A former state lawmaker from Wichita is laying the groundwork for a possible campaign to be the next governor of Kansas.
Ed O’Malley is the president and founder of the nonprofit Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) in Wichita. The KLC, which is one of KMUW's corporate supporters, offers training in strategic planning, community organizing and advocacy.
He launched an exploratory campaign for the 2018 governor’s race on Thursday.
"To me, what I’m trying to test is…is there support for a candidate like me, a candidate that is interested in bringing diverse viewpoints together, to find solutions together?" O'Malley says.
O’Malley, a Republican, represented Kansas House District 24 in Johnson County for two terms and also worked for former Kansas Gov. Bill Graves.
He left the Kansas House of Representatives ten years ago to create the Kansas Leadership Center.
"I think we all have to do more," O'Malley says. "We all have to find what can we do to help the community, to help our state and I’m exploring to see if this might be an avenue for me to serve Kansas in a different way."
O’Malley says he plans to hold town hall meetings and roundtable discussions throughout the state in the coming months.
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Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar.
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