ELLY GRIMM

   • Leader & Times

The field of candidates for Kansas’ next governor is quite full, and among the candidates is Curt Skoog, who is currently serving as mayor of Overland Park.

Like the other candidates, Skoog’s Kansas roots run deep.

“I grew up in Topeka, and met my wife in high school there, and work brought me to Overland Park about 31 years ago,” Skoog said. “For the most part, my career has been in management and business development, and I started my public service working for the Shawnee Mission school district. They had advisory boards that were elected positions at that time, and then in 2005 I was elected to the Overland Park City Council, representing Ward Two, where I served for 16 years until Mayor Carl Gerlach decided not to run for re-election. Then, five years ago I ran for mayor of Overland Park for the first time, and then just won reelection this past November.”

Like many of this year’s other political candidates, Skoog said recent events sparked his decision to run for higher political office.

“I got through my election this past November and watched the dysfunctional legislature work through winter and spring, and I noticed they were not accomplishing much of anything or solving problems for Kansans,” Skoog said. “In addition, I saw the dysfunction of the Senate President Ty Masterson and the lack of transparency and lack of process, and it was very concerning. I was watching all of that. After a while, and after calling people all over the state to get their input, they suggested I consider running for governor. During all of the discussions that I was having around the state, President Trump decided to endorse Ty Masterson on the Republican side of this primary. So far, Trump has been very successful at getting his candidates through primaries, and the combination of the two existing Democratic candidates not getting very much traction, and the likelihood of Ty Masterson being the Republican nominee, that really was the last draw that pushed me over the edge. I've watched how he leads the Kansas Senate, and I don't think that's the way the Kansans want their state to be run. As mayor, my job is to build consensus in the community and get things done, and that's what I think the governor should do for the state of Kansas and lead this state forward. We need to build a build a state and build up all the communities so our children and grandchildren want to stay and come back. So at the beginning of this month, Dr. Jen McKenney and I filed to run as a team, and we’ve had a great reception since we announced everything.”

Skoog said there are many improvements to be made throughout the state, particularly in regard to healthcare.

“There are so many things that need to be accomplished. Medicare expansion is a key part of that. My running mate, who is from Fredonia, is a family practice doctor, a small business owner, a community builder, as well as an expert on rural health care, so I really look forward to bringing her into the administration to help lead those important discussions,” Skoog said. “We need to stop closing hospitals, we need more doctors, we need to improve remote telehealth, telehealth, all the different options to make sure Kansans in Liberal and across the rest of the state have the same level of care as we do in Overland Park and in Wichita.”

Skoog’s time on the campaign trail has been short so far, and he said he is looking forward to talking with Kansans throughout the state.

“I've been around the state many times throughout my whole life. My father was an engineer and an attorney, and his father worked for what was then the Kansas Highway Commission,, so I've grown up traveling the state and seeing the state,” Skoog said. “I also did Leadership Kansas, which was another exposure to all the different parts of the state. What people will find is my favorite part of being a public servant is talking with people and listening to what issues are occurring in their community. Every community has their own personality, and I always believe my job is to help those communities fulfill their dreams and their objectives, whether it’s a county of 20,000-plus people, a city of 500 people or an entire region. The question becomes, how do we work together as Kansans to fulfill our ambitions of what we want to be so we have great education, connectivity and community, and good jobs? Those are all key things to the success of any community, and what I've been focused on here in Overland Park is building a strong community that can thrive, and I want to do that for the whole state.”

Skoog also offered encouragement for constituents to contact him with questions and concerns.

“Our campaign Web site is curtskoog.com, and that features opportunities to ask us questions and learn more about me and Jen, and what our plan is for the future of Kansas,” Skoog said. “Our campaign is about connecting with the best ways through our website. We'll be traveling the state to have those one-on-one conversations, but we welcome anybody's questions, and we'll get them answered. We also expect there'll be lots of phone calls, and I'm a person that believes in connecting with people face to face or over a phone, so people can also get in touch with me that way. We’re working on finalizing our tour schedule right now, and anyone who wants to keep up with that can do so throughout social media pages.”

Should he ultimately be elected, Skoog said he is ready to get to work.

“The response we've gotten has been amazing. I did a lot of work before the announcement to make sure this made sense and it was the right choice for the Democratic Party and the right choice for Kansas overall,” Skoog said. “We're getting an outstanding response, we are confident we have a path to a victory in November, and we’re looking forward to getting out there talking with people.”