John Carmichael, candidate for Kansas House of Representatives District 92, today endorsed former state senator Jean Schodorf’s bid for Kansas Secretary of State. Schodorf, who had been mentioned as a potential competitor to Carmichael for the House seat being vacated by Nile Dillmore, will instead seek the office currently held by Kris Kobach.
“I have been a friend and supporter of Jean for many years,” said Carmichael. “I enthusiastically endorse her candidacy. Kansas must return the Secretary of State’s office to a public servant who will fight for every citizen’s right to vote, instead of using the office for personal political gain,” he said.
Schodorf, a Democrat, previously served in the Kansas State Senate as a Republican. Her announcement ends speculation that she would seek to return to the legislature as a Democratic member of the House.
“It’s time to end Secretary Kobach’s divisive, partisan warfare on Kansas voters, and I will do all I can to help Jean win,” Carmichael said. “Additionally, I am announcing now that my first priority, upon being sworn into office, will be the introduction of a bill to repeal Kobach’s voter suppression law,” he said.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a nearly identical Arizona law, and the ACLU has said it will bring legal action to compel Kansas’ compliance with the ruling. “Kansans cannot afford to pay Kris Kobach’s legal bills to defend his unconstitutional war on voters,” said Carmichael.
Former Republican state Sen. Jean Schodorf has dropped out of the race to finish retiring Democratic Rep. Nile Dillmore’s term – possibly to run against Secretary of State Kris Kobach.
Her move clears the way for state Democratic Party Secretary John Carmichael to represent the northwest Wichita district for at least the next year.
Schodorf, an educator and political moderate who joined the Democratic Party in January, said she is withdrawing her name and endorsing Carmichael for the Dillmore vacancy while she explores other 2014 election options. She said party members at the DemoFest held in Wichita a week ago encouraged her to challenge Kobach.
“It is a possibility,” she said. “I’m studying it to see if it’s viable.”
Of Carmichael, she said, “John’s worked for me and he’s worked for Nile over many years – I think he’ll do a good job” if, as expected, Democratic precinct committee members choose him to finish the last year of Dillmore’s term.
As a state party officer, Carmichael said he couldn’t endorse any 2014 candidates until after next year’s primaries. However, he issued a statement praising Schodorf’s service as a senator and encouraging her to run against Kobach.
“It was a sad day for Kansas when she was pushed out of the Senate by Governor (Sam) Brownback’s allies,” he said. “I know Jean truly lives to serve the people of Kansas, and I encourage her to take on the next big challenge.
“It’s time to end Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s divisive, partisan warfare on Kansas voters, and I believe Jean Schodorf is the person to run against him next year,” Carmichael said.
Already running against Kobach is businessman Randy Rolston of Mission Hills, the co-founder of Victorian Trading Co., an Internet and mail-order catalog business based in Johnson County.
Schodorf originally voted in favor of a Kobach-sponsored voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bill in 2011 but later that year voted against a follow-up implementation bill and said she deeply regretted her earlier vote.
Kobach responded that regardless of who the Democratic candidate is, it will be “someone who wants to dismantle our photo ID processes versus someone who wants to keep them in place.”
Schodorf and Carmichael both expressed interest in the 92nd District House seat following Dillmore’s surprise announcement in mid-August that he would retire after 13 years in office.
Dillmore’s immediate replacement, who will serve in the 2014 session, will be selected by the precinct committee members after Dillmore makes his retirement official. Carmichael, a Wichita lawyer, is a longtime Democratic activist who has served in several party positions and has held appointed state board positions under the last three Democratic governors.
Carmichael is a member of the precinct committee that will choose Dillmore’s replacement and appeared to have the inside track with the group.
There are only four voting members of the precinct committee in the 92nd District, according to Sedgwick County Democratic Party Chairwoman Terese Shumaker Johnson.
Precinct Committeewoman Jenna Engels said she never imagined when she ran for the ordinarily obscure position in 2012 that she’d be one of four people choosing a state representative.
But she said now she expects that Carmichael will be the only contender.
“I have not heard of any other hats in the ring,” she said. “I know he’ll be a good representative, and I wholeheartedly support him.”
Of Schodorf, she said, “I think she’s destined for bigger and better things.”
Schodorf was a Republican member of the Senate from January 2001 to January 2013 but switched parties after her Senate term expired, saying that the GOP had left its moderates behind.
She was ousted from office in a 2012 primary race against then-Wichita City Council member Michael O’Donnell, who was backed by conservative and business interests.
Dillmore said he plans to turn in the paperwork just after the upcoming special session that begins Sept. 3 in Topeka, with an effective resignation date of Sept. 30.
If the precinct officials install Carmichael as expected, he could face former Rep. Brenda Landwehr in the 2014 election.
Landwehr had laid the groundwork to challenge Schodorf in the 2012 Republican Senate primary, but a court-ordered redistricting plan put them in different districts.
Landwehr then sought to win re-election to the House but lost to Dillmore in the also redrawn 92nd District.
Kansas Democratic Party official encourages her to run for Secretary of State
August 26, 2013 – Wichita, Kans.
John Carmichael, candidate for Kansas House of Representatives District 92, today thanked former state senator Jean Schodorf for her support in his bid for the legislature. Schodorf, who had been mentioned as a potential competitor to Carmichael for the House seat being vacated by the retiring Nile Dillmore, has instead endorsed Carmichael for the office.
“I am pleased to have the support of a well-respected community leader,” said John Carmichael, candidate for the 92nd District House of Representatives. “Jean knows what it takes to get things done in our state capitol, and I am humbled that she is putting her trust in me,” he said.
Schodorf, a Democrat, previously served in the Kansas State Senate as a Republican. Her endorsement of Carmichael ends speculation that she would seek to return to the legislature as a Democratic member of the House.
“I have been a friend and supporter of Jean’s for many years,” said Carmichael. “It was a sad day for Kansas when she was pushed out of the Senate by Governor Brownback’s allies,” he said. “I know Jean truly lives to serve the people of Kansas, and I encourage her to take on the next big challenge.”
“It’s time to end Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s divisive, partisan warfare on Kansas voters, and I believe Jean Schodorf is the person to run against him next year,” said Carmichael. “As an officer of the Kansas Democratic Party, I cannot endorse a primary candidate of either party who seeks to defeat Kobach. However, I believe Jean has the qualifications necessary for the office, and should she become the nominee of our party, I will do all I can to help her in that race,” said Carmichael.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a nearly identical Arizona law, and the ACLU has said it will bring legal action to compel Kansas’ compliance with the ruling. “Kansans cannot afford to pay Kris Kobach’s legal bills to defend his unconstitutional war on voters,” said Carmichael. “Jean Schodorf, with her well-earned reputation for moderation and good government, is exactly the type of person we need to bring honor and integrity back to the Secretary of State’s office.”
Lifelong Wichitan seeks to fill statehouse vacancy left by resignation of Nile Dillmore
August 16, 2013 – Wichita, Kans.
John Carmichael, former chairman of the Kansas Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and of the Kansas Human Rights Commission, will be announcing his candidacy for Kansas House of Representatives, District 92. Rep. Nile Dillmore, the incumbent, has told officials of his planned retirement from the Legislature, effective at the close of the upcoming special session.
“Like everyone I know, I was surprised and disappointed to learn of Nile Dillmore’s decision to retire,” said John Carmichael. “His decision to leave Topeka is a loss not only to our community but to our state as well,” Carmichael said.
The vacancy will be filled by the Democratic precinct committee members from the 92nd district. The election will likely be held in late September or early October, and the newly elected representative will serve out the remainder of the term, concluding in January, 2015.
Carmichael has taken the first steps towards organizing his campaign committee by appointing Scott Poor, former executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, as his treasurer. “Extreme partisanship does not lead to good government. Moderation and a willingness to listen to others are the keys to fixing the unfortunate state of affairs at our state capitol,” Carmichael said. “Having served as an advisor to moderate candidates of both parties I assure you that if elected, I will recognize that a legislator represents all of his or her constituents.”
State Rep. Nile Dillmore, D-Wichita, said he will resign his seat in the Legislature after the special session early next month, opening the possibility of comeback tries by two Wichita political heavyweights and an opportunity for the state’s Democratic Party secretary.
Nile Dillmore
Former Republican senator and recently minted Democrat Jean Schodorf and former Republican Rep. Brenda Landwehr, who found themselves sidelined after losses in the 2012 elections, are both expressing some interest. John Carmichael, secretary of the state Democratic Party, has already launched a bid for the seat as well.
Dillmore, a 13-year veteran of the Legislature, said he is retiring from his regular job with a Wichita credit union in October and that “it’s time to look around for some other things to do.”
Dillmore, 65, represents the 92nd District in northwest Wichita. He is married to Wichita City Council member Janet Miller.
In 2012, he won re-election and ousted longtime Republican Rep. Landwehr after the two incumbents were thrown together in the same district in a court-ordered redistricting.
Landwehr said she might run again.
Brenda Landwehr
“I’ll look at the makeup of the district and make a decision in the future,” she said.
Schodorf, a former state senator who lives in Dillmore’s district, said she’s interested in submitting her name to the Democratic precinct committee members who will choose his replacement for the 2014 legislative session.
“First, I want to say what a good job he’s done and how sorry I am he’s resigning,” Schodorf said. “He represented people very well, and he’s defended the rights of people for voter registration and education.”
Schodorf served in the Senate from January 2001 to January 2013. She was ousted in the Republican primary last year by then-Wichita City Council member Michael O’Donnell, who benefited from a business-led spending blitz to rid the Senate of moderate Republicans who had opposed some of Gov. Sam Brownback’s plans on taxes, education and other issues.
Carmichael, a Wichita lawyer and longtime Democratic Party activist, on Thursday appointed a treasurer and started a campaign for the seat.
“I was surprised and dismayed to hear of Nile deciding to resign,” he said. “He has been an outstanding legislator.”
In addition to his current position as state party secretary, he is the immediate past chairman of the party for the 4th Congressional District.
Carmichael has never held elective office, but served on appointed boards and commissions under the last three Democratic governors.
Carmichael is also a member of the small precinct committee that will choose Dillmore’s interim successor.
Dillmore said he will announce his resignation publicly during the DemoFest event this weekend in Wichita. He said he has already informed precinct committee members.
The seat will be up for election in November 2014.
Dillmore said he will turn in his resignation paperwork at the end of a special session that begins Sept. 3 in Topeka. The primary purpose of that session will be to revise the state’s Hard 50 sentencing law to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a similar Virginia law as unconstitutional.
Ken Ciboski, a professor of political science at Wichita State University, said Dillmore’s resignation is understandable.
As a representative, “You’re one of 125 in the first place,” Ciboski said. Also, “the Democratic Party is not in very good shape (in the state Legislature) and it’s frustrating to be in the minority. You can’t get a lot done.”
Ciboski said Dillmore’s resignation could further erode the small Democratic contingent in the House, which now stands at 33 members.
The 92nd District is one of only a few swing districts in the Wichita area, he said.
Dillmore’s immediate replacement will have a chance to represent the district and build a track record and name recognition before the 2014 election, he said.
But the offset is that Republicans will have an opportunity to find a candidate and mobilize to try to take the district back, he added.
If Landwehr does decide to run, it could set up a clash that Wichita political observers long expected but that never materialized.
Landwehr, a conservative Republican, had lain the groundwork to challenge Schodorf for her Senate seat in 2012. But although they are fairly close neighbors, the court-drawn redistricting lines put them in different districts.
Rather than move into the district, Landwehr decided to run to retain her House seat instead of challenging Schodorf, and then lost to Dillmore in the general election.
After losing to O’Donnell in the Republican primary, Schodorf switched her registration to Democrat after finishing her Senate term.
“I’ve been a Democrat since January,” Schodorf said. “The Republican Party had left the moderates behind.”
