Cheryl Helmer

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Cheryl Helmer
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
from the 79th district
Assumed office
January 14, 2019
Preceded byEd Trimmer
Personal details
Political partyRepublican

Cheryl Helmer is an American politician and educator currently serving as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives as the representative from the 79th District. A former school counselor in Wichita, Kansas, she defeated Democratic Rep. Ed Trimmer in the 2018 election. She is a resident of Mulvane, Kansas.[1]

Kansas House of Representatives[]

2019-2020 Kansas House of Representatives Committee Assignments[2]

  • General Government Budget
  • Education
  • Rural Revitalization

Controversy[]

Her career as a politician has been fraught with controversy, due to her racist and anti-LGBTQ remarks. As an example, she blamed a break-in at her home on an influx of illegal immigrants, although her house is in a heavily trafficked area, near a casino in Mulvane, Kansas. She insisted without any evidence that the incident was due to nearby Wichita, Kansas being a "sanctuary city".[3] [4] [5]

She has also targeted the LGBTQ+ community. She once famously sponsored a bill that referenced same-sex marriage as "parody marriage" and offered support for conversion therapy and other anti-LGBTQ provisions. [6] [7] [8] When called out on this, she claimed to not have read the bill that she was sponsoring. [9]

Representative Helmer attracted national attention during the COVID-19 pandemic when she requested that Kansas Governor (of the opposing party) produce information on the Governor's hairstyling. “I am respectfully requesting the name and Kansas license No. of the hairdresser who has touched, colored, cut, performed any service on or with Governor Laura Kelly’s hair since March 12,” Helmer said. Governor Kelly later shared that her husband has been cutting her hair during the suspension of services from professional hairstylists.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ Courier Traveler Staff (2018-03-01). "Helmer seeks House seat". Courier Traveler. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  2. ^ "Representative Cheryl Helmer". Kslegislature.org. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  3. ^ "State lawmaker tells Sen. Moran that Wichita is a sanctuary city. She's wrong". Wichita Eagle Beacon. 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  4. ^ "Rep. Cheryl Helmer taking heat for comment made about Wichita being a sanctuary city at Moran town hall meeting". Sumner New Cow. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  5. ^ "Helmer defends comments on sanctuary status". Courier Traveler. 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  6. ^ "Kansas House Bill 2321". Kansas State Legislature. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  7. ^ "Kansas bill calls LGBTQ a religion, same-sex unions 'parody marriages'". KWCH 12. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  8. ^ "'Vile, hateful and disrespectful': LGBTQ lobbyists blast attempt to undermine legitimacy of Kansas same-sex marriages". The Topeka Capital Journal. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  9. ^ "Freshman lawmaker said she didn't fully review anti-gay marriage proposal". Courier Traveler. 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  10. ^ "Kansas coronavirus update: GOP leaders unhappy with pace of Gov. Laura Kelly's strategy for opening businesses". Leavenworth Times. 2020-05-01. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
Preceded by Kansas House of Representatives Representative from the 79th District
2019 - Present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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