Non-Elected Representation: What’s the matter with Kansas?

Elected representation is one of the most basic premises of our nation.  No other belief is so fundamental to our founding documents or our culture as this: that voters elect leaders to act on their behalf.

What happens, then, when this isn’t the case?  In Kansas, elections are certified by three office holders: the governor, the attorney general and the secretary of state (KS Statute 25-3201).  Each of these is a statewide elected position.  We all get an opportunity to say who we think should represent us.

The 2010 elections in Kansas will decide who sits as our county judges, who makes decisions our behalf at the city and county level, who represents us in the statehouse, and who forms our executive branch.  November 2010 will be a very important time in Kansas.  Yet of those three officials who certify election results, not one of them will be elected to his/her current position in November.

Our current governor was elected as lieutenant governor on the Kathleen Sebelius ticket; if you recognize her name and you’re not from Kansas, it’s probably because she now serves as our Health and Human Services Secretary.  When she left her post at the governor’s mansion, Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson became our current governor.

Our current attorney general Steve Six was appointed to his position in January of 2008 following the resignation of then-attorney general Paul Morrison, who resigned his position after admitting to allegations of infidelity with a member of his office staff.

It remains to be seen who our secretary of state will be, as current secretary Ron Thornburgh resigned effective February 15 to take a private sector position.  Our current non-elected governor, Mark Parkinson, will be appointing someone to take over Thornburgh’s position and finish out his term, which expires in January of 2011.

Confused?  This isn’t the way things are supposed to work with a democratic republic.  Yet this is the situation we’re confronted with as we dive into election year 2010.  What does it mean to the legitimacy of our government and the validity of our elections when we don’t have that most fundamental element: elected representation?