Betty Morris had just cast her primary election ballot last Tuesday at Mustard Seed Christian Fellowship when she was asked what the biggest issue would be in the Lawrence City Commission race.

The proposed $59 million school bond, she said.

Morris was asked the question again, after being reminded that the city commission didn’t control the bond issue.

“I think,” she repeated, “the school bond will be the biggest city issue.”

That may not be the kind of news city commission candidates want to hear. They have campaign issues of their own — living wage, planning commission appointments and others.

The idea of entering the bond fray is risky for city candidates because it is potentially dangerous to their election chances.

“I know that I have supporters who are on both sides of the issue,” said Dennis “Boog” Highberger, a candidate supported by the Progressive Lawrence Campaign.

Bringing out the vote

But most observers said last week’s high turnout for a primary election — 23.4 percent of the electorate, nearly double the 12.4 percent of the 2001 primary — could be attributed to passions surrounding school closings linked to the bond proposal. And they expect that trend to carry through to the April 1 general election, when voters will vote on the bond.

“I think it’s just going to bring out more voters,” said commission candidate Greg DiVilbiss.

Whether that larger turnout for school issues will swing the city race, however, is unknown. Some say it will create more voters for Progressive Lawrence candidates; others say it won’t make a difference.

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“Mostly antibond people are mostly in the Progressive Lawrence camp, and vice versa,” said Burdett Loomis, a Kansas University political science professor and bond opponent.

“Not necessarily,” said Mayor Sue Hack, a retired teacher who has two years left in her city commission term. “I think you can make a good case for any candidate to benefit or not benefit from a larger turnout.”

There are election examples to back both sides.

On one hand, Republican Adam Taff’s primary victory over Jeff Colyer in last year’s 3rd Congressional District race was the first time in recent years a moderate won the nomination. The reason? Political observers said it was because moderate Johnson County voters turned out in force to back a sales tax for schools.

On the other hand, the last time Lawrence school closings were an issue was in 1997. A little more than 20 percent of the voters participated in that election, about the same as the 2001 election, which lacked hot-button issues.

Lawrence voters in 1997 put candidates who opposed school closings on the school board — and put two “business” candidates, Marty Kennedy and Erv Hodges, on the city commission.

Back-of-mind issue

Aside from sheer numbers, there’s another way the school bond could affect the city commission race: blame.

Lawrence resident Bob Blank said the city commission set the stage for school closings by not preserving single-family housing in the city center. City Hall, he said, allowed great numbers of unrelated people to live together in single-family zoned areas, driving families to newer neighborhoods on the city’s periphery.

The bond issue won’t be the deciding factor in the city commission election, he said.

“But I think it’s something in the back of our minds,” he said. “We know who’s sympathetic to the neighborhoods, and we know who’s brushing us off.”

Hack said voters shouldn’t blame the city for school closings.

“I think there are people who will make it an issue, whether it’s legitimate or not,” she said. “I think it’s questionable whether it’s legitimate.”

Candidates on both sides agree that, whatever the results of the bond election, the next city commission will have to deal with the fallout — both with schools and neighborhoods.

“The school board and city commission have an obligation to work together, otherwise the taxpayers suffer,” candidate David Schauner said.

Candidate Lynn Goodell agreed.

“You work with neighborhoods to say ‘What’s going on? How can we improve your housing stock?'” he said. “The thing that attracts people to a neighborhood are housing conditions, housing stock, and to that extent, the city can help.”