A full-time officer in the Kansas National Guard is making a run for the Lawrence City Commission and hopes to bring a more disciplined approach to spending and taxing decisions.

City Commission candidate Rob Sands

Rob Sands became the 11th candidate to file for one of three at-large seats on the commission.

“Really, just watching what has happened the last couple of years, it seems like the city has a view when it comes to our pocketbooks that they have as much of a right to that money as we do,” Sands said.

Sands, 32, has lived in Lawrence since 2001. He’s a major in the Kansas National Guard and serves as one of the guard’s administrative officers, in addition to being a trained member of a tank unit. He’s currently stationed in Kansas City.

Sands said he has seen both good and bad with how the City Commission has acted recently. He said the proposed Ninth Street arts corridor project would “cement Lawrence as the cultural center of Kansas.” He also said he sees the long-term value of the Rock Chalk Park sports complex, but understands that many residents believe the process for approval didn’t live up to the city’s standards.

Sands said he’ll campaign on the idea that core city services need to be the focus on the commission. When it comes to the idea of a new $28 million police headquarters, Sands — who said he is a data guy — wants to see more metrics on how the police department currently is performing before the city tackles the facilities question. He said he also thinks the city needs to do more work in finding a funding plan that doesn’t involve a tax increase.

Sands said he also thinks the commission needs to give more thought to whether it is being too generous with incentives to attract projects to the city. He said the recent 85 percent tax rebate that was offered to a proposed apartment complex near Kansas University’s Memorial Stadium was troubling.

“I’m not saying we should never provide an incentive to a business, but maybe an 85 percent tax break is too high,” Sands said. “It really puts the pressure on the backs of the already-established businesses in the city to make up for that.”

The other 10 people to file for a seat on the commission are David Crawford, a leader of a grassroots group to bring a grocery store downtown; 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; Mike Anderson, the host of a cable television program; Kristie Adair, a Lawrence school board member and co-owner of Wicked Broadband; and Gary Williams, an owner of a local janitorial service.

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.

2015 Lawrence city commission candidates (in order of filing)

• Stan Rasmussen, U.S. Army attorney
• Matthew Herbert, Lawrence High School government and civics teacher
• Stuart Boley, retired IRS agent
• Leslie Soden, owner of a Lawrence pet sitting company
• Justin Priest, Lawrence bus driver and leader of the local transit union
• Mike Anderson, host of local cable television program
• Bob Schumm, city commissioner
• David Crawford, leader of a grassroots group to bring a grocery store downtown
• Kristie Adair, Lawrence school board member and co-owner of Wicked Broadband
• Gary Williams, owner of a Lawrence janitorial service
• Rob Sands, officer in the Kansas National Guard