Election time will be here soon, and one of the major offices that will be on the ballot will be for Kansas Attorney General, and Chris Mann is one of the candidates for that office.
As Mann tells it, it took a bit of time for him to officially decide to throw his name in the mix.
“I ran for Kansas Attorney General back in 2022 for the first time because I really saw a need to bring that office back to its priorities such as upholding the rule of law, supporting law enforcement throughout the state (especially in rural communities) and protecting Kansas families,” Mann said. “If anything, not only has that goal not changed, but that desire has become even stronger in the two and a half years of Kris Kobach being in the role. All Kansans should be asking what we’re getting for our tax dollars – that office currently has the highest budget it’s ever had at $47 million per year, and there are fewer services being provided to rural communities to help with law enforcement and prosecution efforts. Kansans have an attorney general who’s giving up on lawsuits that could help the people of Kansas while simultaneously fighting against the people of Kansas. The key issue Kris Kobach ran on back in 2022 was the fentanyl crisis, and fatalities in Kansas have surpassed 1,500 on his watch. And the only thing we’ve heard from him recently is how he had a grant that was supposed to be used to help fight fentanyl overdose deaths, but the vast majority of that grant has been used for self-promotion, marketing and advertising. I feel like if you talked to the families of those 1,500 people, they’d rather have more of that money spent on life-saving medications and other assistance than a politician just being a politician. We need to refocus the Kansas Attorney General’s office on directly helping the people of Kansas and making sure the person in that role is waking up every day focused on that goal and how to best accomplish that.”
Ultimately, however, Mann said he felt compelled to campaign again.
“I started thinking about it in the spring after I had multiple people asking me if I would consider running again. I’d been very busy with my businesses and helping crime victims through my law firm, so I hadn’t given it a lot of thought,” Mann said. “However, as I talked to more people and heard more concerns about problems in the Kansas Attorney General’s office and how there didn’t seem to be a focus on Kansans, I started thinking about it, and as that conversation continued, I knew it was something I had to do. My entire career is built on public service that includes serving as a police officer, a prosecutor and helping crime victims through my law firm – that’s always been my passion, and I know the amount of good that can be done with the Kansas Attorney General’s office if the right person is in that role.”
Should he ultimately be elected, Mann said his focus will be on Kansans.
“It all comes back to refocusing the office on the basics of law enforcement, protecting the rule of law and protecting Kansas families,” Mann said. “Those are key values, but the question then becomes how do we get there? We get there by helping our rural communities that desperately need help in terms of law enforcement and prosecutory support for large investigations and large cases. We get there by helping victims of crimes and victims of domestic violence, which is still a real problem throughout the state, especially in rural communities where there aren’t as many resources available. We need shelters that are appropriate to house victims and we need to make sure we’re putting them in safe environments so they can grow and thrive. We need to focus not on grabbing headlines but on actually doing the work, and my focus would be waking up every day hitting the ground running and doing that work to make sure Kansans are safe and protected.”
Mann said he is looking forward to traveling throughout the state and meeting as many Kansans as possible.
“We’re starting to do some traveling throughout the state to talk to as many people as possible in as many places as possible. We want to make sure we’re especially hitting places that don’t really get many visits from politicians,” Mann said. “We want to make sure rural communities are represented and we’re able to be in those places as often as possible because there can be a disconnect between Eastern Kansas and Western Kansas, and I want to bridge that gap and bring everyone’s ideas together and support everyone. We are still doing some planning in terms of where all we’ll be visiting, but I know I’ll be visiting Dodge City in September, and I’ll also be visiting Hays and Colby and making treks through the rest of the state. We do plan on visiting Liberal, but we need to finalize those logistics. However, if people want to come visit with me when I’m in Dodge City, I would definitely welcome that, because that’s what we need to happen. We want to hear from the people in every community so we know what’s going on, what their concerns are and what they need from the Kansas Attorney General’s office. That way, if I’m elected to the office, I have an idea of how to best provide help. The office requires constant communication with communities throughout the state to make sure everyone’s needs are addressed. I remember with the 2022 race, as I went throughout the state and talked to people, that’s when I learned the most about what the problems were and what needed to be addressed, and I feel like I’ll learn a lot through this campaign cycle as well.”
Mann added people can also follow the campaign on social media.
“Anyone who wants to follow us on social media is welcome to do so, we’re on all the platforms, and we’ll frequently be sharing information about our goals and views and the events we’ll be hosting,” Mann said. “It’s absolutely inspiring to go out and talk to people across the state – in fact, I recently talked to a community health leader in Southeast Kansas and had an amazing conversation about what they’re doing to help communities in that area in terms of drug addiction and other crime issues and how the Kansas Attorney General’s office could help. I want to have those conversations because it’s not just inspiring to hear those stories, it also gives us some inspiration of what we could do in that office. If anyone wants to get in touch with me and share a concern or ask a question, I have a contact form on my Web site, chrismannforkansas.com, and I encourage people to reach out with any concerns they have, whether it’s a question they have or a suggestion of where they think I should visit. I want to hear from as many people as possible, and I hope they all reach out.”
Overall, Mann said, he is focused on helping all Kansans.
“I’ve spent my career in public service. When I was a police officer, I served the people in my community keeping them safe, and then I went on to be a prosecutor to help victims of crime,” Mann said. “When I opened my own firm, I still wanted to focus on victims, and I’m doing a lot of work right now helping victims of drunk drivers get justice in the civil system and criminal system. My dedication to public service is what drives me to want to become Kansas Attorney General, so I can continue doing good for the people of Kansas.”