Rochelle Ruth Chronister (née Beach; August 27, 1939 – April 2, 2023) was an American politician from southwest Kansas who served in the Kansas Legislature, as the 57th Chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party and as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.[1][2]
Secretary Rochelle Chronister | |
|---|---|
| Kansas Secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services | |
| In office 1995–1999 | |
| Governor | Bill Graves |
| Preceded by | Donna Whiteman |
| Succeeded by | Janet Schalansky |
| 57th Chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party | |
| In office January 1989 – January 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Fred Logan |
| Succeeded by | Kim Wells |
| Member of the Kansas House of Representatives from the 13th district | |
| In office 1979–1995 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rochelle Ruth Beach August 27, 1939 Garden City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | April 2, 2023 (aged 83) Neodesha, Kansas, U.S. |
| Residence | Topeka, Kansas |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas |
| Occupation | Virologist |
Early life
editChronister was born in Garden City, Kansas on August 27, 1939. She attended the University of Kansas and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts.[3] From 1961 to 1964 she worked for the University of Kansas Medical Center as a Research Virologist. She also worked as Vice President of the joint venture for the Neodesha Lumber Company.[2]
Political career
editState legislator
editChronister was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1978.[2] She would serve from 1979 to 1995.[3] She served as Assistant Majority Leader of the House from 1983 to 1986, and was the first women in a Kansas House leadership position.[2]
Republican Chairwoman
editChronister, a longtime leader of Moderate Republicans in the Kansas house was selected as the State Republican Party Chairwomen in 1989. Later that year she demanded the resignation of the head of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, David E. Johnson, following the breaking of a scandal that he told a racist joke to two reporters from The Kansas City Times going as far as pen a letter to Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan demanding his removal. She would never send the letter as Johnson resigned before she could.[4]
Secretary of Social and Rehabilitation Services
editDuring her tenure she oversaw the privatization of the State's foster care system. She supported the system as it was being implemented in the 1990s and discredited issues with the system as transitional hiccups. Additionally, in 2017 when the system was being reviewed, she continued to stand by her earlier statements and testified in favor of keeping the system private.[5]
As secretary she was a defendant to the lawsuit; Calderon v. Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, where a Mexican American women, Maria Del Carmen Calderon, lost custody of her children, and was asked her citizenship status by a local judge when she appealed. Claiming that this violated her Fourth, Fourteenth and Fifth amendment rights, she sued the entire department of the Kansas state government. The case eventually reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Claiming emotional injury and demanding compensation of $8 million, the court was "unable to discern the basis for Ms. Calderon's claims" and dismissed all claims against the judge, Chronister, and the department as a whole on July 6, 1999.[6]
Political advocacy
editIn 1990 she was inducted into the University of Kansas' Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity.[2] Chronister was the co-chairwomen of a fundraiser by the Wilson Medical Center in Wilson County, Kansas, and helped surpass the medical center's $2.2 million goal to build a new hospital.[7] She is also a member of the medical center's board of trustees.[2]
Chronister is also the spokeswomen of the Traditional Republicans for Common Sense, a group of moderate centrist and liberal Republicans who opposed the conservative policies of Governor Sam Brownback. Namely opposing his reduction of the State income tax and the public school budget.[8] Additionally during his 2014 re-election campaign Chronister refused to endorse Brownback and instead endorsed his Democratic challenger Paul Davis.[9][10][11][12] Chronister and the Traditional Republicans for Common Sense also denounced senator Pat Roberts during his 2014 re-election bid, endorsing his independent challenger Greg Orman.[13][14][15][16]
References
edit- ^ "Rochelle Chronister Obituary". Loran Fawcett Chapel. Retrieved December 23, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Rochelle Chronister". University of Kansas. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Kansas Legislators: Past and Present". State Library of Kansas. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ HANNA, JOHN. "KBI Director Dave Johnson Resigns in Aftermath of Joke Report". Associated Press. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "Kansas Task Force Hears That Some Issues With Foster Care System Aren't New". KUCR. NPR. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "CALDERON v. KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND REHABILITATION SERVICES (1999)". FindLaw. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "WILSON COUNTY HOSPITAL EXCEEDS $2.2 MILLION CAMPAIGN GOAL". Wilson Medical Center. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Carpenter, Tim. "'Old guard' of state GOP revolts". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "Kansas Insurance Commissioner Opposes Re-Election of Governor". insurancejournal.com. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Bruggeman, Karyn. "Can a Democrat Win in Kansas?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Rothschild, Scott. "Kansas: Insurance commish officially opposes Brownback re-election". The Mirror. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Jones, Tim. "Brownback Tax Cuts That Ravaged Surplus Hinder Re-Election Bid". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Diamond, Jeremy. "Taking out a Republican senator, without a Democrat on the ballot". CNN. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Lowry, Bryan; Lightman, David. "Kansas makes it harder for GOP to seize Senate". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Blake, Aaron. "Pat Roberts just got some very bad news. It's pretty unlikely it'll decide the Senate". The Washington Post. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ Hancock, Peter. "Former GOP lawmakers support Orman for Senate". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved 7 March 2023.