Tom Sawyer (Kansas politician)

Tom Sawyer (born April 15, 1958) is an American politician from the state of Kansas. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, Sawyer graduated from Wichita State University with a BBA in Accounting in 1984. Sawyer was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1987. He became the party's House Leader, and through his 12-year legislative career served as both Majority Leader and Minority Leader. He is only the fourth Democrat to ever be elected Majority Leader of the Kansas House and the only Wichitan to hold that position in the last 30 years.

In 1998 Sawyer won his party's nomination as candidate for governor, easily beating his next closest rival, the evangelical preacher Fred Phelps. In the general election, Sawyer lost and only managed to win 23% of the popular vote against popular incumbent Republican governor Bill Graves.

After serving as State Chairman of the Kansas Democratic Party for four years, Sawyer was once again elected to the state legislature in 2002, and was re-elected in 2004, 2006 and 2008. He served as chair of the Sedgwick County Legislative Delegation in 2005.^[1]

He resigned from the Kansas House of Representatives in 2009 to serve on the state Parole Board.

Kansas House Career

Committee membership

• Appropriations
• General Government Budget
• Elections (Ranking Member)
• Rules and Journal (Vice-Chair)
• Joint Committee on Legislative Post Audit
• Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations

Major donors

The top 5 donors to Sawyer's 2008 campaign:^[2]

• 1. Kansans for Lifesaving Cures $1,000
• 2. Kansas National Education Assoc $1,000
• 3. Kansas Contractors Assoc $1,000
• 4. Koch Industries $900
• 5. Wal-Mart $800

References

1. ↑ Rep. Tom Sawyer Biography Retrieved June 30, 2009.
2. ↑ Follow the Money - 2008 Campaign Contributions Retrieved June 30, 2009.

External links

• Official Campaign Site
• Project Vote Smart profile
• Kansas Votes profile
• Campaign contributions: 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008