Larsen, Morgan advance to fill vacant Lawrence City Commission seat

City Commission finalist Scott Morgan leans over to congratulate fellow finalist Lisa Larden after the two advanced to vie for former Mayor Jeremy Farmer’s vacant commission seat during a public forum Thursday night at Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. Tuesday night, city commissioners will select one finalist to immediately join the commission.

Lawrence city commissioners have selected Lisa Larsen and Scott Morgan as finalists for the City Commission vacancy left by former Mayor Jeremy Farmer.

At an open forum Thursday night, commissioners cited Larsen’s and Morgan’s backgrounds as business owners among the reasons they were the top picks. Larsen is a professional geologist and former owner of environmental consulting firm Larsen & Associates Inc., and Morgan, an editor/publisher and former school board member, used to own a small publishing business, Morgan Quitno Press.

“What you’re doing is completing us,” Commissioner Stuart Boley told the candidates before a crowd of 50 people gathered at City Hall. “The task is to represent the people of Lawrence. We have to look at six very qualified people and ask, ‘What do we need to be a complete commission?’ That’s tough.”

Of Larsen, the commission’s top pick based on a points system, Boley said: “I think scientists are underrepresented on this commission, and I admire your business experience. Lisa’s my top pick.”

Commissioners chose Larsen and Morgan late Thursday after more than three hours of interviews, public comment and deliberations. They now advance to the regular City Commission meeting Tuesday, at which commissioners will elect a winner. That person will take the oath of office and be seated on the commission that night.

The person elected will serve the length of Farmer’s unexpired term, ending in January 2018. Farmer resigned in August, two days after quitting his job as executive director of the nonprofit food pantry Just Food amid allegations of financial mismanagement.

The candidates who participated Thursday night but were not chosen were David Schauner, Joe O’Brien, Terry Riordan and Karl Watson.

Candidate interviews

Before the interviews started at Thursday’s forum, Mayor Mike Amyx said choosing a new commissioner was “one of the — if not the — most important decisions this body will make.”

Commissioners asked candidates eight questions, touching on topics including affordable housing, tax incentives in development projects, creating healthy neighborhoods and how they’d work with current city commissioners.

When asked how to ensure Lawrence “continues to be a home for working people of modest means,” Larsen said she’d propose tax incentives for neighborhoods to upgrade and maintain existing houses. She also talked about providing incentives for companies that offer well-paying positions to come to Lawrence.

“Any adult willing to work a 40-hour workweek should not have to rely on welfare to maintain a modest lifestyle,” she said.

City Commission vacancy applicant Lisa Larsen

Morgan, who served on the school board from 1999 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2011, said the key was “good schools.”

Commissioner Matthew Herbert later asked Morgan about the decision, when he was a school board member, to “close good schools.”

Morgan replied that the board had to “figure out how to spend our money wisely.”

“Was it teachers we wanted to support or buildings?” he asked.

City Commission vacancy applicant Scott Morgan

Both Larsen and Morgan said they could help the City Commission in implementing specific steps to reach its already broad goals. They both also placed an emphasis on restoring the public’s trust in city leaders.

When asked about tax incentives for downtown development projects, Larsen and Morgan said they would not be opposed to such incentives — in some cases. Larsen said recent incentives — such as the 15-year, 85-percent tax abatement for the Eldridge Hotel expansion — have gone “overboard.” Morgan said the city needed a vision for downtown. The incentives could be used to implement those goals, if the funding were available, he said.

All the candidates were asked to name a decision made by the current City Commission they disagreed with.

Larsen said commissioners should have considered more closely the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department’s request for an additional $78,650 to use concrete for the new trail between Constant and Burcham parks. The issue was brought up and unanimously approved at a Sept. 22 meeting.

A request for additional funds was needed because the original plan called for using sections of asphalt. After a wet summer, however, the department decided to use concrete on the length of the trail.

“This area of Lawrence is well-known to be in a floodplain,” Larsen said. “It’s 50- to 25-feet from the largest river in Kansas. Was that originally taken into account? Now the project is more than the next low bidder.”

Morgan said he wished he could have been part of the study session in July at which police department officials voiced their need for a new, larger facility to serve as its headquarters. No formal action was taken at the meeting.

“I understood the frustration from the ardent supporters of that,” Morgan said. “I am very familiar with that frustration. I would have been one of those wanting to take a step back. I’ve learned sometimes in Lawrence, sometimes the quickest route is not the best route. You need to hear the community’s concerns, alter the plan and go forward with a plan B.”

In closing statements, Larsen emphasized her business experience and technical skill.

Morgan said he’d worked in local, state and federal government and had been “vetted by the public arena for the last 25 years.”

In Thursday’s deliberation, each of the four current commissioners named their first choice and then filled out a ballot naming their top three.

The commissioners’ first choices were awarded three points, their second two points and their third one point. Larsen earned a total of eight points, and Morgan had five.

The commissioners’ selections were, in order:

Amyx:

• Watson

• Morgan

• Larsen

Boley:

• Larsen

• Schauner

• Morgan

Herbert:

• O’Brien

• Morgan

• Larsen

Leslie Soden:

• Larsen

• Schauner

• O’Brien

Amyx read the tabulated votes aloud to the six candidates and the crowd. All of the candidates applauded the results.

“This is not defeat,” Commissioner Soden said. “This is just one step in the next direction.”

Herbert said he “listened as six people taught me a very important lesson.”

“I leave here feeling like I’ll be better at this job going forth,” he said.

Tuesday’s meeting will be held at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., starting at 5:45 p.m.


More on Larsen and Morgan

Candidate profiles, application documents and video from a Sept. 24 public question-and-answer forum.


Lisa Larsen

? Journal-World profile

? Application documents (.pdf)


Scott Morgan

? Journal-World profile

? Application documents (.pdf)