Katy for Kansas
June 5, 2026 · Newsletter
The Price of Access in Politics
Four hundred thirty-seven days ago, Leading Kansas formally requested a meeting with Senator Jerry Moran in the public forum of his choosing. We sent similar requests to Representative Ron Estes and Senator Roger Marshall. In Senator Moran’s case, we never received a response. The others declined.
Let me tell you about the people of Leading Kansas. They are some of the most civically engaged, thoughtful Kansans I’ve ever met. They care deeply about their communities. They care about our democracy. They care about each other. More than a year later, they’re still doing the hard work on the ground to hold our federal leaders accountable. Unfortunately, those leaders continue to shirk their duty to answer to the people they represent.
I’ve always believed that if your votes are the right votes, you should be able to defend them in the public square. You can’t have accountability without access. And right now, our leaders seem intent on denying Kansans both.
In fact, true to form, I just learned that Congressman Ron Estes will appear at the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Federal Issues Forum on June 17. The price of admission? $70 per ticket. $85 after June 10. Or $650 for a table. You can’t make this stuff up.
Don’t get me wrong—the Chamber is a great organization, and its members absolutely deserve the opportunity to hear from Congressman Estes. But so does everyone else.
So do the small farmers in places like Rosalia and Pratt who are paying more than $5 a gallon for diesel and struggling with soaring fertilizer costs. So do the manufacturers in Wichita who were promised that tariffs would bring jobs back to Kansas, only to discover that higher costs and market instability are making it harder—not easier—to hire. So do the employees at rural hospitals who don’t know whether the facilities they depend on for both healthcare and livelihood will survive the next round of cuts.
These are the people living with the consequences of decisions being made in Washington. They deserve more than silence. They deserve a seat at the table—or a leader in Washington who will amplify their voices. That’s why I’m running.
Because public service isn’t about hiding from constituents. It’s about showing up for them. All of them.