Patrick J. Guilfoyle was born and raised in Fort Scott, graduating from Fort Scott High School in 1968.  He received his A.A. degree from Fort Scott Community College in 1970 and was valedictorian of his class. He then attended the University of Kansas where he earned his B.A. in Political Science in 1970 and his Masters of Public Administration in 1974.

Patrick has spent his professional life in city administration in Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Colorado, and New Jersey.  Since 2006 he has served as the City Administrator for the town of DeSoto, Kansas.  He has published articles in several journals on such topics as financial forecasting, labor-management relations, and consensus decision-making.  He has been a featured lecturer at conferences both in the United States and internationally.  In 1996 he presented “Perspective on Plight of the State of New Jersey’s Financial Status and Impact on Municipalities,” at the Ontario Municipal Government Association in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. In 1997, he presented “Perspective on United States’ Municipal Government Financial Practices,” to the National Congress of Institute of Municipal Management in Canberra, Australia; and in 2000 he presented “Citizen Participation in Local Government,” at the Conference of Caribbean Nations’ cabinet-level officials in Jamaica.

He has received numerous awards over the years and in 2009-10 he was selected to serve as the Practitioner-in-Residence for the University of Kansas’ MPA graduate-school program.  He has been active in civic organizations such as Rotary, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), the Lion’s Club, as a Little League coach, and numerous other organizations.  He had a unique opportunity in 2001 to be a cast member of ABC network’s nationally televised reality TV series, “The Mole.”

Patrick is a fifth-generation Kansan, and he and his wife, Sally, reside in DeSoto, Kansas.  They have two grown sons and two grandsons.