Jeff Colyer is sworn in as the 47th governor of Kansas by Kansas Chief Justice Lawton Nuss, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018 at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka.

Topeka ? Jeffrey William Colyer was sworn in Wednesday as the 47th governor of Kansas, saying in his inaugural address that his administration will focus on service to others, honesty and transparency.

“As a doctor, I will always level with you. I demand transparency, and we embrace accountability,” he said before a crowd of hundreds in the Statehouse rotunda.

“I pledge to do the right thing, even when nobody is looking,” he added. “And we will set a tone and insist on an environment of openness, honesty and respect, and without harassment, especially in this building.”

Kansas Chief Justice Lawton Nuss administered the oath of office in a somewhat hastily-arranged ceremony shortly after 3 p.m.

Colyer, 57, assumed the office following the resignation of now-former Gov. Sam Brownback, who stepped down to accept a diplomatic post in the Trump administration. Although Brownback was nominated for the job of ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom back in July, the U.S. Senate did not vote to confirm him until last week, on Jan. 24.

Brownback was seated on the stage with Colyer during the ceremony, as were Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer, State Treasurer Jacob LaTurner and Attorney General Derek Schmidt. Also on stage were Colyer’s wife, Ruth, and two of his three daughters, Serena and Dominique.

Colyer said his oldest daughter, Alexandra, was expected to be watching the ceremony through a Facebook Live feed in England, where she attends school.

Before the ceremony, Colyer began his day in Hays, where he grew up, attending Mass at his high school alma mater, Thomas More Prep-Marian. He flew back to Topeka following lunch in Hays, arriving shortly before the inauguration ceremony.

At the ceremony in Topeka, he was accompanied by Mike Scully, a priest with St. John the Evangelist Catholic Parish in Lawrence, who was a teacher of Colyer’s at Thomas More Prep. Scully gave the opening prayer.

Colyer, the state’s longest-serving lieutenant governor, had been a key adviser in the Brownback administration, especially in health care policy. A plastic surgeon by profession, he was the chief architect of the initiative to privatize the state’s Medicaid system, now known as KanCare.

During his speech, Colyer said he planned to continue practicing medicine, even though he already gave up the majority of his practice while serving as lieutenant governor.

“Like many Kansans, I’ve spent much of my life working two jobs,” he said. “As your governor, for a few hours a week, I plan to continue to see patients, many of whom are with us today.”

He also said he planned to keep a demanding schedule as governor.

“My schedule’s going to look a lot more like a surgeon’s than a politician’s. So don’t be surprised if I may lead an 80- or 100-hour work week,” he said, adding: “Staff, get used to it.”

Colyer takes office at a precarious time, with the state facing a Kansas Supreme Court mandate to fix its school funding system.

The state also faces a long list of other pressing issues, from problems with its foster care system to highway funding, much of which has been diverted to other programs in recent years because of revenue shortfalls in the state general fund.

At the same time, Colyer is running in a hotly contested 2018 primary for the Republican nomination to be the next governor. His competitors, not to mention others in the Legislature, have already gone to great lengths to tie him directly to Brownback’s policies, which they say are the cause of the state’s budget woes.

Colyer, however, said he would not shy away from the big issues facing the state.

“When others blame and complain, I’ll be working for you, trying to find solutions,” he said. “I will not be responsible for shutting down Kansas government or our schools. This is not Washington.”

The mention of shutting down schools was a reference to the Kansas Supreme Court’s tacit threat to close schools on July 1 if lawmakers fail to enact a school funding system that meets constitutional muster during the 2018 session.

Although Colyer was known as a solid conservative when he served in the Legislature before he became lieutenant governor, he has given little indication so far about how much of an independent course he plans to take as governor.

He did, however, offer some reassurance to conservatives during his speech when he said, “I believe every life is sacred. I commit to serving and treating every Kansan with dignity and respect you deserve.”

Some of the more conservative members of the Legislature, however, said they hoped Colyer wouldn’t stray too far from Brownback’s ideology.

“Conservative leadership,” Rep. John Whitmer, R-Wichita, said when asked what he hopes to see from the Colyer administration.

“I think in the past, he certainly has (been a conservative),” Whitmer added. “He’s got a clean slate, so this will be a good chance for him to prove himself.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Blaine Finch, R-Ottawa, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said he’s giving Colyer the benefit of the doubt.

“Dr. Colyer has talked about having a different tone and trying to collaborate with legislative leadership to address the big problems that we’re facing this session and beyond, so I’m looking forward to him fulfilling those promises and seeing what that looks like and hopefully getting some things done,” Finch said in an interview.

House Democratic Leader Jim Ward, of Wichita, issued a statement indicating he was cautiously optimistic about working with Colyer.

“I congratulate Governor Colyer on his inauguration, and I look forward to working with him on meaningful policies that improve opportunities for all Kansans,” he said in the statement. “The proof will be in his actions, not his words, and I’m hopeful he will acknowledge the voice of Kansans on the big issues, especially related to health care.”