Tim Carpenter and Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector
photo by: Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP
Members of the Kansas House of Representatives are sworn in Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Topeka.
TOPEKA The 2021 Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly convened Monday to begin chipping away at a massive backlog of legislation with the cloud of COVID-19 hovering over the proceedings.
Outgoing Sen. Susan Wagle, retiring after 30 years in the Legislature, offered a bit of advice as she shed the title of Senate president.
“In what is quickly becoming a tumultuous era of political unrest, it is more important than ever to be vigilant protecting the vision and the founding principles that have made America the most prosperous and entrepreneurial nation on earth,” Wagle said. “To that end my heart, my prayers and my thoughts are with you.”
Topeka Capital-Journal
House Democrats said Tuesday they had formally filed a complaint against Rep. Aaron Coleman, of Kansas City, Kan., to jumpstart the expulsion proceedings to boot the controversial lawmaker from office.
The move comes after Coleman, who unseated longtime incumbent Democrat Stan Frownfelter in the August partisan primary election, announced earlier in the day that he would change his registration from Democrat to independent.
House Democrats have refused to give Coleman committee assignments and have even taken the extraordinary step of denying him office space, something he has vocally opposed on Twitter.
That culminated in the party switch, which Coleman announced to the public Tuesday morning.
Topeka Capital-Journal
Chaos erupted in the nation s capital Wednesday as supporters of President Donald Trump swarmed the Capitol building, prompting Vice President Mike Pence to be swept to a secure location and the Senate chamber to be evacuated.
All members of Kansas Congressional delegation confirmed they were safe and decried the events unfolding over the course of the afternoon, as protesters attempted to breach the House and Senate floors.
A woman was shot and taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. The Pentagon said the Washington, D.C., National Guard has been mobilized to support local law enforcement. By late afternoon, 13 people all from outside the area had been arrested.
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Gov. Laura Kelly is officially seeking a second term, a spokesperson confirmed Friday, as the Democrat seeks to beat back what will likely be a stiff re-election challenge from Republicans.
Kelly, a former state senator from Topeka, won the governor’s mansion by besting former Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach in 2018. She followed Gov. Sam Brownback, who became deeply unpopular with many Kansans before his exit in 2017.
Her first two years in office have been characterized by rebuilding state government after the austerity enacted by Brownback’s administration.
She has not shied away from confronting the Republican-controlled Legislature, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she has squared off with legislators over her executive powers in issuing a statewide mask mandate, limiting church gatherings and closing businesses.