Local elections for school board and the Lawrence City Commission have taken on a particularly contentious tone this year, and it perhaps is not surprising that some of the emotion of the campaign bubbled to the surface during Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.

It is important, however, that the business of commission meetings be separated as much as possible from the politically charged election campaigns.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, Commissioner Marty Kennedy referred to several pages of notes while explaining his vote in support of allowing Home Depot to open its doors ahead of the agreed upon schedule, thereby allowing 100 or more people to go to work sooner. He made several favorable comments about the development and alluded to his own position as a local business owner who would compete with Home Depot in some areas.

His pledge to strive to provide better customer service to help beat the Home Depot competition had several fellow commissioners exchanging comments and fidgeting in their chairs. It was the last page of his comments, however, that spurred a testy exchange between himself and Commissioner Mike Rundle who is running for re-election and led the field in the March 11 primary vote.

Kennedy accused Rundle, who voted against allowing Home Depot to open early, of consistently voting “against any type of commercial business development in our community.” He added that jobs are a campaign issue for Rundle but not part of his priorities as a commissioner. Rundle interrupted at that point and protested the nature of Kennedy’s comments, asking Mayor Sue Hack, “Are we campaigning here?”

Hack toned down the rhetoric by admonishing Kennedy to restrict his comments to Home Depot, but it was an awkward moment and an inappropriate forum for comments that seemed aimed at influencing the campaign.

Emotions are running very high in the current election campaign. No matter who they are supporting in the upcoming City Commission election, residents are not well-served by allowing the contention of the campaign to overshadow or influence the business of the current City Commission.

Coalitions backing candidates identified as pro-growth, no-growth, smart-growth or some other moniker are bound to ratchet up the rhetoric in support of their causes between now and April 1. The campaigners should keep in mind that voters are best served by discussions that focus on issues rather than personalities and solid information rather than catch phrases. There will be plenty of forums in which to hash out these stands and platforms, but the City Commission chambers should be off-limits for campaign discussions.