City Commissioner Sue Hack, a former school teacher, admits that there are times during a Tuesday night commission meeting that she is reminded of a junior high seating chart.

Hack, a social studies teacher for 31 years in Lawrence junior highs, says it happens when she sees a former student step to the podium to address the commission.

“I think ‘I know him. Fourth row, third seat,'” Hack said with a laugh. “It is really fun when that happens. It is exciting to see children you’ve taught grow up and accept their responsibilities as citizens.”

Hack, now retired from teaching, is one of nine candidates vying for three at-large positions on the Lawrence City Commission.

Hack said she found herself hoping the community learned some of the same lessons she tried to teach her students. Respect, in particular, is a big theme on the Hack campaign trail.

“There are people on all sides of every issue that feel they have not been respected,” Hack said. “I’m not just talking about a neighborhood group or development group or a downtown group. Everybody at one time feels they have not been respected, and that has created some hard feelings.”

Hack said one of her goals during her first four-year term was to try to bring the community together.

“We have worked hard as a commission to say ‘Have you as neighbors talked with the people who want to develop, and have you as developers talked to neighbors?'” Hack said. “There will always be people on both sides who will be inflexible, but that is not the group you deal with. You deal with that larger group of 80 percent or so that is in the middle and willing to work towards common agreement.”

Hack said she’s in a unique position to help bring the community together. During her tenure as a teacher, which ended when she retired in 2002, she taught in each of the city’s junior highs. She said that gave her a feel for each neighborhood in the community.

“That really has been a gift to me as a commissioner,” Hack said.

She said the experience taught her that Lawrence has its differences — especially between older and newer neighborhoods — but that there were many issues of agreement.

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“We all have pride in our community, pride in our children, appreciation of what Lawrence has to offer,” Hack said. “I truly believe there are more commonalties than differences. I think unfortunately we tend to forget that sometimes.”

On other issues, Hack said:

• She wants to look at alternatives to the city’s current smoking ban. Hack was the lone commissioner to vote against the ban. “There are alternatives that have not been completely explored, and there are local businesses that are suffering due to this particular ban.”
• She believes the city’s planning and permitting process needs to be easier for businesses to navigate. Hack is the chairwoman of the commission’s Business Retention Task Force, which has made the planning and permitting process its main focus. “We have to have a process that allows for smooth permitting and approval. It doesn’t mean that we give businesses an automatic yes. I know that is people’s fear, but that is not what it means.”
• She likes the idea of the city helping start a land trust that would be devoted to purchasing property that would become part of a unique affordable-housing program. Lawrence’s Tenants to Homeowners program has started to form a trust and is seeking city funding. “The definition of affordable housing is cloudy, but I know this: If somebody has a job in Lawrence, they ought to be able to live here if they choose, and if somebody lives here, they ought to be able to work here if they choose.”
• She is concerned about the prospect of adding new fees onto development. The issue is expected to come up as part of a report city commissioners have started to determine the fiscal impacts of growth. Hack said she was concerned that the study look as much at the benefits of growth as it does at the costs of growth.

Hack, 57, grew up the daughter of a Monsanto executive. The family lived in various places, including Springfield, Mass., Cincinnati, and St. Louis.

Hack is one of two incumbents seeking re-election, and she’s touting her experience on the commission as a benefit.

“I have learned it takes an incredible amount of time to do this job right,” Hack said. “But I have the time. I think the learning curve is rather steep. I had lived in Lawrence for over 30 years when I first took office. I had taught all over this community. I had taught government, for heaven’s sake. I thought I knew a lot. But about 15 minutes after being sworn in, I realized I had a steep hill to climb.”