Sunflower Brew TV Episode 6 - Andy Sandler

The Washington Days series continues with Zach's interview with Andy Sandler, KDP 3rd Congressional District Chair.

Sunflower Brew TV Episode 5 - Martin Hawver

Today on SBTV, our Washington Days coverage continues.  In this episode, Zach talks with Martin Hawver of Hawver News Company, publisher of the Hawver Capitol Report, which covers the Kansas legislature.

Sunflower Brew TV Episode 4 - Jason Perkey

The first of our Washington Days interviews is with Jason Perkey, Executive Director of the Kansas Democratic Party.  Jason talks to us about the history of Washington Days as well as his role with the KDP.

Sunflower Brew TV Episode 3 - Washington Days

This past weekend was Washington Days, the annual conference for the Kansas Democratic Party.  We shot six episodes worth of material over the two days in Topeka.  This first episode offers an overview of what Washington Days is all about.  Featured in this video are:

• Joan Wagnon, chair of the KDP
• Kansas House Minority Leader, State Rep. Paul Davis (D-Lawrence)
• Kansas Senate Minority Leader, State Sen. Anthony Hensley (D-Topeka)
• Linda Chavez-Thompson, former Executive Vice-President of the AFL-CIO
• Ben Cohen, chair of the Kansas Young Democrats and friend of the podcast

Stay tuned over the coming days for the rest of our videos from Washington Days.

Zach's Email Exchange with a Tea Party State Rep

A few days ago, Zach came across a newsletter from the office of Kansas State Rep. Amanda Grosserode (R-16th District, Lenexa) which attacked the Kansas Supreme Court for ordering the State Legislature to do their duties as outlined in the Kansas Constitution and properly fund education - and contained a few noticeable grammatical errors.

You can read the newsletter at this link.

If you are unfamiliar with Rep. Grosserode, here's a brief bio: She's a Tea Party person who unseated Democratic State Rep. Gene Rardin in 2010 and somehow ran unopposed in 2012.

Anyway, this newsletter led to an interesting email exchange, which Zach had published on our Facebook page.  Included in the exchange is a standing invite to Rep. Grosserode to appear on the podcast and discuss the situation.

Here's the initial letter from Zach:

Rep. Grosserode:

I received a copy of your newsletter entitled Update Week 5. You are not my elected official so I reviewed your background. According to the Kansas House website, you serve on the House Standing Committee on Education. Also, your website states that you obtained a Bachelor's in Elementary Education.

Here is my problem. You have made a number of comments that are critical of the Kansas educational system. Yet, you send out a newsletter that contains numerous grammatical errors (I stopped counting after 20). This highlights concerns about of your ability to direct education policy in Kansas.. If you send out a document containing these errors, how can you effectively represent a child's interest?

I host a weekly podcast on Kansas politics and would love to hear your side of the story. Please let me know if you are available in March to record a podcast session.

Here is Rep. Grosserode's response:

Dear Zach,
I'm sorry that you find problems with my newsletters (though you may want to double check your own writing when criticizing another's- see below). The newsletters are designed for my constituents in order to inform them of House happenings. These newsletter have always been on the informative side and have been available for all without regard to political party or ideology.
Please list all of these critical statements I have made regarding education. Having taught within the public school system, I do understand the system and support the educating of the children within our state. While you may disagree, I think there is room for much discussion about what works, what doesn't, positives, negatives, and different proposals and options.
Recognizing your name, I initiated a google search. This leads me to believe that your podcast is probably partisan in nature, and thus I shall not be accepting your invitation to appear.

Sincerely,
Amanda Grosserode

Paid for by Amanda Grosserode for State Representative;
Christie Glasgow, Treasurer

Here's Zach's response:

Rep. Grosserode:

I would recommend a review of your prior statements on the Kansas educational system. The quoted language below showcases your basic lack of understanding of the Kansas Constitution Article 6 Section6(b) which states: "The legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state."

In your Legislative Update: News from Topeka - January 20, 2013:

"Last week, we received the “jolt” of news when a three-judge panel ruled that the state legislature MUST fund education at a set level in the base state aid per pupil. I strongly disagree with this ruling, because no matter what one’s feeling is on the issue of school funding, it is not the role of the courts to order specific
appropriations – that is the role of the legislature, duly elected by
the people[.]"

This is not a "jolt" of news. The Kansas Supreme Court, beginning with the 2005 Montoy case and culminating with Gannon, has stated that the Kansas legislature has not funded schools to the appropriate level. The Kansas Supreme Court relied upon empirical data to reach the decision that the Kansas legislature was not meeting its constitutional duties. The Supreme Court has correctly pointed out that you have failed in your role to properly fund education. Are you asserting that the BSAPP is funded at an appropriate level and the elective officials have done their job? The facts would strongly disagree with your assertion.

I'm a registered Democrat. My podcast, however, is an attempt to hear all sides of an issue. It is not partisan in nature. I do not edit for content and any statements you make will not be altered. This is an opportunity for you to address concerns that voters may have about your voting record.

As a public official, you should welcome any opportunity to engage in a healthy debate on the issues of the day. My concern, as a voter, is that you will only appear on programs and with people like Ben Hodge that support your position.

Finally, I failed to correct the double period and the "about of" that
you mentioned. Thank you for pointing these out. We should all peer edit before sending out a document. My errors, however, were not included in a letter sent to constituents nor do I vote on policy matters that impact Kansas schools.

My invitation stands. I would love to have you on the program.

Rep. Grosserode, if you're reading this, I echo Zach's sentiment and hope you'll reconsider.

Sunflower Brew TV Episode 2 - Charles Schollenberger

On Episode 2 of SBTV, Zach interviews Charles Schollenberger, who recently started the Northeast Johnson County Democratic Club (NE JoCo Dems).  NE JoCo Dems serves the small communities in northeast Johnson County, including Mission, Roeland Park, and Prairie Village.

NE JoCo Dems meets every third Saturday of the month.  This month, they met at the Corinth Branch of the Johnson County Library in Prairie Village, and that's where SBTV met up with the group.

Charles was a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas in 2010, losing in a primary to Lisa Johnston.

Episode 10 - Holly Weatherford and Sarah Gillooly

Our guests for Episode 10 are Holly Weatherford, a board member for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and program director with the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri; and Sarah Gillooly of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.

On this episode, we discussed what exactly Planned Parenthood does, women's reproductive issues and how decisions coming out of Topeka will have an effect on women throughout the Sunflower State.

This episode's beer is Ad Astra Ale by Free State Brewery in Lawrence, Kansas.

Click here to download.

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Episode 9 - Diane Etzel-Wise

Our guest is Diane Etzel-Wise, the current President of the Johnson County Democratic Women.  Diane talked with us about the group, how the group helps out the Johnson County Democratic Party as a whole, and the issues they are concerned with.

Since this was a Second Saturday program, no beer was consumed.

Click here to download.

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Sunflower Brew TV Episode 1 - Tom Holland

Welcome to Sunflower Brew TV, our web series to supplement the podcast. We will be doing these videos from time to time.

Our inaugural edition of SBTV is a February 5, 2013 town hall given by State Senator Tom Holland (D-Baldwin City) at the Regnier Center at Johnson County Community College.  Senator Holland, who was the Democratic candidate for Kansas Governor in 2010, talked about the Governor's tax cut plan, the ideology behind it, and how it will affect the state's ability to raise revenue.

I do want to thank Senator Holland for allowing me to set my equipment up and shoot the video.

The Governor on KCWIR

As mentioned in Episode 8, Governor Brownback made an appearance on the February 17, 2012 version of KCPT's weekly news program Kansas City Week in Review.

This is notable for a couple of reasons:
1. This episode was shot during my internship at KCPT.  In fact, I was one of the cameramen, along with Dave Burkhardt and Johari Russell, for this particular edition (I was behind the "Nick-Cam," into which Nick Haines does his talking - and, yes, as legend has it, I had some technical difficulties that particular day).
2. After the taping of this show, Brownback's aides could be seen in the KCPT lobby publicly dressing down Nick for the questions Nick asked during this very program.
3.  What happened later that day - just before an interview with Kei Kamara of Sporting Kansas City for The Local Show - is a topic of discussion for a future episode of Sunflower Brew on the news media.

As with anything involving Sam Brownback, viewer discretion is advised.

Episode 8 - Max Skidmore

Our guest was Max Skidmore, Ph.D., the Curators' Professor of Political Science and Thomas Jefferson Fellow at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  Professor Skidmore talked with us about Governor Brownback's political philosophy and how it will affect Kansas for years to come.

Today's beer was from Boston-based Samuel Adams: Zach drank the highlighted Alpine Spring seasonal beer, while Mike and Professor Skidmore had the standard Boston Lager.

Click here to download.

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Sunflower Brew TV Episode 8 - Amy Bell and Liz Dickinson

Our Washington Days program concludes with Zach interviewing Amy Bell and Liz Dickinson from Kansas National Organization for Women (NOW).  Both Amy and Liz ran for the Kansas State House in 2012; Liz against Lance Kinzer in Olathe, and Amy against Barbara Bollier in the district immediately north of Zach's.

(embed here)

Mainstream Coalition - Judicial Selection Forum 1-24-2013

On Episode 5 of the podcast, our friends from MainStream Coalition promoted their forum on judicial selection in Kansas.

We would like to thank the fine folks at DragonFro Productions for shooting this video of the forum and making it available to the public.