Former Manhattan Mayor Jim Sherow Monday announced the formation of an exploratory committee to gauge interest in his running against United States Representative Tim Huelskamp.
In a Press Release issued Monday,Sherow said growing concern with the lack of representation in Washington — especially the lack of a voice for the 1st District on the Farm Bill — was a strong influence in his decision to test the waters.
“My values are shared by farmers and ranchers and working people all across Kansas. “Service before self.”
Sherow said. “You show up to work and get the job done. You certainly don’t engage in self-promotion while government shuts down and Congress fails to pass a Farm Bill.”
Sherow said Rep. Huelskamp’s antics in Washington have made it impossible for him to adequately represent his constituents.
“Because Tim Huelskamp made it his mission to be a gadfly, he’s been kicked off the Agriculture and Budget committees by his own party, leaving Kansas for the first time in a century without a representative on the Ag Committee.” Sherow said. “Rep. Huelskamp spends more time preparing for the Sunday talk shows than he does working on the single most important piece of policy for 1st District farmers and ranchers.”
Sherow, a fourth-generation Kansan, recently served six years as an at-large City Commissioner in Manhattan,
including a term as Mayor. He is the Kansas Historian at K-State having written extensively on the history of water issues and water rights in rural Kansas.
During his time as Mayor and Commissioner in the largest city in the First District, he worked diligently in
Washington for projects like the critical National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, which would create hundreds of high-paying professional and agricultural jobs in the first district and protect the nation’s food supply.
Sherow also played a prominent role in cooperating with the business community to foster economic development and regional cooperation to guide the City of Manhattan through one of its most prosperous periods in history.
Sherow is a proven public servant who is committed to working just as hard as his constituents do and building bridges, not tearing them down.
