Mike Thompson (Kansas politician)

Mike Thompson is an American politician, meteorologist and weather forecaster currently serving as a member of the Kansas Senate representing the 10th Senate District in Johnson County, Kansas. He was appointed to the Senate in January 2020 by Republican Party precinct committee members in the 10th District following the resignation of Mary Pilcher-Cook, and took office on January 21, 2020, following a formal appointment by Governor Laura Kelly.[1][2]

Mike Thompson
Member of the Kansas Senate from the 10th district
Assumed office
January 21, 2020
Preceded byMary Pilcher-Cook
Personal details
Bornc. 1957
Wichita, Kansas, US
Political partyRepublican

Thompson was a longtime weather forecaster for television stations in the Kansas City television market. He was the chief meteorologist for WDAF-TV in Kansas City from January 1992 to December 2018. Prior to WDAF-TV, he was the chief meteorologist for KCTV from 1983 to 1992 as well as a meteorologist for KOKH-TV and KWTV in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and WPCQ-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina. He studied meteorology in the United States Navy and was a Navy weather forecaster. He grew up in Burlington, Kansas and was born in Wichita.[3] Thompson currently operates a speaking and weather consulting business in the Kansas City region and resides in Shawnee, Kansas.[4]

Thompson was chosen for his seat in the Kansas Senate by Republican Party precinct committeepersons in Johnson County to complete the final year on Pilcher-Cook's term. He faces an August 2020 Republican primary challenge from Republican state Representative Tom Cox in a campaign for a full four-year term in the Senate. Democratic Shawnee Councilwoman Lindsey Constance was not challenged for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat.[5][6]

Explaining his vote to deny former federal public defender Carl Folsom an appointment to the state court of appeals, Thompson the weatherman said, "This is not a place for on-the-job training. This is a situation where, if you make a bad decision, it affects someone's life."[7] Four District Attorneys signed a statementhttps://www.cjonline.com/news/20200603/kansas-senate-swiftly-rejects-gov-laura-kellyrsquos-nominee-for-court-of-appeals Kansas Senate swiftly rejects Gov. Laura Kelly’s nomination that disputed the senate's complaint, extolling Folsom's qualifications.[8]

2019-2020 Kansas Senate Committee Assignments[9]

  • Commerce
  • Education
  • Public Health and Welfare
  • Judiciary
Preceded by
Mary Pilcher-Cook		 Kansas Senate Senator from the 10th District
January 21, 2020 - Present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent

References
  1. 41 Action News Staff (2016-04-05). "Former metro meteorologist elected to Kansas state Senate". kshb.com. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  2. "January 21, 2020 Journal of the Kansas Senate" (PDF). Kansas Senate. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  3. "Mike Thompson Biography" (PDF). Mike Thompson LLC. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  4. "Mike Thompson LLC". Mike Thompson LLC. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  5. Sarah Ritter (2019-12-31). "Longtime Kansas City meteorologist, Republican Mike Thompson, running for Kansas Senate". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  6. Jay Senter (2019-05-07). "Rep. Tom Cox announces he's running for Mary Pilcher-Cook's seat in Kansas Senate". Shawnee Mission Post. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  7. Kansas Senate swiftly rejects Gov. Laura Kelly’s nominee for Court of Appeals, Capital Journal, Tim Carpenter June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  8. Four DAs: Kansas Senate’s rejection of court nominee was 'just plain wrong', Wichita Eagle, Marc Bennett, Charles Branson, Mark Dupree and Susan Richmeier, June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  9. "Senator Mike Thompson". Kslegislature.org. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
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