The following is the text of a letter concerning redistricting to State Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence, from Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka.

April 22, 2002

Dear Senator Praeger:

I am writing to strongly urge you to reconsider your vote on Senate Substitute for Substitue for House Bill 3012, the congressional redistricting plan approved by the Kansas Senate on Saturday, April 13, 2002.

And, I urge you to make the motion to reconsider upon our return to session on Wednesday, May 1, 2002. Such motion is in order since May 1st is the “next legislative day” after passage of the bill.

I feel it is your obligation as Lawrence’s senior legislator to rethink your position on this map. Voting to send the city of Lawrence to the 2nd congressional district is contrary to all of the public comment, newspaper editorials, and constituent correspondence I have heard and read on this issue.

Not knowing whether I would continue to represent any part of Douglas county after Senate redistricting, my motivation to keep Lawrence whole in the 3rd has had nothing to do with political gain, but much to do with “carrying the torch” that many community leaders felt needed to be carried. This was particularly the case because I am a member of the committee.

Since last April, I have been out front, with Representative Troy Findley, in leading the charge to keep Lawrence whole in the 3rd district. Troy and I presented our case in public hearings which were held in Lawrence, Overland Park, Leavenworth, Kansas City, Hutchinson, Wichita, Manhattan, and Independence. We have worked tirelessly to “beat the drum” for the Lawrence community. Not only did we listen to what they wanted, we took it to heart. And then, after months of hard work, in one brief moment on the floor of the Senate, our efforts evaporated into thin air with your vote of “aye” on the February Copper map to send Lawrence to the 2nd district.

Incredibly, you voted with Senator Kerr after he single-handedly defeated our map to keep Lawrence in the 3rd district. When the second vote on final action for Congressional Plan 2A was 20 to 19, Senator Kerr explained his vote by announcing that if our amendment went down, he would make a motion to reconsider his previous “no” vote on February Copper. This was a clever move, and it set in motion three changes of votes: Barnett asked for a preliminary count and changed from “no” to “aye” (21 to 18); O’Connor changed from “pass” to “no” (21 to 20); Donovan changed for the second time from “aye” to “no” (20 to 20), and Congressional Plan 2A was defeated.

We can only speculate as to what motivated Senator Kerr to announce in the middle of a roll call vote that he would move to reconsider on February Copper. I suspect he was motivated by his usual desire to win at all cost no matter the consequences. Win at all cost, even when it meant selling out you, selling out the people of Lawrence, selling out Jerry Moran, and selling out Senators Schmidt, Barone, Umbarger, and the people of southeast Kansas. Why in the world you would acquiesce to Dave Kerr in his twisted maneuvering to sell out all of these people is beyond me.

And, how in the world will you or Dave Kerr expect to campaign for statewide office in Lawrence, western Kansas, or southeast Kansas after you voted for a map that will be opposed by the people in those parts of our State? Not to worry, your campaign advisors will tell you, few people even care about the redistricting issue, and besides, you’ll get more support for your campaign by voting for a map that the political hacks at the RNC drew for our good Republican congressmen Jim Ryun and Todd Tiahrt.

As someone who apparently feels you have the courage to take on a statewide campaign, you should take a bold step and move to reconsider. Before you can prove to Kansas consumers that you will put their concerns above the financial interests of the insurance industry, you should first prove to your current constituents that you will put their concerns above the partisan interests of the Republican National Committee. You owe more to the people of Douglas County who elected you to local and state office than you owe to the political hacks in Washington, D.C., who do not give a damn about the people of Lawrence.

An editorial in the February 20th Lawrence Journal-World spoke to the partisan politics of the issue: “Even though local leaders agree that being in the 3rd District is the most beneficial plan for Lawrence, that plan has no chance of passing. Why? Because it’s the Democratic plan, the Democrats represent only a small minority of the Kansas Legislature, and this is all about politics.” Another editorial, dated February 10th, stated: “This whole process is insulting to Douglas County residents, both Democrats and Republicans. Democrats are being punished, and Republicans are suffering from guilt by association. All pleas to keep Lawrence in the 3rd District because of the many ties the city and Kansas University have to the Kansas City area are ignored.”

On January 29, 2002, Ann Gardner, on behalf of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, testified before the Senate Committee on Reapportionment: “The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the retention of Lawrence in the Kansas 3rd Congressional District. While we realize that redistricting is a highly political process, our approach is a non-partisan one based on what is in the best interests of our community. And while the Legislature must answer to many political interests as it undertakes this process, we urge you to draw district lines in a way that best serves not your own political parties but the communities and the people of Kansas.” I am enclosing a copy of her entire testimony, as well as more than a dozen editorials on the redistricting issue that appeared in the Lawrence Journal-World and Johnson County Sun newspapers.

I cannot find the words to express how disappointed I am in your vote. It is hard to believe that you were not there with us, or with the people of Lawrence who care about this issue, when we and they needed you most. If you, the Senator from Douglas, who is also Vice President of the Senate, do not stand up for your community, who will?

As you know, the February Copper map passed by the slimmest majority of 21 to 19. I am entirely confident had this map failed to achieve the constitutional majority, a better map keeping Lawrence whole in the 3rd would have passed. In fact, I had already drafted an amendment to do exactly that. We have never been closer to accomplishing what we have been asked to do by the citizens of Lawrence. Just as you were deciding to vote to send Lawrence to the 2nd district, I ask you to be the deciding vote in bringing Lawrence back to the 3rd.

Sincerely,

Anthony Hensley

Senate Democratic Leader