Portions of that release are shown below.
******
As many of you may have heard by now, after thoughtful
consideration, my wife Birdie and I arrived at the difficult decision some
months ago that I would not run again this year for a fourth term as your 18th
District Representative in the Kansas House of Representatives.
The purpose of this message is two-fold: First, to tell all of you, particularly my
Shawnee constituents and those of you who have honored me with your support, of
the reasons for my decision, and to thank you for the privilege of serving you
in the Kansas Legislature for the past six years. And second, to announce my wholehearted
support and strong endorsement of Eric Jenkins, Shawnee Ward 2 City Councilman,
who has filed for my seat, to replace me as your Representative in the Kansas
Legislature.
Let me begin with a few personal remarks about the reasons why I
have chosen not to be a candidate for the 18th District seat again
this year. Clichés about why people
retire from public service are nonetheless true just because they are
clichés. Birdie and I have indeed rued
our inability to spend more time with our daughters and their families who
reside out of state, and now eagerly anticipate the prospect of visiting them
more often. In addition, I am truly
considering other career opportunities both inside and outside of government.
But most of all, I am leaving the Kansas Legislature with a strong
sense of accomplishment, of achieving so much of the public policy changes, of
advancement of the conservative principles and values that prompted me to run
for office in the first place. Allow me
to summarize some of them.
I have represented the 18th District (eastern Shawnee,
KS) in the Kansas House of Representatives for the past six years, having been
first elected in 2010, and re-elected in 2012 and 2014. I have chaired the House Standing Committee on
Corrections and Juvenile Justice for four years, and I have also chaired the
Interim Joint Corrections and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee for the past
year. In addition, this term I have served
on the House Judiciary and Veterans and Homeland Security Committees, and in
the past on the Pensions and Benefits and Federal and State Affairs Committees
as well. For the past four years, I have
also served on the Kansas Sentencing Commission and the Kansas Judicial
Council’s Criminal Law Committee. And I
co-chaired the Kansas Juvenile Justice Workgroup during the 2015 interim, and
was central in the report of the Workgroup recommending comprehensive reforms
of Kansas’ juvenile justice system.
May I say that I have been the prolific author, lead sponsor and/or
carrier of a myriad of the most important legislative accomplishments in the
State of Kansas over the past six years.
A short list of the most important and influential bills, resolutions
and policy initiatives which I have championed and shepherded through the
Legislature that have had the most significant and far-reaching effects to
better the lives of all Kansans includes the following:
Promotion of open government accountability and
transparency to the public:
Principled advocacy of a culture of life and
protection of our unborn children:
Enforcement of the rule of law and preservation
of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution:
Fighting to protect the health and well-being of
all Kansans, particularly our disabled children:
Promotion of Kansas businesses, free enterprise
and entrepreneurship to grow the economy and create jobs:
Recognizing my extensive record of legislative accomplishment and
achievement in all of the above matters, and many others, The Kansas City Star
named me a 2014 legislative “winner;” The Star and the Wichita Eagle have
recently dubbed me “highly respected” in the Legislature; and the state’s
political newspaper of record, The Topeka Capitol-Journal, in its lead
editorial on March 22, 2016, said: “Rubin, an attorney and arbitrator, is
immensely qualified to chair [the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice]
committee and has done an admirable job as chairman.”
*****
Follow this blog to see why John endorses Eric Jenkins as his replacement.
