Successful candidates for the Lawrence City Commission and school board must focus on healing the divisions that marked Tuesday’s elections.

It was rather stunning Wednesday morning to look at city maps color-coded to show how people in Lawrence had voted in Tuesday’s City Commission, school board and school bond elections.

With only a few exceptions, the split on the issues was clear: the east vs. the west.

The stark divisions that marked both the campaigns and the outcome of these elections set a clear mandate for those who were elected to the school board and City Commission on Tuesday. For the good of Lawrence, both the community and the elected officials need to work to bridge the city’s philosophical gap.

This election, more than any other in recent memory, focused on the things that divide Lawrence. City Commission candidates split into two distinct camps based on their perceived level of support for business and economic development. Voters were urged to support one slate or the other rather than evaluating candidates individually. Similarly, school board candidates were divided into those who supported the bond issue and those who did not.

After ballots were recounted Wednesday, results showed that the candidates labeled as anti-business swept the City Commission race. School board candidates split the ticket, two for the bond issue, two against. As these successful candidates move into their new positions, hopefully, the lines will begin to blur. They have been elected to represent the city or the school district as a whole, and their job is to listen to all their constituents and carefully evaluate all the information put before them.

To that end, let’s not pigeonhole the new officials too quickly. It’s better to leave the labels of the campaign behind and try to unite the interests of the commissioners and board members with the interests of the broader community they represent. Hopefully, the officials elected on Tuesday will show more depth and thoughtfulness than was reflected in the “pro” or “anti” labels they carried during the campaign.

Next week, Lawrence will have a new City Commission; the same transition will take place next July on the school board. During their terms, the people elected to these two bodies will face complicated issues that will stretch their deliberative skills far beyond any pledges they made during the campaign. Newcomers will learn much and perhaps see nuances they hadn’t recognized before. The public has entrusted all the successful candidates with the responsibility of viewing information with a unbiased eye and making difficult decisions on the basis of what is best for everyone.

We support their efforts to draw the community together and hope they will take seriously the faith placed in them by the people of Lawrence.

Counting woes

The excuse of “technical difficulties” with ballot counting is wearing a little thin with Douglas County voters.

The good news in Tuesday’s balloting was a spectacular 45 percent turnout of eligible voters. Then came the bad news.

First, the turnout wasn’t really 45 percent; it was closer to 33 percent. And that wasn’t the only number that changed after Douglas County Clerk Patty Jaimes discovered on Wednesday that about 7,000 ballots in Tuesday’s election had been counted twice.

The patience of local voters already had been tried by the “technical difficulties” that delayed voting reports for several hours Tuesday night. That delay, however, paled by comparison to Wednesday’s announcement that 7,000 ballots had been counted twice and that changes in voter totals would cost Lynn Goodell a seat on the Lawrence City Commission. The recount gave the third-place finish to David Schauner.

Unfortunately, “technical difficulties” seem to be a recurring theme in the clerk’s office on election night. On Wednesday, Jaimes said she was trying to track down the root of the problem. Regardless of where the blame is placed, however, the ultimate responsibility for providing an efficient, accurate ballot count lies with the county clerk.

The frequency of counting glitches is starting to raise questions with the electorate. The latest technical or human error certainly will provide fodder for those who are suggesting the county might be better served by certain offices, including the county clerk and treasurer, being filled by appointment rather than election.

Whether such a movement will gain steam is unknown, but incidents like the miscount on Tuesday night simply are unacceptable. Douglas County deserves better.