By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

A former Kansas lawmaker and current head of the Kansas Leadership Center is exploring the idea of running for governor in two years and is crisscrossing the state to find out what Kansans are looking for in the next governor.

Last week, Ed O’Malley hosted a town hall discussion at the Hays Arts Council and said a common theme that he is hearing from people all over the state is there is a need to come together and compromise to get things accomplished.

“The main things we’re hearing almost every stop is the need for people to sit down together from different perspectives and come up with solutions that can move the state forward,” he said.

O’Malley grew up in Johnson County and after graduating from Kansas State University worked for Kansas Gov. Bill Graves as director of constituent services. He said they answered questions and helped people who had complaints and were frustrated with the government.

He was then elected twice to the Kansas Legislature, representing northeast Johnson County before stepping down in 2006 to move to Wichita and run the Kansas Leadership Center. O’Malley is the president and chief executive office of the KLC.

“We spend a lot of our time encouraging people to step up and take a risk and see what they can do for their community or their state and I figured we each have to practice what we preach,” he said.

O’Malley calls the listening tour an “honest exploration.”

He is using the town hall meetings and roundtables to reach out to Kansans and find out what is on their minds and what they are looking for in the next governor.

“We are really trying to listen and to learn and try to make sure we understand what are Kansans wanting and needing,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley plans to make stops across Kansas over the three months and said he anticipates making a decision on whether to run for governor sometime this summer.