2021
March
Editorial: Capitol Update: Sen. Holscher on concerns with Medicaid expansion, education funding stalls; The Shawnee Mission Post (3/15/21)
Here we are approaching the third week of March, and we are at the halfway point of the 2021 Legislative session. So, how do things look? Not great, to be honest.
2020
October
The Star endorses this hard-working public servant in Kansas Senate race; The Kansas City Star (10/14/20)
Cindy Holscher is an unusually energetic and hard-working public servant with a well-deserved reputation for responding to constituents and for that matter, non-constituents, since she regularly advocates for Kansans who are not from her district.
July
Nearly 30 Kansas lawmakers call for investigation of former KCK police detective; Fox4 (7/2/20)
Nearly 30 state lawmakers have turned their attention toward allegations against a former police detective. Now, they’re calling for a KBI investigation of Roger Golubski.
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“There’s been a long fight for justice when it comes to issues surrounding Roger Golubski,” said Rep. Cindy Holscher, a Democrat representing Overland Park, Kan. “Several years ago I brought forward a bill that was in regard to some issues surrounding the whole case with Lamont McIntyre. We’ve had several issues since then that have not been addressed. Part of it is for accountability for women who said they’ve been sexually violated by him.”
June
State leaders, educators discuss safety and logistics of teaching during COVID-19; Shawnee Mission Post (6/26/20)
In a roundtable conversation with Gov. Laura Kelly, Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers and Rep. Cindy Holscher, educators across the state of Kansas outlined the shortfalls and successes of the 2019-2020 academic year and discussed support mechanisms they’ll need to continue teaching through the pandemic.
“Centuries of angst”, Kansas lawmakers introduce police brutality bills; KSN-Wichita (6/3/20)
Some Kansas lawmakers are using the special legislative session as an opportunity to discuss police brutality. Two democratic House members are bringing up legislation that they say should have been done long ago.
May
Editorial: ‘Democracy died here a bit’: Kansas Legislature ends messy session with 24-hour circus; Kansas City Star (5/22/20)
“Over the past 23 hours, this Legislature has assaulted many of the basics of good governance and democracy,” Rep. Cindy Holscher, Democrat of Overland Park, says she told her colleagues when it was over. “I think deep down, we all know democracy died here a bit today.”
April
Editorial: Capitol Update: Rep. Holscher discusses community struggles compounded by coronavirus pandemic; Shawnee Mission Post (4/20/20)
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, my days are spent pretty much the same – while managing a household consisting of three teenagers, from sunup to sundown I work to help people get answers to their questions which typically includes assisting in filing for unemployment or accessing other programs vital to surviving the pandemic.
Rep. Cindy Holscher officially files to run for Senate seat held by Majority Leader Jim Denning; Shawnee Mission Post (4/10/20)
Two-term Democratic Rep. Cindy Holscher on Thursday officially filed to run for the Senate District 8 seat held by Majority Leader Jim Denning. Holscher announced her plans to run for the seat a year ago, and has been actively raising money for a campaign ever since.
Representative Cindy Holscher Files to Run for Kansas State Senate District 8; Press Release (4/9/20)
April 9, 2020 (Overland Park, KS) - After four years of public service in the Kansas House of Representatives, Cindy Holscher filed to run for the State Senate against Majority Leader Jim Denning. The filing follows yesterday's vote by Denning and four other members of the Legislative Coordinating Council to revoke the Governor’s executive order on mass-gatherings.
March
Editorial: Capitol Update: Barely half of JoCo legislators are supporting strong public schools, says Rep. Holscher; Shawnee Mission Post (3/2/20)
Every year on the House floor, the Kansas Teacher of the Year winners are recognized for their outstanding work. As an ardent public school supporter, normally I will take pictures of the “ceremony,” and post on social media.
February
State Mulls Ending Statute of Limitations on Sex Abuse Suits; Associated Press via US News and World Report (2/21/20)
One detailed how her father sexually abused her decades ago. Another recalled a priest fondling him as a teenager. And yet another remembered walking directly back to class after a priest raped her in the fourth grade. One by one, they pleaded with lawmakers. Their main message: Please help us. Please help victims. Rep. Cindy Holscher, an Olathe Democrat who is the bill's lead sponsor, said it's her intention for older victims to sue. "The goal is to broaden it so more people can come forward," she said.
Proposed bill for signage on ride share service vehicles; KAKE (2/18/20)
Uber and Lyft for example are massive services people use daily, especially among younger generations. Kansas law makers, however, say there is a concern of safety. Rep. Cindy Holscher said it all started when a South Carolina woman got into a car that she thought was her Uber and was murdered last summer.
Holscher campaign leads local statehouse fundraising with $79K in bid for Denning’s senate seat; Shawnee Mission Post (2/7/20)
Johnson County Democrats have wasted no time raising money in their bids for the Kansas statehouse. A look at campaign finance reports shows the highest money raisers in the area so far have all been Democrats, with Cindy Holscher leading the way at just over $79,000 for the period covering 2019.
House advances bill to remove spousal exemption for sexual battery; Topeka Capitol Journal (2/6/20)
Lawmakers advanced the bill on a voice vote after approving an amendment by Rep. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, to require an intervention after a first offense for domestic violence. Current practice calls for an intervention after the second or third offense.
Editorial: As Shawnee Mission teachers struggle with Brownback leftovers, we have their backs; Kansas City Star (2/5/20)
Dear teachers: I don’t know how you do it. I don’t know how you get up day after day to go teach, inspire and love our children. I truly don’t know how you do it after nearly a decade of being underpaid and severely under-appreciated.
Kansas no longer fighting claims of wrongly convicted man; Associated Press via KSHB (2/5/20)
A bipartisan group of legislators had been planning a Feb. 17 rally to show their support for McIntyre and pressure Schmidt’s office into backing McIntyre’s compensation claim. State Rep. Cindy Holscher, a Kansas City-area Democrat, said it was “retraumatizing” for McIntyre to face a court battle over whether he was compensated. Holscher said many of her fellow lawmakers thought McIntyre had already received compensation from the state. “I think there was the assumption that, well, of course, he was exonerated, why wouldn’t he have been paid already?” Holscher said. “Many were not aware of the fact that this was going to be dragging out.”
January
Local legislators weigh in on Gov. Kelly, Overland Park Sen. Jim Denning’s announcement on Medicaid expansion plan; Shawnee Mission Post (1/10/20)
Democratic Rep. Cindy Holscher, who represents parts of Lenexa and Overland Park and who is running for Denning’s senate seat this year, said in a statement that Medicaid expansion appears to be moving in a positive direction, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Additionally, Holscher said bipartisanship made the plan possible. “For close to seven years, a number of people — voters, healthcare advocates and legislators like myself who favor Medicaid expansion — have worked to forward this important program,” Holscher said. “It is great to see individuals who have worked to prevent expansion throughout that timeframe now coming to the table on this topic.”
2019
December
Wyandotte County DA calls for justice for wrongfully convicted man; Associated Press via KCTV5 (12/26/2019)
McIntyre's case appears likely to continue well into next year. A hearing has been scheduled for September 2020 and a discovery deadline of Oct. 23, 2020, has been proposed. State Rep. Cindy Holscher, an Olathe Democrat, said lawmakers will keep a focus on McIntyre. "We don't want Lamonte to be forgotten," Holscher said.
The state of Kansas is falsely accusing exoneree Lamonte McIntyre all over again; Kansas City Star (12/23/19)
I drove home from Topeka heartsick, and not wanting to think that because no Democrat can win in Kansas without Wyandotte County, no Democrat will acknowledge, much less challenge, what goes on there. One exception is state Rep. Cindy Holscher, of Overland Park, who has met with McIntyre a number of times, and keeps checking in with the attorney general’s office via various intermediaries. Every time she has, Holscher said, what she’s heard back is “different reasons that don’t seem real clear.”
October
Sen. Dinah Sykes, Rep. Cindy Holscher gather public input on violence and gun reform; Shawnee Mission Post (10/28/19)
Compromise was the unofficial word of the day in a brainstorming session on gun violence last weekend. Led by Sen. Dinah Sykes and Rep. Cindy Holscher, the community forum and brainstorming session Saturday was the state lawmakers’ way to bring the community together to discuss the increasingly polarizing topic of gun violence and its effects on the community, as well as gun reform and ways to prevent and reduce the number of deaths by gun.
Overland Park Chamber releases analysis of local lawmakers’ 2019 voting records; Shawnee Mission Post (10/21/19)
The Overland Park Chamber of Commerce has released its annual analysis of how closely area legislators’ voting records matched positions supported by the organization. The chambers’ board of directors and public policy and advocacy committees each year establish a legislative agenda “to focus on priority issues that enhance quality of life attributes such as education, taxation, transportation, economic development and school finance that make Overland Park attractive to businesses and help it continue to be recognized as a leading community in the nation.” Cindy Holscher: 100%
August
At panel on healthcare policy, Kansas health system execs, advocates detail benefits of Medicaid expansion; Shawnee Mission Post (8/12/19)
Expanding Medicaid in the state would provide around 135,000 Kansans with access to coverage and help ease the burden on expensive emergency care services, participants in a panel discussion on healthcare policy in Overland Park said on Sunday. The panel, organized by Rep. Cindy Holscher, featured two healthcare executives — St. Luke’s Health System South/East Region President and CEO Bobby Olm-Shipman and Vibrant Health CEO Patrick Sallee — and the leader of a non-profit advocacy group, Alliance for a Healthy Kansas Senior Policy Advisor Sheldon Weisgrau.
May
Kansas Health Institute: Premiums would block 27,000 from Medicaid expansion, add $2.9 million in revenue; Topeka Capital-Journal (5/2/19)
Monthly premiums attached to health care coverage provided through Medicaid expansion would have little financial benefit for the state of Kansas and would eliminate 27,000 low-income adults from the program, according to the Kansas Health Institute.
JoCo senator’s ‘pass’ vote was key as Kansas Medicaid expansion attempt fails; Kansas City Star (5/1/19)
In an interview with The Star Monday, Denning accused Kelly of threatening his political future and expressing “viciousness towards me personally.” Kelly’s chief of staff, Will Lawrence, disputed Denning’s assertion. Just hours after the meeting last week, Rep. Cindy Holscher, an Olathe Democrat, announced that she would challenge Denning in 2020, citing his position on Medicaid expansion.
April
Rep. Cindy Holscher says she’ll run for Sen. Jim Denning’s seat in 2020; Shawnee Mission Post (4/25/19)
Two-term Democratic Rep. Cindy Holscher announced Wednesday night that she plans to run for the District 8 Senate seat occupied by Majority Leader Jim Denning since 2013. Holscher had initially planned to make the announcement today at a previously planned birthday party and fundraiser. But after Denning and other Republican legislative leaders’ meeting with Gov. Laura Kelly on Medicaid expansion Wednesday — a meeting that ended just a hour into a planned four hour session after the parties came to an impasse — Holscher said she was compelled to make her decision public a day sooner.
Kansas lawmakers wrestle with ‘aggressor’ distinction for child victims of sex crimes; Topeka Capital Journal (4/8/19)
Rep. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, said the girls were being trafficked by family members. “While there were many circumstances in this case regarding the defendant, the point remains that children — because they are under the age of consent — should not be considered aggressors in sexual abuse cases,” Holscher said. Although the downward departure is seldom used by judges, Holscher said its availability sends a concerning message to victims of sexually violent crimes.
Kansas conservatives fail again in quest for big changes to school funding, oversight; Wichita Eagle (4/7/19)
Some lawmakers say Kansas already has decent oversight of how education dollars are spent. The Kansas State Department of Education collects a wealth of data about schools. “Once you really start getting into it, we see that there are already a lot of accountability measures in place,” Rep. Cindy Holscher, an Olathe Democrat, said.
