by Bob Weeks, of Voice for Liberty in Wichita.

The Kansas Chapter of Americans for Prosperity has released its legislative scorecards for the 2010 session of the Kansas Legislature. These scorecards rank members of the Kansas House and Senate by the way they voted on selected legislation and amendments.

>>Read more>>

Bob Weeks, of the Voice for Liberty in Wichita blog, has recently begun a project that tracks the votes of Kansas legislators to identify those who "vote in favor of economic freedom - and those who don't." Visit the Kansas Economic Freedom Index post for information about the project.

Click here to download the March 25, 2010 Kansas Economic Freedom Index. Of his 85% rating, Representative DeGraaf states, "I do not regret my one vote that they [Voice for Liberty] say is out of sync; I will always vote to limit sexually-oriented businesses. I suspect all true Republicans would vote to limit such establishments, while all true libertarians would vote to allow them."

There is much hype over school funding and concern that schools will suffer from state budget cuts. The following downloadable files reveal the truth about school funding. Please take a moment to read the information and educate yourself with the facts on this important issue.

Comprehensive School Data Packet

Funding Facts - March 15, 2010

About a dozen parents and grandparents appealed directly to state legislators Monday for answers about why the state removed children from their homes, denied adoptions and even placed them in foster homes instead of with grandparents...Near the end of Monday’s meeting State Rep. Pete DeGraaf (R-Mulvane) challenged Jordan to try harder to place children with their families instead of in foster homes and ensure they never are placed in known abusers’ homes. >>Read the rest of the article at KansasWatchdog.org>>

Last Friday Kansas State Representative Pete DeGraaf, a Republican from Mulvane, updated members and guests of the Wichita Pachyderm Club on the status of the Kansas budget and other legislative matters. >>Read the whole article at Voice for Liberty in Wichita>>

Kansans for Truth in Politics has announced their list of candidate endorsements, including an endorsement of Pete for Kansas House District 81.

Peter DeGraaf: As an immigrant, I am grateful for the path my parents and I were given towards citizenship; even so, our nation and state must aggressively find ways to deal with illegal immigration, without making business owners an arm of the police.

>>Read the whole article >>

The competition sprang up after the district's longtime representative, Mulvane Republican Ted Powers, died in May after suffering a stroke. Party leaders from Sedgwick and Sumner counties appointed DeGraaf to serve the rest of Powers' term, which expires in January.

"The Legislature has not done a very good job controlling expenses and keeping taxes down," DeGraaf said.

His experience as president of Shepherd's Staff Ministries in Wichita, which offers financial counseling, would be valuable in balancing the budget, he said.

While the state's spending needs to shrink, lawmakers should set a frugal tone but not decide the specific cuts, he said.

"The best people to make those decisions are the people in the trenches, the people making the day-to-day decisions," he said.

>>Read the whole article>>

Please visit the Kansans for Life website to view a list of the candidates they've endorsed in the August 5 Primary Election. They endorsed Pete for the Kansas House District 81 seat!

The Sumner County Commissioners are knee-deep in an issue affecting two residential areas and several homeowners in the immediate area in the county’s northeastern corner — high, standing waters which have not receded in over a month’s time.

Sumner County has received record amounts of rainfall this  year and several acres of land, as well as county homes, have been under water since Memorial Day weekend...

State Representatives Vince Wetta, D-Wellington, and Peter DeGraaf, R-Mulvane, attended the meeting to hear from homeowners. Wetta said he had taken several calls on the issue, although it is not in his district.  He has talked with the Goverenor’s office about the situation, but said state aide would be unlikely with funding low from the Greensburg and now Chapman disasters.

DeGraaf said he would spend some time talking the issue over with Sedgwick County Commissioners and officials, since the flooding problem comes from north of the county line.

>>Read the whole article>>

Today the Kansas Republican Assembly (KRA) selected Pete DeGraaf as their preferred candidate for Kansas House District 81!

Click here to view a partial transcript of the interview.

In Belle Plaine, financial counselor Peter DeGraaf celebrated his victory in maintaining the 81st District Seat, which covers parts of southern Sedgwick and northeastern Sumner counties.

DeGraaf, who opposes a casino in Mulvane, captured just more than 50 percent of the votes. In the field of five Republican candidates, his closest challenger, retired teacher and Mulvane Center director Jeri Anderson, earned about a third of the votes.

"It's an incredible victory," DeGraaf said. "It speaks highly of the desire of folks in Mulvane and conservative voters to not have a casino at Mulvane Exit 33.

DeGraaf, who raised $11,030 for the race -- more than all of his challengers combined -- was appointed to the seat in May after longtime Rep. Ted Powers died of a stroke.

The vacancy created the most contested House race in the state, with five Republicans jockeying to run against Mulvane Democrat Mark Hardison in November.

>>Read the whole article>>