This week we have invited Stand Up Blue Valley to give us an update on the critical races going on in their neighborhoods. Grass roots organizations like SUBV, Education First Shawnee Mission, the Olathe Public Education Network, and Game on For Kansas Schools are making all the difference in contested races in Johnson County, connecting voters and issues to legislators and candidates. We value Stand Up Blue Valley as a strong partner in our effort to get more Kansans engaged to fight for quality public education.

You may have heard that Republican State Senator Barbara Bollier endorsed a Democrat in the 2018 election. Her calm, reasoned decision, based on putting values over loyalty to a party apparatus, has placed her square in the crosshairs of the ultra-conservatives in the Kansas Republican Party. She has been removed from any leadership positions in the Kansas Senate, and targeted for a primary contest in 2020.

We had occasion to be reminded of Harry Truman this weekend, as an American President was meeting with allies and others in Europe. Truman (who was from Missouri, admittedly) is famed for being a regular guy, but one who understood the role global institutions play in keeping our world safe. In the wake of the devastation of World War II, he oversaw the creation of NATO and the United Nations, both of which have come under fire from the current administration.

With the holiday and the late ruling, it's now been two weeks since the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that school funding was acceptable for this school year, but still inadequate in the long run, and gave the Legislature until next year to make the final changes needed. It was an important moment, but given the pressures of an election year, it's pretty far in the rear view mirror now. We wanted to bring it back, and in concert with another momentous event, point out once again the dramatic importance of this election.

We have a joke at MainStream, that we urge supporters to vote early and often... but only as often as the law allows. Of course, that means in every election, every time, and in Kansas we now vote every year in August and November. Do you have a plan to vote on August 7th?

Now, let us show you how to make your vote count ten more times.

The election season has been officially kicked off with our Walk the Vote event this past Saturday. Five hundred people came out to downtown Overland Park to meet candidates, meet each other, and walk with signs and chants to keep Kansas moving forward. It was a fantastic event, raised awareness and money for these elections, and served to set the stage for the primaries in August.

Welcome to the election. This past Friday was the deadline to both register to run for office in 2018, and also to change your existing party affiliation. If you're not registered to vote yet (and you're reading this? Welcome!) you can still register to vote in August if you do so by July 17. You can do so at ksvotes.org.

Happy Memorial Day, when we celebrate the sacrifices and patriotism of the men and women of our armed forces. The last few years, as we have been lead by those who want to "Make America Great Again," we've seen a rise in nationalistic attitudes often labeled "patriotism." At MainStream, we don't presume to know what makes a patriot, because love of country can be intensely personal, or intensely public.

We're in the final countdown to Walk the Vote on June 9. Sign up to show up here!

Not coming? Haven't donated? Here are some reasons you should.

As we begin to reflect on this past Kansas Legislative Session, and a possible Special Session to come, we are reminded that almost to a person, the legislators in Topeka have come to serve. We may disagree with their positions, sometimes vehemently, but they all chose, at one time, to serve the public. For that, we are grateful.