‘Progressive’ trio tops city finalists
Candidates backed by the Progressive Lawrence Campaign swept the top three spots in Tuesday’s city commission primary election, leaving pro-business candidates with a big gap to close before the April 1 general election.
Incumbent Commissioner Mike Rundle, who led the way with 6,027 votes, said Progressive Lawrence’s organization and “smart-growth” agenda were both responsible for the victory.
“It has to be both,” he said. “I think the neighborhoods resonated with my platform. But (Progressive Lawrence) gave us a reach the candidates couldn’t get on their own.
Fellow Progressive Lawrence candidates Dennis “Boog” Highberger and David Schauner followed with 4,769 and 4,307 votes, respectively.
They easily outdistanced the next three candidates, who also advance to the general election. Lynn Goodell was in fourth place with 3,474 votes, followed by Lee Gerhard with 2,716 votes and Greg DiVilbiss with 2,070 votes.
Those six survived Tuesday’s primary. The top three vote-getters in April will take seats on the commission.
Goodell said the Progressive Lawrence showing was a lesson to his own campaign heading down the stretch.
“Myself, I have to get better organized, get some people who work hard,” he said. “Because I believe that’s what Progressive Lawrence did. And they did a good job.”
The Progressive Lawrence Campaign political action committee was organized last year to counter what organizers said was inordinate control by developers over the city’s growth. The organization provided donations to the three candidates, but also helped provide volunteers and “voter education” efforts.
Melinda Henderson, coordinator of the Progressive Lawrence Campaign, left, hugs City Commission candidate David Schauner after congratulating incumbent Mike Rundle. Rundle was the top vote-getter in Tuesday's city primary, followed by fellow Progressive candidates Dennis Boog Highberger and Schauner.
“We did really excellent outreach to voters and the kind of coordinated campaign that extends the reach of each candidate,” Progressive Lawrence Chairman Karl Brooks said. “They (voters) want candidates who are charting a little bit different future.”
That seemed true with voters who talked to the Journal-World on Tuesday.
“I like protecting Lawrence from overdevelopment,” said Hilary Betley, a Kansas University student who voted at Pinckney School. “I don’t want Lawrence to lose what made us want to live here. Lawrence shouldn’t be like every place else.”
But the support was far from unanimous. Other voters said they feared stronger government control over Lawrence’s growth could curtail economic opportunities in the city.
Betty Morris, a real estate agent, voted for Gerhard and Goodell at Mustard Seed Christian Fellowship.
“I think they’ll make wise business decisions for the city, and smart economic moves,” Morris said.
Dennis Boog Highberger, left.
Gerhard took comfort in the fact that previous primary election results have sometimes flipped during the general election.
“The city’s primary votes are not necessarily a harbinger of things to come,” he said. “We got a lot of work to do, but we’ve got some clear choices, and that’s what makes a good election.”
Don’t, however, expect the bottom three remaining candidates to combine forces the way the Progressive Lawrence slate has.
“I don’t know,” DiVilbiss said. “there’s things we have in common, but I don’t see any political action committee coming in and putting things together.”
The “get-out-the-vote” effort, however, will continue on the Progressive Lawrence side.
“We’ll try as hard as we can,” Highberger said. “There are 35,000 registered voters who didn’t get out today. We’ll talk to every single one if we can.”
| Unofficial winners (57 of 57 precincts reporting; 10,310 votes counted) | |||
| School board | City commission | ||
| Sue Morgan | 12.77% | Mike Rundle | 22.03% |
| Leonard Ortiz | 11.35% | Dennis “Boog” Highberger | 17.43% |
| Scott E. Morgan | 11.35% | David Schauner | 15.74% |
| Cindy Yulich | 11.03% | Lynn Goodell | 12.69% |
| Rich Minder | 10.82% | Lee Gerhard | 9.92% |
| Mary L. Loveland | 9.28% | Greg A. DiVilbiss | 7.56% |
| Cille King | 8.12% | ||
| Michael L. Pomes | 6.91% | ||
 View current unofficial results in full |
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