I am pleased to announce that I have filed as a Republican candidate to run for the open District 4 County Commission seat. Bourbon County is well-positioned to thrive well into the future provided we come together and elect competent and compassionate leaders who will help bring out the best in us. My top priorities are:

1. Helping to rebuild trust inside and outside of county government
2. Lower mill levy and fees to improve property values and quality of life
3. Detailed review of department budgets to improve efficiency and save money
4. Improve human resource routines to improve performance and fairness
5. Reduce risk by improving the use of legal representation

My qualifications include a B.A. in Business Administration, Accounting and Economics along with a graduate degree in Bank Management. I recently retire from a 45-year career in banking, business and non-profit work, having been president of three banks. I have worked for the largest bank in the state and some of the smallest. My expertise was developed in real estate, business and real estate law, small business, agriculture and public finance. I have banked cities and counties all across eastern Kansas, including Bourbon County, the City of Fort Scott, USD 234 and Fort Scott Community College.

My hometown is Barry, IL, population 1,300, and I graduated from Lee’s Summit High School in Lee’s Summit, MO. I got my undergraduates degree from a private Christian college located in a small town of about 5,200 people and attended the University of Virginia for my graduate degree. After a 25-year career in the Kansas City area, my wife, Kim and I returned to our small-town roots when I took a banking job in Southeast Kansas in 2010. We moved to Bourbon County in 2015. I retired in 2024.

My political experience includes precinct committeeman, Vice-Chairman of the Johnson County (Kansas) Republican Party and Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of the State of Kansas. I retired from my political activity in 1998 when I lost my first wife to cancer and became a single father to five.

Restoring trust takes time and must be won every day by the way we treat people. My focus will be listening to, and caring about constituents, other elected officials, employees of the county and other governing bodies across the county. There is much to do and I am anxious to get started.

Gregg Motley