Category: Overland Park

Davids’ first constituent office to be in Overland Park

Sharice Davids

Sharice Davids, who was elected to the U.S. representative, 3rd District, post in November, has chosen her first office to be at 7325 W. 79th St., in a space previously occupied by Rep. Kevin Yoder.

She will keep the same office and telephone number to make it easier for constituents to find and access the help they need, according to a news release from Davids’ staff.

“My priority is to represent and serve our community,” Davids said in the news release. “Taking over this space allows my team to get up and running quickly, with little down time or disruption to people who need help from our office.”

Davids has begun the process of opening a second office in Wyandotte County, according to the news release, which says more information on it will be announced when it is completed.

Her district offices will help constituents with backlogged veterans’ benefits, Social Security and Medicare issues, stalled tax refunds, passport issues and other concerns residents may have with the federal government.

The Davids’ office in Johnson County will open at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 7, and will keep office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Why incumbent Yoder says he’s the underdog in the Kansas 3rd District

by Sam Zeff, Kansas News Service

Rep. Kevin Yoder acknowledged Wednesday that he may lose his campaign for a fifth term in Congress. “Well, I think we may be the underdog in this race,” he said before addressing the Johnson County Bar Association.

However, Yoder suggested his Democratic opponent Sharice Davids is taking the campaign for granted.

“My opponent thinks she has the race in the bag,” he said. “She’s not here. She’s not present. She’s not asking people for their votes.”

The bar association billed the event as a joint appearance between Yoder and Davids.

Yoder said he made a video to show to members when he thought he needed to be in Washington for floor votes. That House business was canceled, he said, so he was able to appear in person.

Davids canceled her appearance late Tuesday, according to the association’s Executive Director Tracey DeMarea.

DeMarea said the Bar Association was disappointed Davids canceled.

“Coming off the back of the governor’s debate, which we had all three people here, it just would have been so nice to have all three people here,” she said.

The fight over debates has been raging for a few weeks. Yoder’s campaign said he has agreed to at least five debates.

“I’m running this election the old fashion way. I’m out doing every parade. I’m out doing debates,” Yoder said.

Davids’ campaign says it has agreed to a debate sponsored by the Kansas City Star and Fox 4 a week before the election.

“Sharice looks forward to debating Kevin Yoder on the important issues facing Kansans, that’s why we have agreed to a televised debate hosted by the KC Star on October 29,” Davids spokesperson Allison Teixeira Sulier said in a statement before the event.

“Rep. Yoder still has not accepted this invitation and instead is playing last minute games and trying to hide behind ticketed events, closed to the majority of Kansans,” Teixeira Sulier said.

But without Yoder, there may not be an Oct. 29 debate, said Kansas City Star Editorial Page Editor Colleen Nelson. She says the door is still open. “I think there’s still time.”

Sam Zeff is KCUR’s metro reporter. You can follow Sam on Twitter @samzeff. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://www.kcur.org/post/why-incumbent-kevin-yoder-says-he-s-underdog-kansas-3rd-district.