About Chris

Chris Tanner is a lifelong Kansan who believes leadership should be rooted in service, fairness, and respect. After more than 30 years in Topeka, he understands the challenges facing working families, small businesses, and rural communities firsthand. Chris is running to bring practical, people-first leadership to Kansas House District 54.

Personal Background

Chris Tanner is a lifelong Kansan who believes leadership should be rooted in service, fairness, and respect for others. After more than 30 years living in Topeka, he understands the pressures facing working families, small businesses, and rural communities—not from theory, but from lived experience. He is running for Kansas House District 54 to bring steady, people-first leadership back to state government.

Chris’s approach to public service is shaped by listening and showing up. He believes Kansans deserve leaders who focus on solving real problems, not fueling division. His campaign is built on the idea that communities thrive when leaders respect hard work, protect basic rights, and treat every person fairly.

Education

Chris graduated from Mountain View High School, where he learned the importance of discipline, accountability, and community involvement. His early education helped shape his belief that learning should prepare people not just for work, but for service and civic responsibility.

He later earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Messenger Bible Seminary. His education emphasized ethics, compassion, and respect for human dignity—principles that continue to inform his commitment to fairness, inclusion, and responsible leadership.

Professional Experience

Chris works as a Maintenance Specialist at the Kansas Historical Society, where he helps preserve the buildings and spaces that tell Kansas’s shared story. His work requires reliability, problem-solving, and attention to detail—skills that translate directly into effective public service.

In addition to his professional role, Chris serves as a radio host on the Newness of Life broadcast and as an Associate Pastor at Carbondale Cornerstone Church. Through these roles, he stays closely connected to families, seniors, and neighbors navigating rising costs, health challenges, and uncertainty.

Service and Community Involvement

Service has been a defining part of Chris’s life for decades. In 2012, he participated in global mission work in Haiti with Reverend Max Manning, gaining firsthand insight into the importance of compassion, humility, and cross-cultural understanding.

Locally, Chris spent more than twenty years working with Harvest Time Ministries alongside his mother, Evangelist Teresa Stark, serving prisons, nursing homes, the homeless, and shut-in neighbors across Topeka until her passing in 2024. He has also partnered with community outreach teams to provide food, shelter, and support to individuals struggling with addiction and homelessness. In 2005, Chris was honored as Lexington Park Nursing Home Volunteer of the Year, recognizing his long-standing commitment to service.