A retiree who has been leading a group to bring a grocery store downtown has filed for a seat on the Lawrence City Commission.

David Crawford filed his paperwork Tuesday in front of a crowd of about 15 supporters at Lawrence City Hall. He said he’ll work to bring a strong voice to ordinary citizens, and he vowed to not take any campaign contributions from developers or other special interests that have a history of “marginalizing and dividing the community.”

David Crawford

“It is obvious that special interests wield too much influence over decision-making at City Hall,” Crawford said.

Crawford, 65, is a retired boilermaker and instructor for the union for boilermakers in the Kansas City area. He lived in Lawrence as a youth and while a student at Kansas University, but lived mostly in the Kansas City area during his career. He moved back to Lawrence about five years ago.

For the last year, Crawford has been the chairman of the grassroots group Downtown Grocery Project, which has been working to convince a grocery operator to begin serving the central neighborhoods of the city. Crawford said that experience has allowed him to make numerous contacts with Lawrence neighborhood associations.

He said one of his goals as a commissioner would be to try to encourage more neighborhood involvement at City Hall. Crawford said he thinks the City Commission could do more to establish a better rapport with community members.

“I think the City Commission needs to find a way to make more connections with ordinary residents,” Crawford said.

Crawford is the eighth candidate to file for one of the three at-large seats on the commission. The other candidates are City Commissioner Bob Schumm; Leslie Soden, the owner of a Lawrence pet sitting company; Stuart Boley, a retired IRS agent; Stan Rasmussen, an attorney for the U.S. Army; Matthew Herbert, a Lawrence High School government and civics teacher; Justin Priest, a Lawrence bus driver and leader of the local transit union; and Mike Anderson, the host of a cable television program.

Commissioners Mike Dever and Terry Riordan also have terms expiring in April, but they have not yet announced whether they plan to seek re-election. Candidates have until noon Jan. 27 to file for one of the three at-large seats. A March 3 primary will narrow the field to six candidates. The general election will be April 7.