Dear Editor,

I read with a great deal of interest a recent article by Mary Clarkin concerning Senator Steve Morris casting his vote not only to eliminate OUR 38th Senate District, but his favorable vote to split Liberal into two senate districts as well as Dodge City into two senate districts. I might say ‘interest’ was not the only thing that crossed my mind while reading the article!!

Can you imagine a Western Kansas Senator voting to eliminate a entire Western Kansas Senate District when there appears to be other and likely better choices, like moving a boundary line or combining a portion of another district if needed, or just leaving it alone?  I also noted in the article a comment from Senator Terry Bruce in which he stated ” Love’s southwest 38thDistrict had sufficient population and did not need to have it’s boundaries changed in redistricting”. Bruce also said “the map was ‘grossly inferior’ to an alternate map.” However to some, consideration of other choices may not matter so much when it comes to politics and retaining power.

Redistricting has become a huge issue in the state with dozens of maps being drawn. In my opinion there seems to be a lot of “incumbent protective” or “lets make a deal” maps out there?  In cases such as this, one might ask, did Senator Morris vote to eliminate the 38th District in favor of Johnson County to protect or retain a position? You see, Mr. Morris is also the President of the Senate and very possibly would have not been elected to that position without a great deal of support from the east?

I do not appreciate Senator Morris’s attempt to eliminate my entire Senate District or my favorite State Senator, Garrett Love, nor do I appreciate his attempt to split my city into two districts. Thank goodness the wiser House or Representatives voted to defeat the attempt.   Senator Morris should be supporting Western Kansas, not Johnson County!! What say you?

Jim Rice