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Sedgwick County Commissioner Kelly Parks said Friday that he is taking a "never say never" attitude about public office, adding that he is considering a run for state office.
The Wichita Eagle reported last week that Parks would not run again for county commission.
Parks, a Republican, said he did not want to elaborate about his plans. Asked whether he might run for sheriff, Parks said, "I don't have any grand plans" to do so but said he wouldn't count anything out.
"I do have an extensive law enforcement background," said Parks, the former Valley Center police chief.
Parks also said he is looking into starting a business or nonprofit in response to a program in the state's Department on Aging that he thinks could be cut or privatized. He would not elaborate.
Parks, elected in 2006, said his priority is serving out the rest of his term as commissioner, which ends in January. He said two fiscal conservatives likely will announce soon they are running for his seat.
Parks said being a commissioner was hard work.
"I'm tired," he said, adding he would "rest up a couple years" and determine whether he wants to continue in public office.
He touted making good on his campaign promise to vote against tax increases and to vote for budgets that lowered property taxes.
He also said that he helped people in his district appeal their property taxes. In 2008, he said, he met with 32 people, 28 of whom had their valuations lowered.
Parks, 55, has been the subject of some controversy. He is known for making offhand comments without explaining what he meant.
He recently used the county's e-mail system to tell a Wichita resident "Screw you" when she criticized him for appealing a speeding ticket in district court. He lost his appeal but has taken his case to the Kansas Court of Appeals.
Police who stopped him on West River Boulevard in June said he was on a cell phone and driving 36 in a 25 mph zone. He was cited for speeding in a park system. Parks noted that the city does not list the road as part of Riverside Park.
On Friday, he said he wished he could talk more about the case but had been advised by his lawyer not to.
"I know that I'm correct," he said.
Parks became the subject of courthouse pranks after saying in November during a discussion about ethics that he had turned some "stuff" over to the FBI. He said Friday he still couldn't go into detail.
In May, the board of the Association of County Employees said Parks had approached its president about forming a union to enhance employee pay and benefits. The board said that Parks not only asked the group to gauge interest in unionizing but to do so secretly.
Parks denied he had done so.
Parks said many of his supporters outside the courthouse like him "for not being a 'yes' person."
