Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley (D) will be challenging Representative Vick Hartzler (r) in the 4th Congressional District.

We received the following via e-mail (not from Teresa Hensley’s campaign):

Cass County Prosecutor Teresa Hensley

Teresa Hensley is the Prosecuting Attorney for Cass County, where she has built a record of protecting our community by convicting child abusers, drunk drivers and domestic violence offenders. A native of Cass County, she is active in her church, supports 2nd Amendment rights, and supports local small businesses through her work with the chamber of commerce. Hensley will provide a strong independent voice for the middle class. She believes it’s wrong for politicians in Washington to be more concerned with scoring political points and looking out for special interests than getting things done for the people they represent. In Congress, Hensley will work with anyone from any party to jumpstart our economy.

Teresa Hensley has deep roots in Cass County.  A life-long resident, she graduated from Raymore-Peculiar High School before earning a BA degree from William Jewell College and a law degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City.

Hensley remains active in the day-to-day life of the community.  She was a former Raymore Alderman, former Raymore Planning and Zoning Board member, and former member of the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board.  As a former member of Hope Haven of Cass County, she remains active with the Domestic Violence Coalition.  She is a member of the Bel-Ray Sunrise Lions Club, a Paul Harris Fellow through the Harrisonville Rotary, a member of Harrisonville Business and Professional Women, Harrisonville and Raymore Chamber of Commerce, and a life-long member of the St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

She grew up in Cass County where her parents and family still reside.  She opened a law office with her husband Kenny Hensley in 1991 in Raymore and was there until she became Prosecutor in 2005.  Kenny and Teresa have one son, Frank, age 28 living in Los Angeles, California.

Hensley is a certified family law mediator, she has taught criminal law at William Jewell College and before becoming Cass County Prosecutor was a partner and practicing attorney for fourteen years with the Hensley Law Firm in Raymore with her husband, Kenny.

She was appointed to the position of Cass County Prosecutor in January of 2005 and was elected to the position in November of 2006 and again in 2010, for a four year term beginning January 2011.  Hensley recently received the 2010 Missouri Attorney General’s Justice Award for Domestic Violence Prevention.

The contrast between candidates couldn’t be more jarring.