Patricia Lightner, Republican of Olathe and former State Representative, announced on Monday she is forming an exploratory committee to run for Congress. Lightner, who served in the State Legislature from 1998-2004 representing District 29 in Overland Park, said she was motivated to run by a concern over the loss of liberty stemming from legislation coming out of Congress and the Obama Administration.
"From card check to cap and tax to the health care bill, the Obama Administration and the Pelosi/Reid Congress is trying to ram through as many liberal proposals as quickly as they can before Americans catch on. The problem for them is that Americans have caught on -- and they did not vote for massive deficits, government takeovers, and higher taxes," said Lightner.
"The end result of these proposals will be a dramatic loss in our liberty, and that's why I'm running for Congress," she added.
Lightner said that the current 3rd District Congressman, Dennis Moore, is out of touch with his district and shows no hope of changing.
"Dennis Moore has voted with Nancy Pelosi 98% of the time. That's not the record of a "blue dog Democrat", the label that Moore clings to as he promotes a mirage of moderation. He's voted for every single major piece of legislation that Pelosi has pushed without raising even the hint of a serious objection. Rather than hoping that he changes, I believe it's time to Opt for Plan B -- send him home!" Lightner said.
Patricia Lightner recently completed nearly five years in the financial services industry as a VP in Government Relations with the global bank, HSBC. She worked on consumer credit issues such as: privacy, security breach, mortgage lending, licensure, credit card and insurance.
In 1998, Lightner started her political career running for an open seat in the Kansas Legislature. She ran for State Representative in the 29th District as an unknown Republican in Overland Park and won in an upset victory. She served three terms as a State Representative. Her independence, mainstream conservative stances and voting record earned her the respect of her colleagues who elected her to Majority Whip her second term in office, (2000-2002). In her third term, she was appointed as the House Insurance Committee Chairman, (2002 -2004).
Prior to the State Legislature, Patricia spent six years in the federal government. She started her work in the public sector employed as an enforcement attorney with the Federal Aviation Administration. There she worked on hundreds of certificate actions cases as well as civil penalty cases involving airport security.
In the next few weeks, Lightner said she is going to be forming a large network of support as she moves towards a formal announcement. To convey her message directly to potential supporters, she will be soon releasing a video on her website, patricialightner.com.
"With this video and a series of columns I'll be writing in the coming weeks, I will be communicating directly to the people about who I am, why I'm running and why I believe I am the best candidate during this critical time in our nation."
Patricia is a graduate of Notre Dame de Sion high School and the University of Kansas. She is married to David and they reside in Olathe with their two daughters, Isabella and Caterina.
