KVSV

O'Malley announces run for Governor in Beloit Thursday morning October 12th

 

Ed O’Malley Opens Run for Kansas Governorship in Downtown Beloit

 

By Terry Bailey

 

October 12, 2017

 


 

Ed O’Malley officially announced his candidacy for Kansas Governor in downtown Beloit Thursday morning, October 12th. A crowd of between 30 and 40 local citizens gathered on the cool, windy morning to listen to O’Malley outline his aspirations for the State’s highest elected office.

 

O’Malley, a native of Shawnee Mission, is a graduate of Kansas State University. He was a member of the Kansas House of Representative from 2003 until 2006. In 2006 he assumed the presidency of the Kansas Leadership Center in Wichita and has served in that capacity since that time.

 

O’Malley noted it might be easier to keep track of who isn’t running for Governor than who is in the race. Currently there are four Republicans officially announced for the race with five expected to enter the competition. Two Democrats have officially announced their candidacy with at least two others expected to announce.

 

There is a division between rural and urban Kansas, observed O’Malley. He said, “When I went to K-State there were a lot of students from the urban areas of the state. However, many of them had grandparents or uncles or other relatives still on the farm. There was a connection there. Now that connection has been broken. Kids grow up in the city and their parents grew up in the city. The generation that kept things connected is gone.”

 

O’Malley said that for the past 8 years Kansas has had a Governor who has been a divisive leader rather than one who brought folks together. Brownback’s experiment with trickle-down economics led to the biggest tax cuts in the history of the state. Within two years the state experienced the largest budget deficit ever.

 

Three major points make up the major ideas of O’Malley’s platform.

 

#1 He believes Kansans are hungry for a leader with vision and dreams for a better Kansas. One of the strongest points of Kansas is its educational system. Good schools fuel the economy. We need to maintain the role of education in building a stronger dynamic state.

 

#2 Kansas needs to transform its rate of growth to fund important areas. He noted riots that are occurring in our prisons, kids getting lost in the foster care system, and KDOT attempting to do more with less money. O’Malley stressed that the State legislators needs to work together to deliver necessary services that people want at less cost.

 

#3 “The atmosphere in the state government has been very divisive over the past eight years,” said O’Malley. “We cannot afford to continue that way. The Republicans and the Democrats must find a way to partner and work toward a common goal. We need to foster a leadership style that works toward that goal.

 

O’Malley and his wife Joanna reside in Wichita with their three children. In her introductory remarks, Mrs. O’Malley said they met on the school bus in the seventh grade. They have been together ever since that time. Joanna O’Malley and Heather Heidrick Johnson were sorority sisters at K-State where they both majored in education.

 

After the gathering in Beloit the O’Malley’s were headed to Dodge City and Garden City for meetings in those communities.

 

 

Other News

Like us on Facebook! Job Hub
Beloit, KS 67420, USA