By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Although he’s never held public office, Ryan Rymer knows leadership.
Rymer is an ER nurse at Russell Regional Hospital and a longtime Army nurse reservist with a unit in Topeka. He’s held various leadership positions including company commander.
“I’ve had some challenging roles put upon me that I think I did fairly well at,” Rymer says. “Leadership, and certainly having a military background, gives me a set of tenets and beliefs that I think translate well.”
Living on 37th Street, Rymer initially became interested in running for a seat on the Hays city commission when he learned the North Vine Street Corridor Improvement project could impact his residential neighborhood.
“It seems a little excessive but hopefully there’s some wiggle room where we can get some compromises and actually come up with some good solutions that benefit both the citizens of the neighborhoods and the business proprietors in Hays.”
But what really compelled Rymer to run, he says, was the interaction he had with the city commission when he presented a petition with 200 signatures in May.
“We thought it was a good move forward and they might have a positive reaction and possibly hear alternative plans. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears.
“We were berated by some city leaders, mocked by others, and I felt those weren’t the qualities of a leader that this city deserves. I realized I’ve got the qualities that I think can do better than that.”
Rymer and his wife Alicia, an occupational therapist at HaysMed, have two children. Garrett is a freshman at Fort Hays State University and Audrey is a Hays High freshman.
The family moved from Wichita to Hays in 1997. Rymer, 45, has never looked back. “It’s a great place to raise children,” he says, “and hopefully with those who came before me offering sage advice, we can make good things happen for the city of Hays.”
One of those good things would be more affordable housing, according to Rymer.
“I think if we’re going to attract people to move to Hays, whether it be incoming businesses, a distributorship, maybe even retail, that they would want their employees to have a good availability of housing.
“Retail sales, I think, will be largely dependent upon population and growing economy.”
The city’s general fund is primarily funded by a retail sales tax.
Rymer believes attracting jobs to Hays that pay higher wages along with more affordable housing will “give more people the option to go out and spend money, putting money back into our economy that Hays so direly needs.”
The top two city commission candidates will serve for four years, while the third-place vote-getter will serve for two years.
Advanced voting is underway. The election is Nov. 5.