Candy's Biography

Born the day before Valentine's Day in 1951, I came into this world with a head full of red hair. My father was serving as an Armor officer in Korea. Upon receiving the news of my birth, Mother tells me, Daddy insisted on the name Candy. He often said I was his sweetheart. My father's career in the Army took our family to many duty stations. Attending all those schools, making new friends and being the new kid on the block are great training for future politicians. That is if you want your children to grow up and be a politician.

Believe me that was the last career on my mind as a young person coming of age in the turbulent 1960s. After graduating from high school in Springfield, Mo., I headed to Kansas City for college. With a bleeding heart worn most often on my sleeve, I entered the field of social work. At the time, I wanted to change the world. It did not take me too long to change my mind. In the process, however, I had my eyes open to the poverty and despair of inner city life, not only in Kansas City, but also later in Los Angeles. My introduction to the federal welfare system was more like a slap in the face.

Moving to the great state of Kansas in 1976, I had the opportunity to work with the finest folks ever. Joining the staff of the Leavenworth County Council on Aging, I began the best years ever in my social work career. As a social worker in the company of my elders, I learned a great deal. When you work with people in the 70s, 80s and 90s, just about the best thing you can do is keep your mouth shut. I did and was a better person for it. In the fall of 1982, I made up my mind to return to college and finish my education in public administration. The bottom fell out of my world on Sept. 1. My brother was murdered.

Engulfed with grief and despair, I watched my family suffer in such a terrible way. College was out as I stayed home and went through those awful months that follow a tragic death. Fortunately for me, a dear friend who was a journalist with the "Leavenworth Times" helped me through this time. One morning in the November, she called me and asked if I would like to join the Times staff. I sure would, I told her. While working with the elderly, I started a monthly publication, the "Senior Times," with our local newspaper. I liked to write and work with the reporters in the newsroom. That was how I met Connie Parish.

That phone call opened the world of newspaper reporting to me. That is how life often goes. God had taken the sunshine away from my family. Yet in this darkness, he led me to a new light, a career in journalism. It changed my life for the better. Writing for a daily newspaper is hard work and it puts you at the heart of your community. After all, a town's newspaper is the first draft on local history. And being a hysterically historical person, I dug into Leavenworth history. I loved what I found. During the next nine years, I served as the lifestyle editor. Writing features and covering clubs, organizations and a variety of community events introduced me to a host of dedicated citizens, all contributing to our community In the meantime, I put together several historical series, one on the orphanages in Leavenworth and another on the cemeteries of Leavenworth County, all 48 of them. I will be up front about what happened in 1991. I was fired. Yes, that's right just booted right out the door. Fortunately for me, "The Topeka Capitol Journal" hired me within a few weeks. I did not cover politics, but I did become acquainted with the Democrats in the Kansas House. And wouldn't you know it, they were in the majority for the third time in this century. What luck because reapportionment was a hot topic and as things turned out that issue touched me personally. Here again, I found the Lord works in mysterious ways. Being unfairly fired with the accompanying shock and shame turned into yet another opportunity. It went like this.

When it came to counting the Kansas population for the purposes of drawing Kansas House and Senate districts, prisoners did not make the count in the past. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in the late 1980s changed that practice. All of a sudden, Leavenworth County's numbers increased thanks to our prisons. And we got a new district. That district was the one I ran for in 1992. I was re-elected in 1994, unopposed in 1996 and re-elected in 1998. That takes care of my professional background. It was but a small portion of my life when compared to my family.

I began my social work career at about the same time I got married in 1971. Two years later, the best thing that ever happened to me occurred Feb. 19, 1973. My son, Bobby, was born. Since then, no career, no election nor recognition has come close to being as important. He is the light of my life. God also blessed me with a great husband. Gregory is my Prince of Wonderfulness and the best friend ever. He is supportive, kind and a good judge of people and events. He serves as a lieutenant with the Leavenworth Police Department and recently retired as a MP with the Army Reserves. So there you have it. My story at least until now.