Curtis files for election to House seat

Rep. Pam Curtis

State Rep. Pam Curtis, D-32nd Dist., filed for election today to the Kansas House of Representatives.

Rep. Curtis, who was chief of staff for former Mayor Joe Reardon, has been filling the seat of the late Rep. Mike Peterson, who died earlier this year.  Precinct committee members from the 32nd District elected her to fill the seat in March.

“It has been my honor to serve Wyandotte County in the House of Representatives these past few months, but our work is far from over.” Rep. Curtis said. “As state representative for the 32nd District I remain committed to fighting for the rights and values of the hard-working families throughout KCK. I have worked tirelessly to protect our state’s education system and ensure that the Legislature meet its obligation to provide every child with the equal opportunity to receive a high quality education.”

“Pam’s priorities in the Kansas Legislature reflect the priorities of Kansas families,” said House Democratic Leader Paul Davis, Lawrence. “She has advocated for increased public education funding, lower property taxes, and job creation for Kansas families. I hope the people of Wyandotte County will send her back to Topeka to continue her excellent work.”

Curtis works for McAnany, Van Cleave and Phillips Law Firm in project development, where she works side by side with former Mayor Joe Reardon to help encourage technology bases startups and expand access to fiber-based Internet nationwide.

She continues to be active in the Kansas City area entrepreneur and startup community and is an avid promoter of Kansas City as a leader in digital innovation. Curtis has more than 22 years experience working in state and local government, having worked for Mayor Jack Reardon as the city’s arts administrator and in economic development to working for Gov. John Carlin as assistant to the governor and director of constituent services.

Most recently, Curtis served as the chief of staff for Mayor Joe Reardon during his eight years in office. In that role she worked to help bring projects to Wyandotte County, including Google Fiber, the Cerner-Sporting KC complex, and numerous other recent economic development projects throughout the county.

A lifelong resident of Wyandotte County, Curtis was born at St. Margaret’s Hospital and grew up in the Polish Hill neighborhood in Kansas City, Kan. She and her husband Steve have been married for more than 30 years. They lived in the Westheight neighborhood before moving in 1995 to their current home in the Cathedral St. Peter’s neighborhood.