Topic: National Education Association (NEA)
Interview of Delia Garcia, April 21, 2022
Interviewed by Frances Jackson
Garcia's interview describes how she was recruited to run for the Kansas Legislature and how she learned how to be a successful leader. She had many role models from Texas Senator Leticia Van der Putte, to Governors Finney and Sebelius, and Sr. Therese Bangert. She told a story about a legislative colleague who complimented her on speaking good English while she was debating a measure requiring English as the official language. Garcia felt humiliated and angry, but one of her mentors talked her out of quitting. She used that experience to begin intentionally training women, Show Moreparticularly women of color, to run for political office. She has written a book on national Latina leadership, to be published at the end of 2022. Garcia also shares her thoughts on immigration and immigrant rights. She cites the fact that Kansas was the fourth state in the country to pass in-state tuition for undocumented students in 2004. To her, immigration policy has an economic impact. Congress should be willing to come to the table and talk, discuss and even compromise to find a solution. The interview concludes with a description of a program at Wichita State University that invests in developing leadership for students. Show Less
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 Brownback tax cuts were Show Moreenacted after the Senate reconsidered its vote to kill them is a lesson in how parliamentary maneuvering between House and Senate can have unexpected consequences. There are many stories about other leaders and other issues to illustrate how the legislature makes laws. Show Less