In their efforts to keep the voucher-supporting, anti-tax supermajority in the KS Legislature, Americans for Prosperity has spent almost $190,000 on five Blue Valley races through Oct. 24 of this year. We won’t know AFP’s TOTAL 2024 spending on their BV-area candidates until weeks after Election Day. Total AFP spending on area candidates through Nov. 5 could exceed $250,000.
Who funds AFP? Nobody knows. Like other dark-money groups we’ve seen in this election cycle - including “The Liberty First Project,” “A Stronger Kansas,” and “Kansans for Lower Electric Rates,” there is ZERO accountability to Blue Valley voters regarding who is funding the hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign advertising and support these groups are producing.
We reviewed AFP campaign finance reports submitted to the KS Secretary of State’s office through Oct. 24. So far this year, AFP has paid for mailers, door literature, postage, and paid canvassers for 5 BV-area candidates in the amount of $189,624.
If voters wonder who Kellie Warren, TJ Rose, Chris Croft, Carl Turner, and Kurtis Ruf will actually work for, if elected - your answer is right here. In the case of Warren, Croft, and Turner, they’ve already shown us their agenda with their legislative votes (FOR vouchers, AGAINST school funding with irresponsible tax cuts for corporations, AGAINST BV kids with votes against funding Special Education, as just a few examples). AFP must feel pretty confident in the way Rose and Ruf will vote, based on the $$$ they’ve also poured into those two races.
Americans for Prosperity’s agenda is ANTI-public education. Their billionaire backers don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes, so they work for low taxes at all costs - with a focus on ultra-wealthy taxpayers. (The Flat tax would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Kansans.) AFP supports school privatization, because taxpayer dollars will be diverted to enrich those who own and operate FOR-PROFIT private schools. Legislators backed by AFP work against excellent public school districts like Blue Valley because such districts stand in the way of their goals.
Since 2015, we’ve been telling Blue Valley voters about what AFP is up to. Many are now very aware of the real dangers AFP candidates pose to our neighborhood schools and our community.
Be sure your friends and neighbors know to vote AGAINST the AFP-supported candidates on Mon., Nov. 4 or Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5. Share our Voting Guide and encourage everyone to vote for our kids’ Blue Valley Schools. www.standupbluevalley.org
Our website Blog documents previous votes against our kids’ schools, why vouchers are harmful to public schools, previous AFP actions in Blue Valley, and more. www.standupbluevalley.org/blog
Comments