Wal-Mart has had a devil of a time getting permission to construct a new Supercenter in Lawrence, but the retailer has helped build one thing here: The candidacy of David Schauner.

Without his opposition to the efforts of Wal-Mart and its predecessors to build a “big box” store at Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive, Schauner might never have emerged as a contender in the race for Lawrence City Commission.

“Nothing gets people more excited than stuff that’s happening in their neighborhood,” Schauner said recently.

But Schauner realizes the City Commission deals with more than just Wal-Mart, and he is prepared to address other issues as well.

“I think there’s a lot more to be accomplished,” he said. “I think Wal-Mart is really just a symptom.”

Thus originated his “promise” card that he unveiled early in the campaign. In it, Schauner promises that if elected:

l Companies that want tax abatements will pay a “living wage” of at least $9.39 an hour.

l Development will pay more of the costs it incurs.

l The whole community will be represented on boards and commissions.

l Major developments will be studied for their effects on neighborhood quality of life.

l Floodplain development will be prohibited.

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l Schauner will vote for Commissioner David Dunfield to be mayor.

Candidates Mike Rundle and Dennis “Boog” Highberger have also signed the promise card. The remaining candidates have not.

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

’23rd Street again’

Schauner, 57, is an attorney for the Kansas-National Education Assn. He represents teachers and teachers’ associations in dismissals, collective bargaining and other matters.

The association is based in Topeka, and Schauner lived there from 1973 to 2000 before deciding to move to Lawrence.

“I saw the city (Topeka) fail to address some pretty fundamental issues,” he said. “I saw the neighborhood around us crumbling, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.”

But after moving to Lawrence, Schauner said he saw some of the same development patterns starting to occur here. That’s when he decided to do something about it.

“I began to have visions of Wanamaker (Drive in Topeka) occurring along West Sixth Street, with the Hy-Vee and the banks along there,” he said. “It’s creating 23rd Street all over again, and I don’t see why the city is doing that.”

His opposition solidified with proposals to develop the northwest corner of Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive. First a home improvement store, then Wal-Mart, sought to build at the site. Schauner was a vocal opponent.

Schauner drew the attention of officials with the new “smart growth” Progressive Lawrence Campaign political action committee; he decided to run for office. And he startled some political observers by finishing third in the February primary.

“I think it would’ve been too monumental a task for a person new to town to assemble a campaign group that had any credibility without PLC’s involvement,” Schauner said. “But I believe it’s our ideas that are resonating with people.”

Commuting

Schauner said he can be a good commissioner even though he works in Topeka.

“I think the same question is legitimately asked of anybody who has a job, regardless of where they work,” he said. “The bottom line is everybody finds time to do the things they think are important.”

But Schauner has doled out as much criticism as he has taken, singling out candidates he says are supported by development interests.

“I don’t have a vested agenda,” he said. “But if we continue to do what we’ve always done, we’ll get what we’ve always gotten.”