Only a small percentage of Shawnee citizens cast a ballot in a local election each year.
A typical city council meeting attracts very few residents.
And less than a year ago, Shawnee mom Sarah Chou couldn’t have told you the names of the elected officials who represent her ward.
When her life was nearly turned upside down because of a single phone call, however, she found herself in the midst of an unexpected civics lesson, and on the path to changing a city law.
For the past five years, Chou has been a successful professional photographer, with a home-based studio. Marie Photography became so successful, and with another daughter on the way, the Chou family realized they needed a bigger house with better studio space. They fell in love with a gorgeous home in a wooded Shawnee neighborhood and moved there earlier this year.
Chou received the green light from her new homeowners association, and the state of Kansas, to conduct her in-home photography studio.
Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to Chou to contact her new city government.
(Read more: The Dispatch stories)