ALUMNI NEWS
STRAIGHT TO THE STATEHOUSE
T
Emily Perry, L’12
40 KU LAW MAGAZINE
aking the bar exam is stressful enough, but Emily Perry passed the test just six weeks after throwing her hat into the ring for a Kansas House seat. Perry, a Democrat from Overland Park, Kan., had been considering a legislative career since her undergraduate days in the social welfare program at Miami University (Ohio), but she didn’t anticipate diving in directly out of law school. When a court decision shifted the boundaries and opened up a seat, however, Perry figured she had nothing to lose. “Even if it didn’t work out, I was going to learn a lot and meet a lot of people,” she said. But it did work out — after months of campaigning — and Perry is wrapping up her first legislative session as the representative for the 24th district. She served on the Judiciary and the Federal and State Affairs committees, and was the ranking minority leader on the Transportation Committee, an unusual role for a freshman legislator. Perry campaigned on the goal of restoring funding that was cut to public education and hoped to make strides on that issue during the session. Despite a ruling by a threejudge district court panel that current levels of state school funding violate the Kansas Constitution and deprive students of suitable educations, Perry said no bills were heard in any House or Senate committees to significantly raise K-12 funding. The case is now before the Kansas Supreme Court. As for higher education, Perry reported at the time of this publication that more funding cuts appeared eminent. Over the past five years, higher education state funding has been reduced by 15 percent. “In my opinion, the reason people come back to Kansas City or other places in Kansas is partially because
of the great education their children can get,” she said. “I love Kansas City, and I want to spend the rest of my life in Kansas. If our education system goes, people aren’t going to want to come to Kansas anymore.” Perry grew up in Johnson County and attended Shawnee Mission East High School. Both of her parents graduated from KU, and her father, Bill Perry, is a 1975 alumnus of KU Law. Perry graduated with her J.D. in May 2012. While in law school, she competed in the school’s in-house moot court competition and served as associate chief justice on Traffic Court, recruitment chair for Phi Alpha Delta, and a member of Women in Law. She also worked as a summer clerk for Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP in 2011 and as a legal intern at the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas in 2010. The State Library of Kansas confirmed that Perry is the secondyoungest woman ever elected to the Kansas House. She has taken that opportunity seriously and learned a lot about all sorts of political issues during her first session. She said her experiences at KU Law — including earning the Advocacy Certificate — served her well in the Statehouse. “The bills that came through my committees varied in topic and length, and many issues were brand new to me,” she said. “I honestly believe the advocacy classes and my participation in the Legal Aid Clinic at KU Law helped me discuss these issues effectively. Not every argument has been successful, but that is part of the process.” n — By Mindie Paget On Twitter: @perryforkansas