In a heartfelt letter issued to Kansas State Committee members this afternoon, Lee Kinch, current Kansas Democratic Chair, announced he will not run to retain his office this Saturday.
It has been an honor serving as your State Chair for the last 15 months. Your unselfish commitment to our Party, its principles and candidates has been remarkable and has culminated in a party that is financially secure and positioned to build upon its accomplishments in the last election.
Our vision, as described in the KDP's Strategic Plan for 2017 -- 2020, is to once again become a major force in Kansas politics by "restoring the balance of power between Democrat and Republican office holders. By 2020, Democrats should hold a majority in the House, two statewide offices, half the Congressional seats, and the Governor's office." The essential prerequisite to the realization of these goals is a unified and disciplined Party of principled Democrats dedicated to their accomplishment.
One of the concerns of the young Democrats expressed in our Strategic Plan is the aging leaders and the need for a new face for our party. I take those concerns seriously. Moreover, others may also desire new leadership. Accordingly, I will not be a candidate of re-election as your State Chair. Thank you for the opportunity to serve.
It is hard for me to overstate how important our chair has been in the process of recovering the Kansas Democratic party from the outcome of 2014. In the months that followed, chaos, unhappiness, and poor fundraising followed. When pressed into service, Lee Kinch didn’t just meet expectations, he smashed through them in a way that I think even his firmest backers didn’t anticipate.
A prodigious fundraiser, Kinch’s ability to talk to donors, big and small, and offer them encouragement was the sign of a great chair for our embattled state.
But it was his ability to focus on the big picture, looking at candidate recruitment and encouragement that made Lee the chair that our state needed. His hands on approach, which included talking to and motivating candidates directly, was a refreshing change from hands off attitudes that we see in so many organizations.
In a summer meeting in Sedgwick County (Wichita), Lee Kinch stood in front of the room and said: “Do not let anyone tell you anything different. We are going to fight for this and we are going to win big this November. Believe it.”
And he put into play the resources and the encouragement that made it possible. I rarely went through a week without hearing from our Chairman, who not only encouraged me to give money — a prerequisite — but also asked me to “work harder” and to see if I had spoken with candidates. When Lee knew a candidate needed to be picked up or to be encouraged, either he would call them or make sure our Executive Director or another party member picked up the phone and encouraged them to continue.
It isn’t often that I write a diary with effusive praise, but I will miss the leadership that Chairman Kinch provided.
It is his final thoughts, that our party needs to look toward younger leadership, that signifies the power of a great leader — that he looked to the party and is asking younger members to step up.
What a powerful, fantastic message to send to our party going into a state organization meeting. While I will be in Atlanta during our state meeting, I will take time Saturday to raise my glass at the DNC meeting to a friend and an incredible leader.