Janeth Vázquez, Leading with Resilience

Liberal Kansas | October 3, 2025

By Claudia Amaro

Janeth Vazquez, Liberal City Commissioner. Picture taken from her social media

During the July 4 celebration in Liberal, where almost two-thirds of residents are Latino, an incident caused widespread anger. A float, registered to a local resident, displayed a sign calling for Commissioner Janeth Vázquez and Mayor José Lara to resign. Vázquez later confirmed the registration details with assistance from the local newspaper.

For Vázquez, the first Latina woman elected to office in Liberal in 2020, the message was personal and racial.“¿What is the only other thing distinguishing José and me—that we’re Latino? It’s obvious it’s a racist attack, but they don’t want to admit it,” she said.

Screenshot taken from a video of Liberal's 4th of July parade circulating on social media.

From Personal Injustice to Public Service

Vázquez, originally from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, migrated to the U.S. at age 3. Her life has been shaped by struggle. When she started college, her father was deported, forcing her to work to support her mother and sisters. That hardship sparked her determination to make a difference and protect immigrant families.

The turning point came in 2020, when she saw the Liberal Police Department using taxpayer resources to enforce federal immigration laws. She brought her concerns to the commissioners but was ignored and even ridiculed. In response, she promised, “I'm going to come back and I'm going to take your place.”

Later that year, she won the election, proving that grassroots campaigns rooted in direct connection with working-class voters can expand Latino participation.

Community Response to Intimidation

Since announcing her candidacy, Vázquez has faced ongoing harassment, including threatening phone calls and death threats. She maintains that these attacks go beyond politics and reflect deeper community challenges.

Audé Negrete, executive director of The Kansas Latino Community Network (KLCN), a Latino-led nonprofit founded in 2023, says Latino elected officials often face discrimination and misinformation, which impacts the broader community’s trust and participation.

Vázquez warns that her experience reflects what immigrant families endure daily.“If they treat me like this and I'm a political figure, part of the government, imagine how they treat an ordinary immigrant family in our community,” she said.

Representation Gaps and Structural Barriers

Structural barriers and low political representation compound the challenges.

Local reporting in 2021 (Lawrence Times) found that of 3,804 municipal offices in Kansas, only four were held by Latinos—a snapshot underscoring the starkness of the gap. Representation is also scarce on school boards, even in districts where Latino students make up more than 60% of enrollment.

At-large election systems also dilute Latino voting power in counties like Seward and Ford, where Latinos are the majority.

Vázquez laments the community's apathy, “Unfortunately, many of them don't go out to vote or run for leadership positions."

Turnout among eligible Latino voters remains much lower than among whites. In Seward County, local turnout has been as low as 27% in recent elections.“By not voting, it is also giving the vote to the opposite party," Vazquez said.

The Path of Resilience and Leadership

Despite Kansas’ conservative landscape, Vázquez points to tangible achievements. During her tenure, she has supported fiscal responsibility by not raising taxes for three years and championed housing development. She is seeking reelection and has long-term ambitions for state or congressional office.

“We need more Janeths, more Josés, more Latino leaders,” she said, emphasizing the role of local leadership in making important decisions in the community, such as whether police cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Hope for Organization and Civic Engagement

Community organizations like KLCN are working to dismantle barriers through leadership training and civic engagement, encouraging local residents to participate actively in shaping Kansas’ future.

“True leadership is service: the act of helping others and giving back to the community," said Audé Negrete, KLCN's executive director. "The organization seeks to retrain our community to see leadership not as a role, but as practice."

Vázquez argues that grassroots campaigns and civic education are vital for strengthening community voices. She calls for unity: “We must come together to send a strong signal that we are not going to allow that anymore. They think there aren't many who are there to help immigrants, but there are more of us than they think.”

For Negrete, political participation, defense of leaders, and voter turnout are essential for “Latino families in Kansas not only to survive but to thrive.”