Lawrence city commission campaigns are usually filled with cliches, platitudes and the kind of talk that makes everybody happy.

David Schauner hates cliches, platitudes and the kind of talk that makes everybody happy. And he makes little attempt to hide it.

“Everybody’s trying to say the same thing,” he said following a recent candidate forum. “Everybody’s trying to migrate to the middle.”

Not Schauner, 57, an attorney for the Kansas National Education Assn. One of his first campaign acts was to unveil a “promise card” telling voters where he stands. He challenged other candidates to sign it — some did, some didn’t.

In the card, Schauner said he’ll fulfill the following promises if elected.

• Companies that want tax abatements will pay a “living wage” of at least $9.39 an hour.
• Development will pay more of the costs it incurs.
This is one of 11 city commission candidate profiles that will run in alphabetical order online each weekday, Monday through Friday, through Feb. 21.6News will provide an accompanying video profile at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. each weeknight through Feb. 21 on Sunflower Broadband’s cable Channel 6.Video and text profiles on the candidates will be compiled through the series online on our City commission candidates site.
• The whole community will be represented on boards and commissions.
• Major developments will be studied for their impacts on neighborhood quality of life.
• Floodplain development will be prohibited.
• Schauner will vote for Commissioner David Dunfield to be mayor.

The promise card irritated candidates who didn’t sign it, but Schauner makes no apologies.

“It was an attempt to be specific about what I believe in,” he said.

During tight budget times, Schauner said he isn’t sure that commissioners are yet faced with the choice of cutting services or raising taxes.

“To date I have seen no information to suggest that either tax increases or service cuts are necessary,” he said. ” A choice between those two options can be made only after a careful examination of the proposed budget, available resources and prioritizing service delivery.”

Schauner doesn’t want to revisit the city commission’s decision to ban the private use of fireworks during the July 4 holiday season.

“Revisiting it at this point would only detract from consideration of other pressing issues that the city commission must consider,” he said. “Budget constraints and service delivery are two of the issues which the city commission must address in the next few months. The commission should not revisit its earlier decisions concerning fireworks.”

¢More election stories, voting information, candidate profiles and a candidate selector