Four filings at deadline trigger city primary
Nine candidates seek 3 commission seats
The final hours before Tuesday’s filing deadline produced four new candidates for the Lawrence City Commission race and one new contender for the Lawrence school board.
Electric contractor George Grieb, restaurant owner Doug Holiday, retiree David Holroyd and attorney Greg Robinson all filed for one of three at-large seats on the city commission.
Holroyd also filed for one of three at-large positions on the school board.
The city commission filings bring the total number of candidates to nine, and ensures that there will be a primary election to narrow the field to six on March 1.
There won’t be a primary election for the school board. There are four candidates for the three seats.
George Grieb
Grieb, the 37-year-old owner of Lawrence-based Lynn Electric, 2415 Ponderosa Drive, said the issue of affordable housing pushed him into the race.
“I have about 25 employees, and only about five live in the city of Lawrence,” Grieb said. “That is really the main reason why I want to run. I think it is really expensive to live in this town.”
Grieb said he considered the smoking ban a “moot” issue unless enough residents signed a petition to force the ban to a public vote.
Doug Holiday
Holiday, a 42-year-old co-owner of Biggs Bar & Grill, 2429 Iowa, said he hoped to bring a “fresh set of ears” to city government and would talk about the need for the community to add more jobs.
“When I advertise for a position at the restaurant, I have 30 or 40 people apply,” he said. “That really tells me that we need to focus on bringing more jobs to the community.”
Holiday also said he would be willing for the commission to conduct further study on the smoking ban implemented in July. But he stopped short of saying that he would advocate overturning the ban.
David Holroyd
Holroyd, a 60-year-old retiree from Lawrence’s Kmart Distribution Center, said he filed for the City Commission because he thought there was an inequity between West Lawrence and East Lawrence.
“This commission and past commissions have turned everything east of Kasold into the Fallujah of Douglas County,” Holroyd said, making a comparison to a city in Iraq. “I don’t feel like the money set aside for neighborhoods has been used very well, and nobody on the commission wants to tackle that issue.”
On his school board candidacy, Holroyd said he was opposed to the proposed $63 million bond issue.
“It is quite obvious that we need a bond issue for some school improvements, but this is not the bond issue we need,” Holroyd said. “It is too expensive and nonproductive.”
Greg Robinson
Robinson, 39, said he had gained valuable government experience serving as the Lansing city attorney since 1999. He said he would campaign on a fiscally conservative platform.
“It is my personal belief that the city of Lawrence spends a lot of fluff money,” Robinson said, citing as an example a proposed $545,000 roundabout at 19th and Louisiana streets. “In lean times, we have to tighten our belts.”
Robinson also said he supported reopening the smoking ban issue. He said he wanted the commission to look at further compromise possibilities that would lessen the financial impact on businesses.
Other Lawrence candidates
Other candidates who previously filed for the City Commission are: incumbents Sue Hack and David Schauner, downtown barber and former commissioner Mike Amyx, school administrator Tom Bracciano and attorney Jim Carpenter. City Commissioner David Dunfield did not file for re-election.
Other candidates who previously filed for school board are incumbent Linda Robinson, former education lobbyist Craig Grant, and John Mitchell, an administrator with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
