Within Reason with Mike Matson: Pat Proctor, Leavenworth

Pat Proctor, welcome to the show.

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

I really appreciate it.

You are campaigning.

I suspect it's nonstop?

Yeah.

I was in, uh, Beloit a couple days ago.

I was in Clay Center last night, Wichita, and Kingman in there someplace, so yeah, it is that time of year.

So if it's Thurs- if it's Tuesday, it must be Manhattan.

Yes.

[laughs]

All right.

Fair enough.

Uh, give us the Pat Proctor 101 for folk- folks who may not be familiar with you.

Yeah.

So, um, you know, I serve the people of Leavenworth and Fort Leavenworth as their state representative, um, but I serve all Kansans as the chairman of the House Elections Committee, and as you said, I'm running to serve you as your next secretary of state.

Um, politics was not my life plan.

Uh, when I was leaving the Army in 2019 after 25 years, uh, my plan was to be a professor, which I was until May.

I just resigned so I could campaign full time, but I spent seven years teaching as...

in the Homeland Security program at Wichita State, and I figured my wife could fill in the rest with our now three restaurants.

Uh, we've got two in Leavenworth, one in Manhattan, Bon Thai restaurant.

Cooking so good.

I married the chef.

Please check it out.

And, uh, yeah, but, uh, when I came back, uh, after five years all over the Army just coming home on long weekends, when I came back to Leavenworth, I started to notice a lot of things that I had not noticed when I was just coming, you know, seeing it in snapshots.

Pat Proctor, welcome to the show.

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

I really appreciate it.

You are campaigning.

I suspect it's nonstop?

Yeah.

I was in, uh, Beloit a couple days ago.

I was in Clay Center last night, Wichita, and Kingman in there someplace, so yeah, it is that time of year.

So if it's Thurs- if it's Tuesday, it must be Manhattan.

Yes.

[laughs]

All right.

Fair enough.

Uh, give us the Pat Proctor 101 for folk- folks who may not be familiar with you.

Yeah.

So, um, you know, I serve the people of Leavenworth and Fort Leavenworth as their state representative, um, but I serve all Kansans as the chairman of the House Elections Committee, and as you said, I'm running to serve you as your next secretary of state.

Um, politics was not my life plan.

Uh, when I was leaving the Army in 2019 after 25 years, uh, my plan was to be a professor, which I was until May.

I just resigned so I could campaign full time, but I spent seven years teaching as...

in the Homeland Security program at Wichita State, and I figured my wife could fill in the rest with our now three restaurants.

Uh, we've got two in Leavenworth, one in Manhattan, Bon Thai restaurant.

Cooking so good.

I married the chef.

Please check it out.

And, uh, yeah, but, uh, when I came back, uh, after five years all over the Army just coming home on long weekends, when I came back to Leavenworth, I started to notice a lot of things that I had not noticed when I was just coming, you know, seeing it in snapshots.