Let there be no doubt that a 23-year old candidate certainly can have an impact on the Lawrence City Commission race.

Cori Viola, a second-year law student at Kansas University and one of 14 candidates seeking a seat on the commission, is poised to score a victory early on in the race. Viola spent several months at Lawrence Municipal Court as an intern for a nonprofit organization.

While there, she noticed that defendants who were sent to the county jail were being charged a nearly $75 per day fee by the city to reimburse the city for the cost of jailing them. The idea made little sense to Viola because often the defendants didn’t have the money to pay, and the new debt created by the jail fee only would make it more difficult for inmates to turn their lives around.

Cori Viola

“Sometimes I feel as a society we do a lot of complaining and not a lot of problem solving,” Viola said. “What I saw at Municipal Court, I knew could be fixed by the City Commission. I didn’t want to be the person who just complained, so I decided to run.”

That issue, however, may be solved before the election ever ends. City commissioners haven’t yet committed to changing the jail fee recoupment policy, but they’re leaning in that direction. They recently directed staff members to craft an ordinance that would eliminate the policy.

Viola said she is pleased that the city is paying attention to the issue. But she thinks defendants at Municipal Court aren’t the only group of citizens who aren’t being heard by the City Commission. She said helping those groups have a stronger voice would be a focus of her time on the commission.

“I’ve always been guided by my moral compass,” Viola said. “I think I was Catholic in a previous life because guilt really drives me. I feel guilty that people are underrepresented. I feel guilty that people aren’t being listened to.”

Next generation

Viola is the youngest candidate in this year’s field. Born and raised in Topeka, she has been in Lawrence since 2009, when she came to KU for her undergraduate work. Viola said she has been working to get younger voters engaged in the race, but she admits that has been challenging.

“One of the main problems I’m facing is I don’t think my peers understand how city government affects them,” Viola said.

Viola said that’s not an issue confined just to young people. She said she thinks entire neighborhoods have started to ignore the commission because they feel like the commission ignores them. Viola has been a frequent viewer of City Commission elections since becoming a candidate, and she often is concerned by how members of the public are treated.

“It seems like the commission is just sitting there trying to defeat the public’s arguments by coming up with new arguments,” she said.

Viola thinks what has occurred since the defeat of a sales tax to fund a new police headquarters is a prime example. City commissioners largely have talked about how they can ultimately convince voters to support a police headquarters plan.

“I think the commission has totally missed the mark on this,” Viola said. “I have heard that voters said no because they were mad about Rock Chalk Park. But what has made them angrier is that the City Commission turned around one month after the police issue was voted down and they continue to force this issue.

“It would be a different story if they had taken some time after the vote and presented an entirely new plan to the public. What they are saying now is just insulting. It shows they are not connected with the community.”

Issues

Viola said voters are talking a lot about tax incentives and how the city has been issuing them. She said she has picked up on a theme with city commissioners who frequently have been saying that the public simply doesn’t understand the city’s tax incentive policies. Viola isn’t buying it.

“We don’t want to be patronized by having tax abatements explained to us,” Viola said. “The problem a lot of people have with them is the rate at which they are being given out, and who they are being given to. They should give the public a little more credit and just hear what they are saying.”

On other issues, Viola said:

• She thinks other reforms at Municipal Court are needed. She said the amount of revenue that is being generated by the court is too far above its actual expenses. She said the court should not be a significant revenue source for the city.

• She wants Lawrence to be mindful of its unique character as it grows in the future.

“I want us to maintain that ‘keep Lawrence weird vibe,'” Viola said. “I don’t want to see Lawrence turn into some suburban metropolis.

More 2015 City Commission primary election coverage

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