John Albert Potucek (July 17, 1901 - June 26, 1982) was a lawyer and state legislator in Kansas. He served in the Kansas Senate from 1945 to 1960. He lived in the city of Wellington.[1]

Biography

Potucek was born July 17, 1901, on a farm in Sumner County, Kansas.[1][2] His parents were Joseph and Louisa Potucek, and he had an older sister Adelaide and two younger siblings Lona and Joseph.[3] He went to the University of Kansas and received his law degree before obtaining the bar in 1924.[2]

Although he was a Democrat, he was invited to run for county attorney on the Republican ticket in 1924, but refused, saying he would wait to run as a Democrat.[2] He ran in 1928 but was defeated by the Republican candidate. He ran again in 1930 and won.[2] He was efficient in the role, prosecuting 300 cases in his first four months and winning all but four.[2] In total he was elected as county attorney five times.[2]

He refused to take several thousand dollars in $25 fees for convicting liquor law violations, saying "the taxpayers don't have to bribe me to do my job."[2]

In 1944 he was elected to the Kansas Senate, beating the incumbent Republican Otto B. Wenrich 4,755 to 4,350 votes. He was the only Democratic senator that session.[4]

He entered the race for governor of Kansas in 1946 but withdrew to focus on the Senate.[5] He stood again for the governorship in 1950,[6] but lost the Democratic primary to Ken Anderson, who he immediately started supporting. Anderson eventually lost to the Republican candidate Frank L. Hagaman.[7]

Potucek stood for re-election to the Senate in 1960 and lost to Republican Ford Harbaugh.[8]

Potucek served as a district judge,[9] and he later returned to the position of county attorney and served till he resigned in 1975 to take the new position of county counselor.[10]

Potucek married Vera Epperson on February 16, 1935,[11] and died June 26, 1982.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Kansas Legislators: Past and Present • State Library of Kansas • CivicEngage". kslib.info.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "He Refused Those $25 Fees, So They Send Him to Senate". The Kansas City Star. 19 November 1944. p. 16. Retrieved 18 November 2023. Open access icon
  3. ↑ Kansas, U.S., State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009.
  4. ↑ "Single Demo in Kansas Senate". The Parsons Sun. 10 November 1944. p. 1. Retrieved 18 November 2023. Open access icon
  5. ↑ "Potucek Steps out of Race for Place on Democrat Slate". The Wichita Eagle. 4 July 1946. p. 1. Retrieved 18 November 2023. Open access icon
  6. ↑ "Sen. John Potucek Governor Candidate". The Catholic Advance. 7 July 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Potucek for Anderson". The Wichita Beacon. 2 August 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  8. ↑ "State Legislature to Include Many New Faces, Same Political Ratio". Great Bend Tribune. 10 November 1960. p. 13. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "P. G. Price made coroner by Judge Potucek". The Wichita Eagle. 26 January 1965. p. 9. Retrieved 18 November 2023. Open access icon
  10. ↑ "People and Places in Kansas". The Wichita Eagle. 3 March 1975. p. 10. Retrieved 18 November 2023. Open access icon
  11. ↑ "Married Saturday: Vera Epperson and John A Potucek". The Wichita Beacon. 19 February 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Deaths and Services: John Albert Potucek". The Wichita Eagle. 29 June 1982. p. 11. Retrieved 18 November 2023. Open access icon
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