August 16, 2005

Friends:

If you’ve heard folks call the legislative off-season a “break,” well, think again!  Even though I’ve given you a break from the Sharp Record, I’ve been working hard for the 17^th District this summer.  With school starting in just a matter of days (moms and dads, try to suppress the screams of joy), it’s hard to believe we’re already staring another session in the eyes…  See descriptions of my activities below.

Announcements

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Eileen Anderson of Lenexa, who is a fabulous supporter and a 100% dependable volunteer, and I sincerely apologize for leaving her off of my previous newsletter!  Eileen helped me walk the Lenexa Community Days Parade, and I am very grateful for her time and energy!

Personal Activities

Special Session ends:  July 6 (update already sent)

National Issues Forum Public Policy and Deliberative Democracy conference, Dayton, OH:  July 10-13

Stephanie’s wedding/honeymoon:  July 23-30

Indonesian legislative exchange:  August 19-29 

National Issues Forum, Dayton, OH

I was selected to participate in a National Issues Forum on deliberative democracy, communication, and public involvement in government through the Kettering Foundation and the National Issues Forums.  Never heard of deliberative democracy?  Me neither, and it’s a pretty “out there” concept…  Listening.  That’s it!  The whole thing is based on YOU talking and elected officials sitting down, shutting up, and listening.  I love it!

It never dawned on me that the way politics has always worked is to have town hall meetings and give updates on what happened.  Even my newsletter, which is about as current as it gets, is a little backward!  Instead of telling you what happened on this bill or that, or what happened during the session, and asking you what you think after the fact, I’m going to start organizing deliberation forums to talk about the big issues prior to legislation on them, and working with you to develop solutions.  Now, granted, you probably don’t have an opinion on saving the prairie dog (among other fascinating issues in Topeka), so I’ll stick to the big issues for deliberation and maintain an informing mode on the other stuff!

Here’s how I am going to use our district as a guinea pig:

Randomly select 30 voters (2 from each precinct, with hopes to get a group of 12-15)

Provide dinner during a 2-3 hour deliberative session

A trained moderator will introduce one topic (education, health care, social issues, etc.) and open the group up to discussion.

Meanwhile, myself and other elected officials that will be invited (city, state, and federal etc.) to attend will simply listen – no speeches allowed!

What we found by trying this in Dayton was we came up with much better solutions to universal challenges.  By encouraging open discussion with people from various backgrounds, who probably don’t know each other, we will arrive at overarching concerns, priorities among those concerns, and out-of-the-box solutions.

Keep an eye out for this model on a larger scale – Kansas City is a testing ground for this at a national level, and KCPT is the lead host of the “We the People” project!

Stephanie’s wedding/honeymoon

First, thank you so much for your kind words and wishes!  We were very blessed to have such a wonderful day (the two hottest of the year!)  Many have asked, and yes, I will be keeping my name for professional purposes.  My legal name will be Stephanie Sharp Bruyn (pronounced “brine”), but all you need to remember is Sharp.  We went to Jamaica for the honeymoon, and I will add a couple of wedding and honeymoon pictures to the photo album as they come available.

Indonesian exchange

Remember when I hosted a delegation of Indonesian women elected officials in April?  The second part of that program is for me to participate in the U.S./Asia Women’s Summit in Jakarta.  The two-day conference is just the beginning!  While in Jakarta, I am a guest of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL).  The following couple of days are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.  We will be traveling around the country on a speaking tour, sharing about our home states and communities, and learning how we can address similar challenges that face elected women in the U.S. and Indonesia.

Last week I heard a man being interviewed about the tsunami.  He lost his parents, wife, and two small children in December.  A child spoke about his school – half the teachers at the school died in the tsunami.  It was just heart-wrenching.  I am looking forward to the trip, but seeing destruction and poverty on such a grand scale will be very difficult, but certainly pales in comparison to living through it.

I promise to be better about posting photos this time – God bless a better camera and software!

Where’s Waldo

Shawnee Chamber of Commerce legislative affairs committee reception

Lenexa Chamber of Commerce legislative affairs committee lunch

Shawnee Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon

Lenexa Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon (tomorrow)

Old Mission Kiwanis Club – Leona Yarborough’s

University of Kansas Medical Center hands-on stem cell research training

Upcoming events:

Lenexa Chamber of Commerce Town Hall Meeting featuring U.S. Senator Pat Roberts – Thursday, August 25^th, 2:00 – 3:00 pm at the Lenexa Conference Center (popularly known as “the barn”).  For you MapQuesters, the address is 11184 Lackman Road in Lenexa.

This is a great opportunity to speak with one of your U.S. Senators in an intimate setting.  I encourage you to go, if not to ask questions, then to listen and be involved in your community!

At your service,

Rep. Stephanie Sharp

PO Box 19556

Lenexa, KS 66285

913-894-1201