Topic: Citizens United Supreme Court Decision

Interview of Anthony Hensley, September 16, 2022

Interviewed by Alan Conroy

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1976 at the age of 22. He moved to the Senate in 1992, finishing an unexpired term of Senator Nancy Parrish. His interview covers his 44 years in the House and Senate, and almost every issue the legislature dealt with in those years: taxes, reapportionment, school finance and labor issues, to name a few. His story about negotiating with Dick Bond to increase funding for schools is a "must read". Hensley's description of how the Show MoreBrownback tax cuts were enacted after the Senate reconsidered its vote to kill them is a lesson in how parliamentary maneuvering between House and Senate can have unexpected consequences.

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Interview of Jill Docking, April 1, 2026

Interviewed by Chris Courtwright

This very thorough and comprehensive interview of Jill Docking, took place on the third floor of the reconfigured Docking State Office Building in Topeka under the portrait of her father-in-law, Governor Robert Docking. The interviewer, Chris Courtright, takes her through a number of significant milestones in Kansas political history, having married into one of Kansas' most prominent political families. She has run for office herself, in 1996 for the U.S. Senate, and again in 2014 as the Lt. Governor candidate with Paul Davis at the head of the ticket. She was a tireless advocate for higher education Show Moreas a member of the Kansas Board of Regents. She serves on numerous boards such as the Kansas Health Foundation and promotes health, financial fitness and philanthropy. The stories she tells are entertaining, but they also illuminate important events in Kansas history. As the interview moves to its conclusion, Docking talks about gaps in the health care system and comments on the divisiveness in our political system as being "a cancer in this country." She sees the number of people running for public office as a positive swing and she is still engaged, supporting numerous candidates. She is still working, and not retiring!

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