Dr. Fred Gardner believes bureaucratic red tape would make it difficult for a veterinarian to start a new practice in Kansas these days.
Gardner, age 69, a longtime veterinarian from Garnett, is running as a Republican for the District 9 Kansas House of Representatives post being vacated by Kent Thompson. He’s running because he cares about issues concerning rural life, and is concerned about state regulations affecting businesses “and the taxation it takes to support that.”
“Just recently I was consulting with a young veterinarian about establishing a new business in eastern Kansas. It’s very complex and expensive, and a lot of that is driven by regulation. You have to have about six different licenses to operate a veterinary business,” he said.
Such regulations make it difficult to start and maintain businesses, he said.
“I believe strongly in a citizen-run governing system, and I’d like to have a system that works as well as possible so my grandchildren can have the same opportunities we enjoyed and benefited from,” Gardner said.
“As a legislator, you can’t go to Topeka and wipe out a bunch of regulations overnight, but we’ve got to push back against the expansion of government. I’m not an advocate of no government. That leads to anarchy. But I am a proponent of self-government, where individuals work together to solve their problems rather than looking at the state. And people in rural areas are very good at self-governing.”
GARDNER grew up on a family farm west of Burlington, where his roots date back to 1870.
He graduated from Hartford High School before attending Kansas State University, where he graduated with a degree in veterinary medicine in 1978.
He worked for several years in Dodge City before traveling to Asia, where he worked to bring integrated rural development to Bangladesh. Such programs attempted to boost the economies of rural regions around the world, particularly those hard-hit by poverty.
In 1984, Gardner and his wife, Jackie, moved to Garnett to buy an existing veterinary business, Countryside Veterinary Clinic. They have four sons and wanted them to grow up near extended family.
“We liked the lifestyle and people in eastern Kansas,” Gardner said.
Gardner specialized in treating larger animals, especially horses, “but being in a smaller community, we treated any animals that needed care.”
He sold the business several years ago but continues to work on a part-time basis, performing limited work with horses.
“Now that I work part-time, I have time to devote to being an elected representative of the people. Being a legislator is a part-time job, but for about four months out of the year it is quite a commitment.”
Gardner said he’s looking forward to an opportunity to serve and represent rural communities, rather than being motivated by a specific issue or area.
“I don’t have an agenda. I will be a citizen legislator. I’m intensely loyal to rural people and the rural lifestyle, and that’s where my allegiance will be.”
