Wyandotte and Johnson County voters have shared their testimonies at previous public hearings. District maps created by the state legislature are being generated right now. Your testimony can help protect our most vulnerable districts which are at risk of losing their voice.
It is important to note that throughout the modern redistricting era (which is commonly recognized in history as since the 1970’s), Kansas City (Wyandotte County) and Johnson County have been in the same congressional district. Splitting them apart would be a blatant attempt to manipulate the maps and gerrymander the Third District.
Mr. Mike Kane, President Tri-County Labor Council of
Eastern Kansas AFL-CIO
I am asking you to consider the close connection between Wyandotte and Johnson counties in this attempt at redistricting. The people in these counties are intimately connected by work, family and culture.
As a pastor who serves and lives in Wyandotte County, I recognize that it is vitally important that Johnson and Wyandotte remain in the same district. What affects one affects the other. We are essentially one urban area separated by a county line. Many of my parishioners and members of the community surrounding our church work in Johnson County while living in Wyandotte. Families who share the same goals, ideals and cultures live on both sides of the county line. These two counties share much history together and it makes no sense to separate them unless you are actively seeking to gerrymander based on super majority party affiliation.
Rick Behrens, Pastor
Grandview Park Presbyterian Church
The current congressional district 3 has been in place since 2012 and has been a powerful tool for the citizens in the district to be part of the great American journey.
Therefore, I recommend that U.S. House Kansas District 3 remain unchanged.
Roy L. Robinson
Kansas City, Kansas
Please consider all of Johnson & Wyandotte counties as one “community of interest” in redistricting for the US Congress. We are obviously “contiguous” and also “compact,” given our population density. We are one in so many ways–a part of the greater KC–in transportation, shopping, some utilities & large and small business services, radio & TV stations and other entertainment. Our population density, unlike any area this size in Kansas, means we share views on quality of life and community, that are often alike and different than most of the state.
Carol Fields
Roeland Park, KS
Multiculturalism is a hallmark of Wyandotte County where there is no ethnic or racial majority and that is true of a growing part of the rest of the metro area. Wyandotte and Johnson County residents identify as Kansas Citians and shop at and share many of the same commercial districts and entertainment venues. We should not be gerrymandered to attain some blatant political advantage.
Ramon Murguia
Voter in Wyandotte County