(Updated to include reaction from the governor, legislators and longtime friend)
Republican state Rep. Russ Jennings, one of the last leading moderates in the Kansas House with a career devoted to the criminal justice system, died Wednesday morning after a battle with cancer. He was 66.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. announced Jennings’ passing to House members early this afternoon.
“Over the past few months, he has fought hard through treatments and embraced every minute with his family,” Ryckman said in a statement.
“Every time we talked after a treatment, he was motivated and inspired to fight this thing, to enjoy life and to finish out his term. But, God had other plans.”
Jennings ran against Ryckman for House speaker in 2016 and later kept his chairmanship of the corrections committee.
“It was no secret that Russ and I had our differences,” the speaker said.
“But, his character was such that we could disagree on an issue and still have a laugh and a mutual respect for each other at the end of the day,” Ryckman said.
“That kind of character is a rare find, and one of the many qualities for which he will be missed.”
Last July, Jennings announced that he would not seek a sixth term in the Kansas House so he could focus on his battle with cancer.
Jennings’ death came a little more than a year after his good friend, former Rep. Leonard Mastroni, died.
“I intend to focus on my treatment, my family and living my life as productively as possible one day at a time,” Jennings wrote at the time.
“Please say a prayer for me and my family, that we might have the strength needed for this journey, that the path be clear and that the burden be lightened from their aching hearts,” Jennings said.
“God’s mercy knows no bounds and I trust God will be with us on this difficult journey,” he said.
Jennings wife, Judy, shared news of her husband’s death on Facebook.
“It is with great sadness we inform you of the death of our beloved husband and father,” she posted.
“He was loved and cherished by many. He is at peace and gained his wings into heaven,” she wrote.
Gov. Laura Kelly announced Wednesday that flags on all state buildings would be flown at half-staff in Jennings’ honor.
“I will miss him, and I know others in the state Capitol and throughout his district will too,” Kelly said in a statement.
“Russ and I shared a commitment to reforming the Kansas criminal justice system, particularly our juvenile justice system,” Kelly said.
“His commitment to public service, his mastery of the subject matter, and his boundless tenacity made him a natural leader, well-respected by his colleagues and his constituents,” she said.
Jennings brought more than three decades of experience in criminal and juvenile justice to the Legislature.
The Lakin lawmaker had served as a deputy sheriff in Kearny County, director of the Southwest Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Center, a district magistrate judge and as a member of the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority.
Jennings also served on various community and professional boards including the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Sex Offender Policy Board and the Substance Abuse Policy Board.
Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes expressed sadness over Jennings’ death.
“The state of Kansas has lost one of our finest with the passing of Rep. Russ Jennings,” Sykes tweeted.
“He was a kind, compassionate man who fought hard for commonsense policies to improved the lives of Kansas kids,” she posted.
Republican state Sen. John Doll came to the Legislature with Jennings in 2012 when he was first elected to the Kansas House.
He thought of Jennings as a big brother because of his earlier work in state government with the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority.
He said Jennings would kind of pick on him in the way a big brother might treat a little brother.
“Russ was a very intelligent, a very pragamtic guy,” Doll said. “He was a solution finder. If you presented a problem to him, he could figure it out.”
As much as Jennings might have been considered a moderate Republican, he could “be as conservative as anybody,” Doll said.
Doll called him an “unbelievable family man,” something evident on his Facebook page where a couple weeks ago he posted a picture of his daughters holding signs from a Chiefs game advocating the fight against cancer.
Jennings post was simple: “Love these girls so much.”
“Everytime you’d talk to him, he’d talk about his kids, his wife,” Doll said. “He was just a great guy.”
Johnson County political consultant Stephanie Sharp, a native of western Kansas, had known Jennings for years.
She had published his newsletter for about a decade. She described him as a straight talker with a judicious temperment.
“I think what people will miss is his ability to be very forthright – western Kanas no-nonsense – but also have the ability to speak truth to power in a respectful way,” Sharp said in an interview.
“He was a guy who made things happen but never sought the spotlight,” Sharp said,
“I’ve been trying to find pictures of his legisative career…and he was hard to get pictures out of because he wasn’t the guy who stepped in front of the camera all the time,” she said.
“He would alway forget to get pictures with constituents because they were just neighbors and friends. He didn’t think to get a picture of them when they were up at the Capitol,” she said.
Jennings represented House District 122, which covers a swath of southwest Kansas including parts of Greeley, Hamilton, Kearny, Finney, Grant and Haskell counties.
The district is heavily Republican with 74% of voters going for President Donald Trump last year and 71% going for Republican Roger Marshall in the U.S. Senate race.
Conservative Lakin attorney Kenny Estes has already announced plans to run for Jennings’ seat next year and would figure to seek the seat when Republican precinct leaders fill the position.
