NCLB. [President's FY 2005 Budget,
www.ed.gov; historical data at www.ed.gov; House Budget Committee
Democratic Caucus, 2/6/04]
SOCIAL SECURITY
Hispanics Greatly Benefit from Social Security.
Unlike individual private retirement plans, Social Security also
provides financial security and insurance to spouses and dependent
children in the event of a worker's disability or death. Hispanics
greatly benefit from the current Social Security system: Hispanics
live longer and receive greater benefits during longer retirements;
Hispanics have a higher disability rate and rely on disability
benefits more often; Hispanics are less likely to have additional
sources of retirement income; and Without Social Security, 56
percent of Hispanic seniors would live in poverty.[Democratic
Policy Committee, www.democrats.gov/dpc]
Even Workers Who Don't Enroll in Private Accounts Will
Face Benefit Cuts. The benefit cuts proposed in the Republican
plan to privatize Social Security are separate from the new private
accounts. They take place no matter what - effectively coercing
people into signing up for these private accounts, because if
workers don't enroll in the new private accounts, they lose any
chance to make up for the loss in guaranteed benefits under the
plan. [CBPP, 6/2002]
IMMIGRATION
Bush Abandoned His Immigration Reform Partner, Mexican
Experts Say Republicans Embarking On Anti-Immigrant Campaign Without
Precedent. Fox and Bush began a close relationship after
they took office, Fox in December 2000 and Bush a month later.
They vowed to enrich ties and work on legalizing or giving amnesty
to at least 4 million Mexicans and other undocumented workers
in the United States. But a chill followed the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks. Bush didn't push an immigration accord. "This
is an anti-immigration campaign without precedent. It's Mexico
against Republicans, (California Gov. Arnold) Schwarzenegger,
the Minutemen in Arizona, Bush's entire Cabinet," said Primitivo
Rodriguez, a Mexican political scientist who specializes in immigration.
Mexican community leaders have advocated going on strike to prove
that U.S. employers couldn't survive without cheap Mexican labor.
[Knight Ridder, 7/28/05]
Republican Immigration Bill Would Attempt To Deport
11 Million Immigrants, Many Who Have Lived Here For Years. Sens.
Kyl and Cornyn's proposed immigration bill would require the estimated
10.3 million to 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the
United States to submit themselves to "mandatory departure"
back to their home country before they could apply to return legally
to the United States. Sen. John McCain, who is sponsoring a competing
bi-partisan bill with Sen. Kennedy, called plan a "fantasy"
saying, "to think that they're going to come out of the shadows
and say, 'Send me back to Guatemala; I've been living in Phoenix
for 50 years,' borders on fantasy." Tamar Jacoby, a senior
fellow at the Manhattan Institute think tank, said "only
the McCain-Kennedy approach comes close to being practical."
[Arizona Republic, 7/25/05]
Administration's Catch and Release Policy Unfairly Targets
Mexicans And Is A Hole In Nation's Security. When OTMs,
or "Other Than Mexicans" as the Border Patrol classifies
them, are captured they are given a court summons and told to
return in three months while Mexicans are immediately deported.
A full 85 percent of "OTMs" don't show up for their
court dates. According to the Border Patrol, some 465,000 OTMs
have taken advantage of this "catch and release" policy
to settle here in the US. "It's an insane policy which encourages
OTMs to come into the country illegally, and we shouldn't be shocked
that they are coming in record numbers," says T.J. Bonner,
president of the National Border Patrol Council. In fact, he says,
after crossing the border, many OTMs flag down agents or walk
up to them and surrender, knowing they will be released. "The
word is out," says Mr. Bonner. "They know that as soon
as they are caught, they will be free to roam at will." [Christian
Science Monitor, 7/26/05]
Real ID Act Makes It Much More Difficult To Get A Drivers
License. The Real ID Act was slipped into a financing
bill for Iraq earlier this year. Under the new law, states must
verify the authenticity of four pieces of identification from
every license applicant, establish a data bank and issue a tamper-proof
card. No state has to adopt the federal rules, but their driver's
licenses and other state-issued ID cards wouldn't be recognized
by federal-regulated operations such as airlines. The legislation
also authorizes completion of a section of border fence near San
Diego and tightens restrictions on asylum seekers. [Winston-Salem
Journal, 7/25/05; Washington Times, 7/21/05]
Republican Party’s Choices No Good
for African American Voters
Washington, DC - The Republican National Committee's
annual summer meeting, titled "Give Us a Chance, We'll Give
You a Choice," begins today in Pittsburgh, PA. Democratic
National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today noted that President
Bush's choices never seem to be in the interests of African American
working families.
"It's no wonder that President Bush is sinking in the polls
and losing the confidence of the American public," said Dean.
"The Republican Party's leadership may be traveling the country
reaching out to minority voters, but anyone can see through the
empty rhetoric and broken promises. After four years of failed
leadership from President Bush, more and more African Americans
are forced to work two or three jobs just to keep up; veterans
are forced to struggle with their own government for health benefits;
the failure to fully fund No Child Left Behind is leaving behind
low-income children; record numbers of African Americans are uninsured;
and African Americans face unparalleled unemployment levels.
"Republicans like to talk these days about their connection
with African Americans and their heritage as the party of Lincoln.
This new stump speech is chock full of apology but light on true
repentance. Contrition doesn't amount to much if you don't turn
away from the original breach. If the Republican Party wants to
reach out to African American voters, they should forget the empty
rhetoric and pursue an agenda that truly promotes opportunity
for all Americans."
REPUBLICANS' CHOICES GIVE AFRICAN AMERICANS
NO CHANCE
The Republican Party and the Bush Administration have gone to
great lengths to appear to be reaching out to African American
voters, but their agenda does nothing to provide equal opportunity
to all Americans. In fact, in nearly every measurable category,
conditions have deteriorated considerably for African Americans
under President Bush's failed leadership.
HEALTH CARE
People Without Insurance Face Limited Choices for Health
Care. In the face of steadily increasing premiums and
the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs, Americans are continually
faced with the challenge of finding and keeping affordable health
care. Today, about 45 million people are uninsured. The number
of people without health insurance nationwide increased by 1.4
million last year and by 5.2 million since the beginning of the
Bush Administration. The uninsured receive less preventive care,
are diagnosed at more advanced stages of disease, and once diagnosed,
tend to receive less therapeutic care. Except for the most severe
trauma cases, the uninsured are less likely to be admitted to
the hospital after being seen in the emergency room. [CPS, 9/04;
Kaiser Family Foundation, 6/03]
Bush Administration Budget Fails to Make Healthcare
Affordable. There are 7.4 million African Americans without
health insurance and millions more who can barely afford to pay
their premiums. However, the budget does not improve access to
health care. Instead, it cuts $60 billion from Medicaid, decimating
health care funding for children, the elderly, and people with
disabilities and making it even harder for families to afford
nursing home care. These cuts will shift in costs to states and
beneficiaries, cuts payments for providers, which will undermine
their ability to provide care, and increase the number of the
uninsured. While the Bush budget claims to reinvest $15 billion
of the $60 billion in cuts back into Medicaid, the bulk of that
spending is from an "outreach initiative" which is unlikely
to ever produce any new coverage, as many states have moved to
make it more difficult for families to enroll. [Democratic Policy
Committee report, 3/05; Kaiser Family Foundation Issue Brief,
http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/7293.cfm, 7/8/05]
Bush Cuts Office of Minority Health. African-American
men suffer from heart disease at nearly twice the rate of whites
and those under 65 suffer from prostate cancer at nearly twice
the rate of whites. And yet, the President's budget makes a six
percent cut in the Office of Minority Health, which supports disease
prevention, health promotion, and educational efforts that focus
on health concerns that cause the high rate of disease in racial
and ethnic minority communities. [Democratic Policy Committee
report, 3/05; HHS, FY 2002-2006 Budget in Brief]
ECONOMIC SECURITY
Bush's Policies Result in High Unemployment Rate in
African Americans. The unemployment rate among African
Americans remained over 10.5 percent in 2005 - remaining at levels
not seen since 1997. The Bush budget squanders an additional $1.6
trillion over the next 10 years on more tax cuts for the wealthy,
but does little to create good-paying jobs here at home. And these
tax cuts will squeeze out a range of programs to help create new
opportunities, support strong national security, and restore prosperity.
[Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05]
More Than 300,000 Americans Have Been Forced to Get
a Second (Or Third) Job Over the Past Year. According
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Americans working
more than one job at the same time has increased by 306,000 from
June 2004 to June 2005 - increasing to 5.4 percent of all working
Americans. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t13.htm,
7/8/05]
Wages Are Losing the Race Against Inflation.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wages from April
through June grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent. In comparison,
inflation during the same period ran at a 4.4 percent pace. [Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, 7/9/05; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 7/05]
Bush Budget Cuts Funding for Small Businesses.
There are more than 820,000 African American owned small businesses.
The budget cuts funding for the Small Business Administration,
which helps minority-owned small businesses grow, by $85 million
from last year's proposal. The budget also provides no resources
for the Microloan program, even though this program is critical
to aiding minority communities by supplying small loans to start
up newly established and growing small businesses. [Democratic
Policy Committee report, 3/05]
Bush Denies Job Training Opportunities. Some
African American workers lack the academic preparation and skills
training needed for economic success. Yet the Bush Administration
shortchanges the job training needed to create new opportunities.
The budget cuts job training services by about $280 million and
block-grants the adult, youth, and dislocated worker programs
and the Employment Service program, jeopardizing critical training
resources and particularly harming dislocated workers and at-risk
teenagers. The budget cuts other job training and related programs,
including trade adjustment assistance, veterans' training, vocational
rehabilitation, and adult education by about $300 million. [Democratic
Policy Committee report, 3/05]
EDUCATION
Bush Underfunds his Own No Child Left Behind Program
by $13.1 Billion. Bush's budget provides $13.1 billion
less in funding for No Child Left Behind than the 2002 law authorized,
leaving 3 million children without the help with reading and math
that they were promised under Title I, and cuts Education Department
funding below this year's level. More than 15 percent of African
Americans over the age of 25 do not have a high school education.
This is the fourth year in a row that Bush has underfunded his
own program. [National Priorities Project, 2/14/05]
• Bush Budget Offers Title I Schools $7.2 Billion
Less Than Promised, Leaves 2.4 Million Low-Income Children Behind.
Bush's FY 2005 budget proposes $20.5 billion for Title
I, $7.2 billion less than was authorized under the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) Act. Bush's last four budgets have cumulatively
provided $22.4 billion less than what was pledged under NLCB.
The President's budget would allow Title I to serve 2.4 million
fewer low-income students than the amount authorized under NCLB.
[President's FY 2005 Budget, www.ed.gov; historical data at www.ed.gov;
House Budget Committee Democratic Caucus, 2/6/04]
Bush Budget Guts Head Start. There are 324,700
African American children being served through Head Start, but
the President's budget eliminates the comprehensive educational,
health, and nutrition services that children in this program currently
receive. In addition, the budget freezes Head Start funding at
this year's level, meaning that 25,000 children will have to be
cut from the program next year. [Democratic Policy Committee report,
3/05]
Despite Bush's State of the Union Promise, His Budget
Underfunds Pell Grants by $6.6 Billion. In his 2005 State
of the Union Address Bush promised to increase the maximum value
of Pell Grants, but he continues to fall well short of his 2000
promise to increase value to $5,100. And Bush continues to provide
$6.6 billion less than is authorized under the Higher Education
Act. Only 17 percent of African American adults have their bachelor's
degree, and yet the budget completely eliminates the $306 million
GEAR-UP, $313 million Upward Bound, and $150 million Talent Search
programs, which ensure that high-risk students succeed in high
school and move on to college. As a result, about 1.3 million
students - 70 percent of whom are minorities - will lose support
they need to make it to college. [Bush, State of the Union Address,
2/2/05; Bush Speech in Hampton, New Hampshire, 8/30/00; Federal
Pell Grant End of Year Report 2003-2004; National Education Association,
2/05; Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States
Government, Fiscal Year 2006, 2/7/05]
SOCIAL SECURITY
African Americans Rely Disproportionately On Social
Security For Their Retirement. "Without Social Security,
60 percent of African American seniors would live in poverty."
African Americans are less likely to have additional retirement
income beyond Social Security and 40 percent of African Americans
rely solely on Social Security as their only source of retirement
income. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05; Dollars and
Sense, November/December 2004]
African Americans Would Be Hurt By Raise In Retirement
Age. Bush's argument that "African American males
die sooner than other males do, which means the system is inherently
unfair to a certain group of people. And that needs to be fixed"
is inaccurate. "By age 65, when Social Security's full retirement
benefits start to be paid, the difference between life expectancy
for the average African American and white male is less than two
years." The statistic Bush is citing is skewed by high death
rates of African Americans children and youth adults. Thus, African
Americans would be harmed by Bush putting a raise in the retirement
age on the table. [Democratic Policy Committee report, 3/05; Bush
Conversation on Social Security, 2/3/05]
Even Workers Who Don't Enroll in Private Accounts Will
Face Benefit Cuts. The benefit cuts proposed in the Republican
plan to privatize Social Security are separate from the new private
accounts. They take place no matter what - effectively coercing
people into signing up for these private accounts, because if
workers don't enroll in the new private accounts, they lose any
chance to make up for the loss in guaranteed benefits under the
plan. [CBPP, 6/2002]
Governor’s
Race Already Showing Bitter Divide
within Kansas Republican Party
Moderate Republican Representative Jerry Moran announced today
he would not run for governor in 2006 and would instead seek reelection
for his first district seat. Moran’s decision leaves conservative
Topeka Republican Doug Mays as the Party’s top choice for
Governor next year.
Representative Moran partly attributed his decision to the increasing
bitterness between the conservative and moderate wings of the
Kansas Republican Party.
Tuesday, Representative Moran told the Hays Daily News: “Topeka
is a mess, and I believe that the Governor’s race was
winnable. With a united GOP, it could have happened.”
“The extreme conservative leadership of the Kansas Republican
Party continues to alienate its moderate members,” Kansas
Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates said. “Representative
Moran’s statement shows how the extreme leadership of Doug
Mays and Phill Kline is turning Kansans off. Kansans want leaders
who work across party lines for the best interests of Kansas families,
and that’s what Governor Sebelius and Kansas Democrats are
doing.”
The divide between conservative and moderate Kansas Republican
members was most recently witnessed this summer during the Special
Session for Kansas Schools. In the final days of the session,
Conservative House Speaker Doug Mays repeatedly stood in the way
of a bipartisan group of senators and representatives, and the
Governor, who all came together in the best interests of Kansas
kids.
American's with
Disabilities Act Celebrates 15th Anniversary
Statement by DNC Chairman Howard Dean on the Fifteenth Anniversary
of the Americans with Disabilities Act Washington, DC - Democratic
National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today issued the following
statement on the 15th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities
Act:
"Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities Act, a landmark bill that opened the doors of opportunity
to millions of Americans with disabilities. As we commemorate
the ADA's passage, we also reflect on the bipartisan resolve to
provide all Americans equal protection under the law that made
it possible. When he signed it into law, former President Bush
declared our nation's common will 'to tear down the shameful wall
of exclusion' that denied too many people with disabilities their
civil rights.
"For today's Republican Party leadership, however, ensuring
that their favorite special interests get a free pass has taken
precedent over ensuring that Americans with disabilities have
equal opportunity. Press releases and photo ops aside, this Bush
Administration has taken every opportunity to undercut the ADA.
The current President Bush dismantled the Presidential Task Force
on Employment of Adults with Disabilities and proposed funding
cuts for vocational rehabilitation and assistive technology. His
judicial nominees have had a proven track record of hostility
to the ADA. This is not the type of leadership that Americans
deserve or expect from their President.
"The goals of the ADA - equal opportunity, full participation
in society, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency
for people with disabilities - are basic human rights to which
all Americans are entitled. They are core values that the Democratic
Party has always sought to universalize. Democrats will continue
to work to ensure that Americans with disabilities have every
opportunity to fully and completely participate in our society.
We will not rest until the full promise of the Americans with
Disabilities Act is realized."
In Memory: Democratic
Representative Judy Showalter
Dedicated public servant and State Representative Judy Showalter,
D-Winfield, died Sunday morning in a Wichita hospital. Funeral
services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at First United Methodist
Church at 10th and Millington in Winfield.
“Judy was a trusted friend and incredible public servant,"
Governor Sebelius said. "In her five terms representing the
78th district, she always put the people’s needs ahead of
her own. Her last example may have been her greatest, when she
left hospice care to travel to the special session for Kansas
public schools, to stand up for our children. As both a friend
and public servant, she will be missed.”
In honor of Representative Showalter, a member of the Kansas
House of Representatives, Governor Sebelius has ordered flags
on state buildings to be flown at half-staff on Thursday, July
28, 2005. Representative Showalter was first elected to the Legislature
in 1997.
Closed-casket visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at
Swisher-Taylor-Morris Funeral Home, 803 Loomis, Winfield KS 67156.
Burial will be in Highland Cemetery at Winfield.
Memorial contributions may be made in Rep. Showalter’s
name to Safe Homes of Cowley County; Twin River Development Center,
a sheltered workshop; the Imagine Club, or Harry Hynes Hospice,
which serves the Cowley County area. Contributions may be sent
in care of the funeral home.
Governor Sebelius will attend Rep. Showalter’s funeral
service in Winfield on Thursday.
The following is a biography on Rep. Showalter printed in
the Winfield Daily Courier
Showalter was the owner of Greenbush Feed and Seed on Main when
she made her foray into politics nearly two decades ago. By then,
she was already known for pressing city officials to make improvements
to the downtown area and decided to run for a seat on the city
commission.
A former photographer with the Arkansas City Traveler, Showalter
believed city business should be conducted in the open, and commissioners
should be available to constituents.
“They are there to serve the public and should be more
accessible to the public,” she told the Courier as she campaigned
for her first public office in 1987.
On April 8 of that year, Showalter and Max Handlin won terms
on the commission. Two years later, in 1989, it was Showalter’s
turn to serve the commission’s rotating one-year stint as
Winfield’s mayor. It was the first time a female had held
that post in the town’s history.
She would serve as mayor again in 1992 and 1995.
By November 1996, Showalter was ready for a move to the statehouse
and defeated Republican Ned Graham by about 400 votes to win a
seat in Topeka. She would be reelected four more times, most recently
in fall 2004. Showalter would often meet with her opponents before
the campaign season began and promise a clean fight.
She would quickly become known for her dedication to improving
education and healthcare in Kansas. Her gregarious nature and
straightforwardness made here well liked and respected, colleagues
said. She served on the agriculture and utilities committees for
many years.
Marvin Estes, superintendent of Winfield schools, first met Showalter
when she was elected to the Legislature. He respected her straight-shooting
style and dedication to education. The two quickly became friends.
“Her leadership and the caring she had for the community
are unmatched,” he said. “It will be a while before
we can recover from this. I, personally, will miss her terribly.”
Judith Kay Showalter was born Aug. 4, 1943, in Dallas to John
Barnett Smith and Katharine (Carter) Smith. The family moved to
Wichita when Showalter was young, and she graduated from Wichita
East High School in 1961.
By 1970, Showalter had moved to Winfield. She worked for KWKS
radio and later owned Greenbush.
At that time, she became a member of the Winfield Area Chamber
of Commerce and worked to strengthen ties between the city and
the chamber.
Showalter earned a nursing degree from Southwestern College in
1992 and also earned at least two other degrees. She worked as
a nurse at William Newton Hospital, Snyder Clinic and Twins Rivers
Developmental Services. Showalter had also worked with Winfield
Emergency Management Services since 1975.
Past News
July 2005
June
2005
