Lynn Rogers (politician)

Lynn Wayne Rogers (born September 11, 1958) is an American politician and businessman who is the 51st and current Lieutenant governor of Kansas since 2019. A Democrat, he had previously served on the Board of Wichita Public Schools from 2001 to 2017,[3] and in the Kansas Senate representing the 25th District of west Wichita from 2017 to 2019.[4]

Lynn Rogers
51st Lieutenant Governor of Kansas
Incumbent
Assumed office January 14, 2019
Governor	Laura Kelly
Preceded by	Tracey Mann
Member of the Kansas Senate from the 25th district
In office January 9, 2017 – January 14, 2019
Preceded by	Michael O'Donnell
Succeeded by	Mary Ware[1][2]
Personal details
Born	Lynn Wayne Rogers (1958-09-11) September 11, 1958 Fremont, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Kris
Children	3
Education	University of Nebraska–Lincoln (BA)
Website	Government website

Early life and career

Rogers was born on September 11, 1958 in Fremont, Nebraska. Raised by Republican parents, he grew up on a large hog farm in rural Nebraska. His grandfather was a county commissioner, and his father served on the school board.[5]

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, from University of Nebraska–Lincoln, in 1980,[6] he began working as a Marketing Specialist for Citibank Savings.[6] After working for Citibank in Chicago, he moved, with his wife, to Wichita, Kansas,[5] in 1985,[6] to accept a marketing position with the Federal Land Bank of Wichita [5] (which, in 1987-88, became the Farm Credit Bank of Wichita[7]).[6] In 1993, Rogers became a Vice President with CoBank Farm Credit Leasing, where he would remain until his election to the Kansas Senate in 2016.[6][8]

Political career

School district politics

In the 1990s, as a parent of a public school student, Rogers was active in a Wichita-area Parent-teacher organization (PTO), and aided fundraising for the Wichita Public Schools, including the district's bond drive in 2000.[5] Rogers' first elected office was as a member of the Wichita School Board, where he served from 2001 to 2018.[8][5]

During his tenure on the school board, Rogers -- "never [a] die-hard ideologue" -- switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, citing frustration with Republicans in attempts to get support for the public schools, and citing a less-rigid ideological "litmus test" for Democratic politicians to qualify for support from their party.[5]

Kansas Senate

In 2016, he was elected to the Kansas Senate's traditionally Republican 25th district, replacing outgoing Republican Senator Michael O'Donnell, who vacated the seat to run for Sedgwick County Commissioner. In his time as a Senator, Rogers worked to "reverse the Brownback-Colyer tax experiment and invest more in our schools."[8] Rogers focused primarily on education, agricultural and banking issues.[5].

In the Kansas Senate, senator Laura Kelly sat at the desk next to his, and became his mentor -- particularly in her areas of expertise (notably health and budget issues) -- while working with Rogers to overturn the Brownback tax "experiment."[5][8]

Lieutenant Governor

On May 24, 2018, Senator Kelly announced that she had selected Rogers as her running mate in the 2018 Kansas gubernatorial election.[8] On November 6, 2018 -- despite Kansas, a deeply Republican state, having voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in the Presidential election of 2016[5] -- Kelly and Rogers defeated the Republican gubernatorial ticket of Kris Kobach and Wink Hartman, as well as the independent ticket of Greg Orman and John Doll.[8][9] Rogers became the first Lieutenant Governor from Wichita -- the state's largest city -- since fellow Democrat Tom Docking served in the 1980s.[5]

As Kansas' Lieutenant Governor, Rogers' role has few constitutional duties. In addition to representing Kansas in official visits to other states, Rogers has spent much of his time, as Lieutenant Governor, traveling extensively throughout the state, engaging in political outreach, visiting over half of the states' 105 counties, with the goal of eventually visiting all of them.[5]

Personal

Rogers is married to Kris Rogers. They have grown children, including a son who (along with the son's wife) serves as an attorney in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. They have a daughter who (along with the daughter's husband) teaches in the Kansas City area, and a son "involved in [Wichita's] arts community."[5]

References

1. "Democrats choose Mary Ware to replace Lt. Gov.-elect Lynn Rogers in Senate". www.kwch.com.
2. "Senator Mary Ware | Legislators | Kansas State Legislature". kslegislature.org.
3. Bryan Lowry (August 4, 2015). "Wichita school board member Lynn Rogers to challenge Michael O'Donnell for Senate seat". Kansas.com. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
4. Rachel Sommerfeld (October 17, 2016). "Lynn Rogers (D-Kansas Senate District 25)". Ksn.com. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
5. Rogers, Lynn, interviewed by Victor Hogstrom: "One on One with Victor Hogstrom: Lynn Rogers," aired July 2, 2020, KPTS-TV, retrieved from KPTS.org website July 3, 2020.
6. "Lynn Rogers' Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
7. Smith, Barbara S. and Patricia J. Rettig, "Guide to the Federal Land Bank of Wichita Collection,"2002/2013, Colorado State University Water Resources Archive, and the Colorado Water Institute, retrieved July 3, 2020
8. Jonathan Shorman (May 24, 2018). "Kelly picks fellow state senator from Wichita as running mate". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
9. Suzanne Perez Tobias (November 26, 2018). "As lieutenant governor, Rogers says he'll fight for education and rural communities". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved December 14, 2018.

External links

• Government website

• Profile at Vote Smart

Kansas Senate
Preceded by Michael O'Donnell	Member of the Kansas Senate from the 25th district 2017–2019	Succeeded by Mary Ware
Party political offices
Preceded by Jill Docking	Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Kansas 2018	Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by Tracey Mann	Lieutenant Governor of Kansas 2019–present	Incumbent