Annie Kuether, District 55
Biography
Annie Kuether was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1996. The District she serves encompasses 11 historic neighborhoods, downtown Topeka, Washburn University, the Kansas State Capitol, Colmery-O'Neil Veterans Center, and our public library.
Representative Kuether is the Ranking Democratic Member on the House Energy and Utilites Committee. She also serves on the House Judiciary Committee, and a member on the Special Committee on Utilities. She is a legislative member of the Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Advisory Group (KEEP), the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority (KETA), and the Kansas Film Commission. She has served as chair of the bipartisan Shawnee County Legislative Delegation three times and is the past president of the Womens' Legislative Network of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Annie serves on the Executive Committee of the Kansas State Historical Society and as Secretary of the Friends of Cedar Crest Association, Inc.
Representative Kuether has lived in the District she represents for more than 3 decades. She was born on March 20, 1952 in Webster Groves, Missouri. In 1976, she married John Kuether, a professor of law at Washburn University and a Vietnam War veteran.
Their children, Rebecca and Ted, attended Randolph Elementary, Robinson Middle and Topeka High Schools - at which Annie was a loyal volunteer. Both children participated in scouting; Ted earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Annie was a board member as well as a troop leader for both our Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts Area Councils. Ted now works as a health care internet technologies recruiter in Overland Park, Kansas. Rebecca married Joe Bealmear in 2007 and both practice law in St. Louis, Missouri.
John Kuether died of cancer in 1999 at the age of 55. He would be proud of the people his children have become and he was always Annie's biggest fan. The Kuether family also includes 2 border collies - Stirling McBean and Boo Who Radley.
