Photo by Richard Gwin

Tresa McAlhaney, a Lawrence native, is running for governor in 2014 as a libertarian. She is pictured holding daughter Emma, 2, at the family's Bonner Springs home on a recent day with, from left, daughter Natalie, 12, husband Michael, 10-month-old daughter Maegan, and son Logan, 8.

Bonner Springs Tresa McAlhaney isn't your typical politician.

In fact, she's not even a politician all the more reason she says she'd be the perfect person to govern the state of Kansas.

State government has gotten not only inefficient, says the stay-at-home mom from Bonner Springs, but out of touch with the people it's supposed to serve.

McAlhaney, 34, was never politically involved until recently, when she said she was forced to be. Her homeowners association was in a dispute with the state over the future of a nearby dam, when she noticed how long it was taking state officials to respond. She had also gotten into disagreements with the state over the education of her home-schooled children. "The more I got into the government stuff, the more riled up I got," she said.

She got involved with the Libertarian Party after hearing U.S. Sen. Ron Paul, a libertarian-leaning Republican from Texas, speak during last year's presidential campaign. And after she noticed a lack of Libertarians stepping up to run for governor in 2014, she took it upon herself to become a candidate.

"I think this is one of the safest, nicest places in the world," she said, speaking of Kansas. But until it gets better governance, she says, it will fail to live up to its full potential.

McAlhaney said she doesn't expect any big-money donors to back her campaign (her most successful week of fundraising $1,000 came right after she announced her candidacy). But she says that if she wins, that could end up being a good thing. "We don't want to have to be beholden to anybody," she said.

Her plans for governing include putting the state on a more fiscally sustainable path, with a balanced budget and careful analysis of everything the state funds. She says she's open to eliminating entire departments if need be.

Originally posted here:

Lawrence native, a political neophyte, aims to be elected governor