State Treasurer Dennis McKinney on Wednesday stressed keeping public funds — when the state is able to — in Kansas banks as a way to help local economies.

Keeping “some of those funds invested in local communities to make loans, we know that comes out ahead,” McKinney said. “Our research tells us that that helps drive business growth, housing growth, the whole growth of the economy.”

McKinney, a Greensburg Democrat, spoke to Douglas County banking leaders at a forum in Lawrence organized by Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. “They are in the business of lending money. We are in the business of growing the economy together,” Sloan said of the bankers. “So how do we do that more successfully in a type of partnership?”

During an interview, Mc-Kinney said he planned to run for re-election in 2010 as treasurer. He was appointed to the post in January to replace Republican Lynn Jenkins, who won a seat in Congress.

McKinney said he was confident Democrats would still be able to produce a quality candidate for governor. So far, Republican U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback is the only big-name candidate in the race, and Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, has said he will not run for office in 2010.

McKinney said Democrats need to focus on public safety, caring for the elderly and disabled people and economic development.

“It’s not just about how we cut government. It’s how we have the right balance to help get us out to create jobs,” he said.