Meet Molly
It’s an honor to serve the residents of the Kansas Senate 37th district. I was first elected to the Kansas Senate in 2014. For the past six years I've represented you during many important votes in Topeka. I look forward to continue serving you, my neighbors.
My professional background is in education, healthcare and business. When you scan the news, online or in our local newspapers, these are hot topics receiving the most attention. Each weekend that I attend area legislative breakfasts, I find that’s true in our Kansas Senate as well. You deserve a candidate that has a strong working grasp of the current issues and is committed to being a contributor in the legislative process.
With the Kansas Supreme Court ruling on education funding, parents, students, and educators need leadership from people that truly understand the education landscape in our state. Specifically, I taught at the K-12 level for seven years and currently am an active member of two USD vocational technology (AV Communications Pathway) advisory boards. In addition, served as a faculty member and program coordinator at Johnson County Community College for ten years. I now serve as the Communications Coordinator at JCCC in the Marketing and Strategic Communications Department.
Though I’m not a career politician, I’m certainly not new to Republican efforts in our state and specifically in Miami and Johnson Counties. For 18 years I served as a countywide elected member of the JCCC Board of Trustees. In that time, I fought against tax increases and for innovative programming that would lead to solid employment or college transfer. I have also actively worked on dozens of Republican political campaigns on the local, state and national level.
I feel very connected to the people and issues of this area because I lived in Johnson County for 37 years and have been a resident of Miami County for 15 years. Regardless of the county line, the residents in my district aren’t divided about what’s important to them: maintaining quality schools, reducing our tax burden, improving our mental health system, job creation, and assuring government transparency.
Meet the Baumgardners
Brian and I have been married for 34 years. We both grew up in Olathe and are graduates of Olathe High School. Brian had a dental practice in Olathe for twelve years and has been a professor of anatomy at JCCC for more than 35 years.
We have four children: Katie Jo graduated from law school and is a practicing attorney. Her husband, Justin, is a research professor of psychology. Paul finished his PhD this spring and has accepted a tenure-track professorship. His wife Jessica works in content marketing. Gwendolyn finished her masters degree and works as a broadcast journalist. Her husband Nick is an accountant. Amelia is continuing her doctoral program to become an audiologist.