Topeka ? Like mother, like daughter.

Sally Finney wants to be Kansas’ next state treasurer.

Finney, 44, launched her campaign Wednesday with a statewide tour. Her mother, the late Gov. Joan Finney, held the office for 16 years before being elected the state’s first woman chief executive in 1990.

“It’s something I’m ready to do professionally and personally,” Finney said.

Finney is the first Democrat to declare for the office. Incumbent Tim Shallenburger is running for governor after serving a single four-year term.

Three Republicans, Topeka Sen. Lynn Jenkins, Johnson County Treasurer Dennis Wilson and Shawnee County Treasurer Rita Cline have announced they would seek the office.

Finney said she would file with the Secretary of State’s Office on Friday and would be the first candidate to put her name on the ballot. The filing deadline is June 10 for statewide offices.

Finney said she waited until the conclusion of the 106-day legislative session, where she was active in lobbying on health-care issues for public health departments. The session ended May 17.

Joan Finney was treasurer from 1974 until 1990 when she unseated Republican Gov. Mike Hayden. Finney served four years and did not seek re-election. She died July 28, 2001.

An avowed populist, Joan Finney was an ardent campaigner, known for her personality and ability to recall Kansan’s names and history in an instant.

Sally Finney said support for her campaign will come from her work as an advocate for health-care issues and her mother’s notoriety.