Former Kansas Gov. Carlin launches website to share opinions

? Former two-term Kansas Gov. John Carlin has started a website and blog to share his thoughts about state government.

Carlin, now 74, wrote in his blog that he has the time to think without worrying about getting re-elected or paying a staff. He’s willing to touch on any subject from a pure policy standpoint, although there won’t be any candidate endorsements.

One of the hottest issues for Carlin, who held the state’s top leadership post from 1979 to 1987, is financing education, The Salina Journal reports.

“Companies locate in states where there is quality education,” said Carlin, who currently is teaching at Kansas State University. “The appearance of backing away from supporting public education is a concern to me.”

Carlin said that as a Democrat in a Republican state, he built grassroots support before selling causes and solutions in Topeka, and that required many reaches across the aisle.

“I was a strong believer in going back to the public, and then I would have much more public support going to the Legislature with changes I would recommend,” Carlin said.

But Carlin said that in many ways, “the public has been left out the last few years.”

Previously, Carlin said, moderate Republicans and Democrats seemed to always fight to a draw and reached conclusions through compromise. But today, with conservative Republicans in such control, he said, the minority groups are “certainly limited.”

“I’m not trying to take any cheap shots at anybody. I’m trying to be honest,” he said. “I think people need to know and learn more about what is happening.”

Ryan Holmquist, 32, who teaches choir at Salina Central High School, said he has written comments and shared a few of Carlin’s posts on his personal Facebook page.

“Anytime you have a former two-term governor who has run the state of Kansas pretty successfully, paying attention to what he has to say is certainly worthy of some consideration,” Holmquist said.