Lawrence attorney Ken McRae on Wednesday became the first candidate to file for next year’s city commission election.

McRae said he filed early  the deadline isn’t until Jan. 21  to get a head start on introducing himself to voters.

“Being a newcomer to the political scene, I don’t have a name that’s immediately recognizable in the community,” he said.

McRae, 32, is a partner in the firm of Petefish, Immel, Heeb and McRae. He has been a member of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce for six years; he is chairman of the Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross and president of the Lawrence Kiwanis Club.

He and his wife, Susan, have a 6-month-old daughter, Rachel.

“I’ve been in this city now for 14 years,” he said. “I started out as a typical student, but I’ve put down roots.

“It becomes apparent the things that happen in this city are going to affect me for the next 40 or 50 years. I don’t want to sit back and hope other people do the job the way I want it done.”

The issues, he says, will be the usual ones.

“I really think almost every (issue) can be thrown under the rubric of economic development: Tax abatements, living wage, even the South Lawrence Trafficway can be seen as an economic development question,” he said.

McRae favors a 32nd Street route for the trafficway and is against a living wage requirement for companies receiving tax abatements from the city.

But he will try to stake out a middle ground on abatements.

“I think they’re an important tool, but I think it’s also appropriate we get some bang for our buck,” he said. “If firms aren’t meeting their promises, then we should use clawbacks to recover some of the abatement.

“But if we put out the signal we wouldn’t give anybody a tax abatement, economic development will just go away.”

Former commissioner Erv Hodges will be co-chairman of McRae’s campaign, along with Sheila Immel of the Kansas University Alumni Association.

Commissioner Mike Rundle has said he would run for re-election. Seats held by Marty Kennedy and Jim Henry are also up for election. Kennedy has said he will not run again; Henry has not announced his intentions.

At least three other potential candidates have been exploring a bid, but those contacted by the Journal-World this week said they weren’t ready to announce their intentions.

If more than six candidates file, a primary election will be Feb. 25. The general election is April 1.