The Ward 1 city council race in Shawnee is on. Tammy Thomas, the current incumbent is being challenged by Sierra Whitted.
This is really funny. Thomas is in her first term, and yet she has been on the council longer than Whitted has lived in Shawnee. That's right, this Lawrence KS transplant does not know what it means to really live or work in Shawnee, as she still works in Lawrence. You know Lawrence, the city where most folks are indoctrinated with the super left ideology. Is this the best that the "opposing" forces could muster? Someone still wet behind the ears about Shawnee. Oh, and who is her campaign treasurer, and probably the person that recruited her to run? None other Lisa Larson-Bunnell, who leans so far left that she makes Joe biden look like a conservative.
OK, on with the good stuff. Tammy Thomas knows Shawnee, from ALL aspects. As a resident, she has lived here for a total of 28 years. As a parent, all 3 of her children had their entire K-12 education in the De Soto School District. As an involved member of the community Tammy and her husband Bryan, have spent countless hours working and volunteering with the Shawnee Sharks Swim & Dive Team. She is currently the Kansas State Director for a nonprofit "Safe Families for Children". their mission is to keep children safe and families together, working to keep families away from the foster care system and state engagement. Prior to that Tammy was the Kansas City Regional Director, for the Kansas Department for Children and Families. She also served on the USD 232 Board of Education from 2009-2013.
Her husband's family has been in Shawnee since the 1960's and ran successful businesses during that time.
Tammy does know Shawnee. She knows what it takes to live here, get an education for your children and to work here. Yes, she is conservative in nature. She has shown that she is a concerned, involved member of the council, unlike her rubber stamping predecessor. And yes, one of her major accomplishments was to vote to stop the possibility of outside developers, buying up single family residences, and then converting those residences into mini apartments, by remodeling and adding 5, 6 & yes 7 bedrooms. But left leaning liberals have chosen that item to erroneously attack those that supported it as being against individuals with differing sexual preferences. Stopping developers from converting single family residences was and is not anti gay life style. It was meant to stop the deterioration of residential neighborhoods.
Unlike her predecessors on the council Tammy has and will continue to question expenses. That money is property of the citizens of Shawnee. The city has no money of its own. That is what a council member is supposed to do. Not rubber stamp every item that comes across the council dais. Standing firm with other council members the city will be saving over $4 million on the Midland Drive rehab project and still getting a safer roadway, curbs, gutters, a new sewer & wastewater system, bicycle lanes and a sidewalk so folks don't have to navigate ditches.
Tammy deserves to be reelected to the Ward 1 council seat. Sierra needs to learn what it is to live and work in Shawnee and not virtually just move here and feel that she is qualified to represent Ward 1 on the council.
