Lawrence City Commission candidates David Schauner and Sam Fields offered their perspectives on city issues Thursday during online chats here at ljworld.com.

Schauner, who has served four years on the City Commission, disputed assertions that he is “anti-growth.”

“In truth, if you examine the number of housing projects and others that have been approved in the past 4 years, you will find that nearly every proposal submitted has been approved,” he said.

But Fields, a newcomer, suggested that City Hall needs to do a better job of growing Lawrence’s economy – saying his priority would be to attract new businesses, as well as improving “the city’s relationships with existing businesses.”

Other topics addressed Thursday:

¢ Schauner said he supported a proposed domestic partnership registry for the city, while Fields offered concerns that such a registry would create jurisdictional problems if such partnerships dissolved.

¢ Fields said the recent Wal-Mart expansion on South Iowa Street throws in question the need for a new store at Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive; Schauner noted he had not supported Wal-Mart’s proposals for that site during his term on the commission.

¢ Both men offered support for the T.

The primary election is Tuesday; the top six candidates will advance to the April 3 general election, where three will be chosen to take office.

Candidates Michael Limberg and Jake Davis will take questions online at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. today, respectively. All other candidates have been chatting throughout the week; the transcripts can be found here at ljworld.com.