Meet Mel Pinick, running for House of Representatives in Kansas, District 121
This district lies outside of Kansas City and contains both rural and suburban areas. Mel believes this position is important because she has seen many areas where the legislature is not representing the values or the needs of the people. She wants to be a better representative for the people.
When Mel had her two children, she experienced a struggle that many women face. Her job did not offer much maternity leave and because of this, she had to take unpaid months off to take care of her children. As her children got older, Mel decided to create change and became the head of the committee that reviewed benefits within her company. She says that she cried tears of relief when she finally got paid maternity leave for many women who would no longer have to go through the struggles that she faced. This is when Mel realized that she wanted to become a part of the change that people need—so she decided to run for office.
One topic that Mel is focused on is expanding Medicaid. We learned that Kansas is one of the only states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid recently. She told us that there are over 165,000 people that cannot access affordable care in her state. Along with this, Mel is concerned about the current legislature introducing laws that make it harder for women to have abortions or get proper health care. She believes that if we don’t make any changes now, we will be heading backwards and reversing years of progress.
Mel envisions a future where there is more opportunity for growth in every way. She also believes that the school system in her state needs much better funding so that the children of her state have a better chance at future success. Teacher pay is low and many teachers are turning to other careers to make a better living. Mel wants to see children have access to a good education with educators who truly care. She also wants to ensure that people can access healthcare and that they won’t have to decide whether or not they can even afford to see a doctor.
Lowering property taxes is also something that Mel wants to tackle. She sees a clear way to achieve this, the legislature just needs to get on board with it as well. If elected, her goal is to find ways to use tax dollars wisely and give back to the community members who pay the taxes in the first place. With rising costs nationwide, Mel sees that she has an opportunity to have a positive impact on the daily finances of Kansas residents!
Mel has a cat named Leia, after Princess Leia! She is a self taught knitter and was taught how to juggle by a neighbor when she was living in England!
Mel is running for this position because she truly cares and “someone needs to do it”!