Marti Crow, District 41
Biography
Rep. Marti Crow has lived in Leavenworth since 1974. She was born in Bryan, Texas, on December 7, 1944, while her dad was training pilots for World War II. Similar to many Leavenworth communities, Marti grew up moving around the United States and the world in a military family. She graduated from high school in Belton, Missouri while her dad was stationed at Richards Gebaur Air Force Base.
After completing high school, Marti decided to make Kansas her permanent home. She graduated with honors from Baker University in 1966 with a B.A. in secondary education with a concentration in English and social science.
After college, Marti taught 8th grade English and American History from 1966 to 1968 in Shawnee Mission school district. In 1968, Marti and Mike Crow were married and Mike entered the Army. Mike was wounded in Vietnam and the Crows spent 8 months in San Antonio while Mike recovered at Brooke General Hospital.
In 1974, soon after Mike graduated, the Crows moved to Leavenworth and Mike began his law practice. Marti devoted her time and energy from 1974 until 1990 to raising her children. Marti also became a dedicated community leader. She served on the Leavenworth City Planning Commission and the Leavenworth City Board of Zoning Appeals for 17 years, including several years as Chairman of each city zoning board.
Marti was elected and served on the Leavenworth School Board for USD 453 for over 13 years, including four years as president. She represented the Leavenworth Public Schools at many regional and state school board meetings and two national conferences. In 1986, Marti was selected as a member of the 1986 Leadership Kansas Class by the Kansas Association of Commerce and Industry. She was a member of the founding board of Leadership Leavenworth Lansing, which crafted the local leadership program at the Leavenworth-Lansing Chamber of Commerce.
In 1990, Marti entered Washburn Law School at the age of 46 to obtain her juris doctor. While at Washburn, she wrote an article that was published in the Washburn Law Journal in 1991 about the Kansas divorce code. She also served as an editor of the Washburn Law Journal in 1992. In December, 1992, Marti graduated magna cum laude and ranked 4th in her class. She was sworn into the Kansas Bar in April of 1993.
After law school, Marti worked for the Kansas Department of Revenue for a short time and then transferred to the Department of Health and Environment where she worked as an Environmental Planning Consultant for the Director of Environment. In February 1995, Marti joined the Crow, Clothier & Associates law firm, where she continues to practice law. She served on the Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission from 1993-1999, appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court. She was chairman of the Commission from 1997 until 1999.
In 1996, Marti was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives to represent the 41st District in Leavenworth and has been re-elected to six terms. She presently serves on the House Education Committee, the House Judiciary Committee and the House Corrections & Juvenile Justice Committee.
During the 2005 session Marti served on the Select Committee on School Finance. She is now a member of the Joint Committee on Childrens' Issues. Marti is also a member of the leadership team for the House Democratic Caucus, serving a Agenda Chairman. She has served as ranking Democrat on the Joint Committee on Claims Against the State and as a member of the Special Joint Committee on School Finance, a Special Committee on Tobacco Settlement Funds, and subcommittees on KAN-ED, a proposal to connect all Kansas school districts and public library with a telecommunications backbone; a bill to rewrite Kansas special education law; a bill to create a state postsecondary education savings program and subcommittees on powers of attorney, guardian and conservatorships and protection from abuse orders.
Throughout her 12 years in the Legislature, Marti has been a strong voice for the Leavenworth community and has worked hard to stand up for the issues most important to families in House District 41. In addition to working for adequate education funding, Marti has fought to extend state services for Kansas military service members and veterans, including protection from identity theft by allowing those who have had a breach of private information to obtain a credit freeze. She has repeatedly been recognized for her outstanding attendance and voting records in the Legislature and achieved perfect attendance 10 consecutive years. In 2008, Marti managed to serve her district steadily while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
