KU graduating senior juggles college, city council duties and small business

LAWRENCE--Tanner Fortney will turn 22 just a few days after graduating from the University of Kansas this week.

How does he plan to celebrate both events?

By attending a city council meeting in Spring Hill, of course.

Fortney, who will be among the more than 4,000 graduating seniors walking down the Hill at KU on May 18, spent the last six months of his college experience serving as the youngest member on the Spring Hill City Council.

Fortney first ran for the post in April 2002. He lost by a mere 75 votes but was appointed to the council that October when a member resigned. He had to go through the campaign process all over again this spring when the term expired.

As if waging a campaign, making a daily 45-minute commute from Spring Hill to KU and carrying a full course load in political science were not enough for Fortney, he also recently took on the responsibility of running a small business by purchasing a liquor store in Olathe.

He knew that the thought of a 21-year-old college student owning a liquor store would raise eyebrows among some of the voters in the small town, but he was determined to use it to his advantage.

"I worried about that at first, but my strategy was 'I'm not going to hide it,'" he said. "I wanted to show that yes, I own a business and I have some practical experience owning a business."

That strategy paid off and Fortney retained his seat on the council. Still, it was a difficult campaign, to say the least.

After attending classes from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Fortney would rush back to Spring Hill, grab a quick bite to eat and hit the campaign trail, knocking on doors and pressing the flesh until the early evening. From there, it was straight to the liquor store, where he often worked past 10:30 at night. But that wasn't the end of his day; he still had to make time to finish his homework.

"Once you get acclimated to what you're doing, you sort of find a groove and it doesn't bother you anymore," he said. "I found my niche and got used to going to school, running the business and running my campaign."

When Fortney first campaigned for the council, he had to overcome his fair share of doubters, who wondered whether he was old enough -- and experienced enough -- to make such important decisions. However, after a few community-wide forums, he quickly put those doubts to rest.

This time around, though, he dealt with an entirely different set of challenges. Spring Hill was divided on the issue of adding multi-family developments in some neighborhood areas. Those opposing the additions voiced their dissent, sometimes in the form of personal attacks against council members. Fortney said he didn't get the brunt of those personal attacks, but the ugliness of that episode made him wonder whether he wanted to continue with the council.

"I really like the city council and the community of Spring Hill," he said. "But it seems that there are always going to be some things you have to deal with in politics -- there are always going to be some people who don't like the decisions you make."

That episode did not taint his overall view of public office. He said he wants to continue pursuing a life in politics. His next move might be to run for county commission when his city council term expires in 2007.

His experience on the city council also put an interesting twist on his political science homework, he said.

"Sometimes I'd read an article on campaigning, and the professor who wrote it would say one thing but I'd say, 'That's not true; I would have done it differently' or 'I had to do things differently,'" he said.

That combination of academic knowledge and practical experience made for a perfect balance, he said. And he would definitely recommend that other students venture out into local politics.

"The worst thing that could happen is you fail and you might be out of a little money," he said. "But if you do win, you are going to get a lot of practical experience and you are going to learn a lot of things you can't learn in the classroom. Just don't expect to have a personal life."

Fortney is waiting to hear if he has been accepted into law school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. If that doesn't pan out, he said he would like to return to KU and pursue another undergraduate degree.

For now, though, he's happy just to look back on his college experience at KU. He said he made a lot of great friends, many of whom helped him during his campaigns. And, he said, he got invaluable help from his professors in the political science department.

"Every professor has contributed somewhat," he said. "I don't think there was a professor that I haven't mentioned some things about city council to, so they've helped out in some way."

He is the son of Richard and Teresa Fortney of Spring Hill and is a Spring Hill High School graduate.