A key supporter of a statewide smoking ban will step down from his seat in the Kansas Senate later this month.
Sen. David Wysong, a Mission Hills Republican, notified Senate leaders on Monday of his decision to resign his seat for family reasons, said Patti Van Slyke, a spokeswoman for Senate President Steve Morris. His resignation will take effect on Dec. 13.
“It is hard to say enough good things about Senator David Wysong,” Morris said in a prepared statement. “He has been such an integral and significant presence in the Kansas Senate since his first election in 2004. David brought with him a tremendous wealth of private sector experience, knowledge and expertise. He has been an outstanding representative of his district, of Johnson County and of the entire state of Kansas.”
In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Wysong sponsored legislation to implement restrictions on smoking in public places statewide. The Senate twice approved a version of the measure in the 2009 session, but it failed in the House. Gov. Mark Parkinson has pledged to support similar legislation in the 2010 Legislative session.
“Those of us in tobacco control efforts always regarded him as the premier leader on clean air issues to promote health in Kansas,” said Mary Jayne Hellebust, executive director of the Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition. “We appreciate his involvement and the direction he has set. We know his vision will be achieved, and when it does, it will be a tribute to him and his commitment.”
Wysong, 60, was re-elected in 2008 to his second four-year term in the Kansas Senate. He is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and a member of the Senate Ways and Means, Public Health and Welfare, and Ethics and Elections committees. He also serves as the chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development. Wysong has been the Senate President’s designee to the Board of Kansas Inc., and also served on the Kansas Children’s Cabinet.
Before being elected to the Kansas Senate in 2004, Wysong was elected to both the Mission Hills city council and the Johnson County Commission. He was appointed to the original Bi-State Commission in 1997, which oversaw the Kansas City Union Station project. He was also chairman of the Johnson County Republican Party. He is married to Kathy Wysong and has two adult daughters.