May 21, 2022

State Treasurer candidate Tyson visits Great Bend

Posted May 21, 2022 12:00 PM
Kansas Senator Caryn Tyson (left), next to Barton County Commissioner Barb Esfeld, visited Great Bend Friday, May 20, 2022 and met with the public at the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce boardroom. Tyson is running for Kansas State Treasurer this fall.
Kansas Senator Caryn Tyson (left), next to Barton County Commissioner Barb Esfeld, visited Great Bend Friday, May 20, 2022 and met with the public at the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce boardroom. Tyson is running for Kansas State Treasurer this fall.

By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

Kansas Senator Caryn Tyson is pursuing to become the next Kansas State Treasurer and visited with Great Bend citizens Friday morning to share her story. Tyson has served as a Republican member of the Kansas Senate since 2013. With no background as a treasurer, Tyson began researching the impact she could make in the position.

"Some people started floating my name around, but initially I said I wasn't interested," stated Tyson. "My husband told me I really need to take a look at this. I read the statutes on what a state treasurer does, and thought we could make many improvements in the office and what we do with Kansas. I'm all in."

Tyson is a software engineer and provided support to NASA. If elected, Tyson wants to use her IT knowledge to create more transparency with the state’s budget and how it is viewed by citizens.

"It's a multi-billion-dollar budget, but what's actually being spent?" asked Tyson. "I'd like to set up a software system where you can drill down. You can click on the budget and see where the money is actually going. I want to open up the checkbook. I've been finding wasteful spending for years as a legislator."

If successful in the Republican primary, Tyson would likely face incumbent Democratic state treasurer Lynn Rogers in the General Election.