Sharice Davids: Kansas has a clear choice this election. I’ll keep moving you forward

When I decided to run for Congress, I had never really been into politics. I had real-world experiences that prepared me for the job: I put myself through law school, worked in economic and community development and served in the U.S. Department of Transportation under Republican and Democratic administrations. I even worked as an assistant manager at Sonic, which comes in handy more than you would think.

But I wasn’t involved in or, frankly, interested in political games. I wanted to be effective, and to truly represent our community and our values. I’ve taken the approach of putting people over politics throughout my time serving Kansas’ 3rd District, and it shows.

In a time marked by division and partisan rhetoric, I’ve stayed focused on the issues that I hear about most from our community. When folks were coming up to me to talk about the spotty internet access at their kids’ schools, or the flood risk threatening their businesses’ expansion, or just to tell me that their commutes seem to get longer every day, I worked with Republicans locally and nationally to pass the biggest investment in our infrastructure since Dwight D. Eisenhower was president.

That law is now helping expand U.S. 69, deliver high-speed internet across our district and protect our communities from dangerous flooding.

When seniors called my office to report huge medical bills showing up at their door after a procedure they thought was covered by insurance, I wrote legislation on insurer transparency, then voted to pass it along with a package of other protections against surprise medical billing, and got it signed by President Donald Trump.

This year, it’s expected to stop more than 12 million unexpected medical bills.

Parents have written to me about the toll of rising costs on everyday expenses such as health insurance, groceries and utility bills. I was raised by a single mom. I know what that’s like, and how stressful it is.

So I went to the root of the problem, touring railroads, ports and trucking routes across the Kansas 3rd to see where we could address supply chain snags. I spoke with workers, educators and business owners alike about how we can reshore manufacturing jobs and train our workforce to fill them, so we don’t rely so much on foreign-made materials and supplies from China.

And then I took what I learned back to Washington. There I served on a negotiating committee alongside Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, and passed a bipartisan bill that invests in domestic manufacturing. That effort is helping tackle inflation and lower costs at every point, from ship to shelf.

Taking this approach also means I’m not afraid to stand up to those in my own party when it’s right for Kansas. When I had a mom calling my office to say she was spending so much on gas that she couldn’t contribute to her son’s college fund anymore, I called on the president to take immediate action and suspend the federal gas tax.

People in my party disagreed, but I know we have to do everything possible to help folks get through these extraordinary times.

This is how we keep Kansas moving forward at a time when some politicians seem more interested in pursuing election conspiracies than policymaking. It’s how we continue our recovery from the Sam Brownback era that bankrupted our state. And it’s how we continue to fight against extremism, even when it comes to our front door.

There is a clear choice in this election.

I’ve stood up for Kansas and worked across the aisle to bring jobs and economic opportunity back to our district. Conversely, my opponent and a longtime adviser to Sam Brownback, Amanda Adkins, thinks good policy is slashing Social Security, putting women in danger by banning abortion without exception and criminalizing doctors — not to mention that she helped put our state in the Brownback budget hole in the first place.

I hope that this election, you’ll look at my record and agree that Kansas is better off when we work together to move forward.

This story was originally published October 9, 2022 at 6:30 AM.