Stand Up Blue Valley is deeply concerned about the events of Saturday, May 19, and ultra-conservative candidate Kellie Warren’s narrative surrounding them.
This past Saturday morning, several District 28 voters, including families and their children, gathered at a local park for a campaign kickoff celebration. Some parents noticed a suspicious lone man in the crowd who appeared to be videotaping the rally and participants with his phone. Once the stranger realized he had been observed, he left quickly and drove away in a distinctive vehicle. Concerned attendees at the rally took pictures of the man before he left.
Obviously, several people were unnerved by this incident, not knowing who the man was, why he appeared to be videoing the event, and why he left so suddenly when noticed. People compared photos and discussed what to do about the situation. We have since identified this man and have several photos of him at the event appearing to capture video of it. We are willing to share this information with Ms. Warren’s campaign, if asked.
Shortly after the rally, the teenaged son of SUBV Chairman Dr. Patty Logan was driving to the nearby home of a friend when he noticed the same distinctive vehicle parked on the street. Patty Logan’s son had attended the rally, been concerned by the man’s behavior, and had clearly seen his distinctive vehicle, so he took a photo and called his mom. Patty drove to the location, parked up the street, and waited to see if the stranger was nearby. Patty discovered the man’s distinctive vehicle was parked directly across the street from Kellie Warren’s house. Was the man a member of Ms. Warren’s campaign team? Did she authorize his actions that day?
When Stand Up Blue Valley organized in 2015, we dedicated ourselves to informing the community about the importance of their vote in the Kansas primary election. We committed ourselves to exposing ultra-conservatives who were posing as public education supporters. We were advised that politics is a dirty business. We were warned that ultra-cons would work to undermine our credibility. We have faced all that and more from the well-funded dark-money machine that seeks to undermine public education in Kansas. However, we will not tolerate strangers who appear to be videotaping our members and their children at campaign celebrations. If we see this behavior, we will call it out.
We ask Ms. Warren if her supporter was videoing us and our families with or without her knowledge. We ask her if she approves of this sort of inappropriate, troublesome behavior. We call upon her now to publicly ask her supporters to refrain from engaging in this sort of behavior. It is disturbing, borders on harassment, and is wrong. Stand Up Blue Valley members and supporters do not deserve to have their children be frightened by the inappropriate tactics of their opponents.