There are lots of ways to be an activist, but starting your own business doesn’t always rise to the top of many people’s lists.

But Kristie Adair and her husband, Joshua Montgomery, don’t confine themselves to the conventional way of doing things.

“We have both always been the innovative type who go against the grain,” said Adair, who is one of 14 candidates running for the Lawrence City Commission.

Kristie Adair

So, in 2005, the couple began building a new Internet service provider. In those days it was known as Lawrence Freenet, but it now operates under the brand Wicked Broadband. Yes, the couple hoped to make money and be successful in all those standard ways, but they applied a title to themselves that went beyond ‘entrepreneurs.’

“We are Internet activists because we are the type of people who think of the Internet as a utility,” Adair said. “Everybody should have access. The digital divide only will continue if we don’t get everybody access. If we don’t do what it takes to give everybody Internet access, we won’t be doing what is best for our community.”

Figuring out how to bring higher speed broadband service to Lawrence has been a hot topic on the Lawrence City Commission. Adair has vowed to not enter those discussions as a commissioner because her company could benefit from City Commission decisions. Until recently, Wicked had been seeking a loan guarantee from the city to help start a gigabit pilot project in Lawrence. The company recently pulled that request and is now asking for a smaller set of city incentives.

But Adair does plan on using her business background on the commission. Adair recently founded the Lawrence Center for Entrepreneurship in space at 925 Iowa Street. The center, which Adair plans to incorporate as a non-profit, provides joint office space, joint computing services, classes and other services needed by people wanting to start a business in Lawrence.

“Business can be done in a way that is so beneficial to the business owner and the community,” Adair said. “Business really can change the world.”

Adair, though, said she thinks Lawrence can do more to take advantage of start-up companies in the community.

“We need to do a lot more community building,” Adair said. “We need to do much more work with the university. We have a great deal of knowledge that comes through town every four years. We have not shown that we are passionate about supporting our local entrepreneurs. But we’re starting to take steps in that regard.”

Education values

Adair grew up in Tulsa, Okla. in a household that frequently struggled financially.

“My mother struggled,” Adair said. “She had a GED. My father left when I was very young. She got on welfare. She trained to be a secretary. She did the best she could to support us. But I looked at that and said a GED is not exactly enough to raise a family.”

Adair decided she wanted a college education. She left Tulsa when she was accepted to an art school, where she studied to be a fashion designer.

“I had a lot of fun and learned a lot, but I did not get an education,” Adair said.

But she would. It took a period of about 10 years, but Adair received her college diploma, graduating with a degree in history from Washburn University after she and Montgomery moved to the area. Today, Adair is a member of the Lawrence school board. She has said she’ll resign that post if she wins a seat on the commission because she doesn’t think she could do both jobs at once.

Adair said her time on the school board would be beneficial as a city commissioner. She praises the diversity of the school board. Adair and the other two female candidates in the race are seeking to become the first woman on the City Commission since Sue Hack served in 2009.

Adair said the school board also has reinforced the importance of listening to all perspectives. She said she has found herself voting for issues that she never previously thought she would have supported.

“The boundary change issue was an example of that. It is very hard to vote to have children cross a state highway,” said Adair, who is a strong supporter of pedestrian friendly projects. “But in the big picture you have to make sure all children get a good education, so you have to make sure we keep all our schools manageable.”

Issues

Adair said she thinks the community understands that there is a need to improve the facilities for the Lawrence Police Department. But she said the City Commission needs to be thoughtful about the process it uses for creating a plan because “we have had some black eyes at City Hall with the way they have done some projects.”

“The information was too much one way,” Adair said of the city’s unsuccessful efforts to pass a sales tax in November for the police project. “It was too much information coming just from the city.”

On other issues, Adair said:

• Improving the ability for people to walk and bike in the community will make Lawrence more attractive. She said she supports the idea of creating a pedestrian task force or pedestrian advisory committee to ensure the City Commission stays abreast of the need for more biking and pedestrian infrastructure improvements.

More 2015 City Commission primary election coverage

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