City Commission vacancy applicant Dr. Terry Riordan

Terry Riordan has wanted to help people. That’s why he went into the medical field; why he joined student government in college; why he ran for City Commission in 2013 and earlier this year; and why he’s trying again now.

Riordan served as a commissioner from 2013 to 2015 but lost his re-election bid in April. After being encouraged by community members, he’s making another attempt, citing his experience as an asset.

“Initially, I was very reticent to do it,” Riordan said. “The citizens in not just Lawrence, but the whole United States, have this concept of anybody who has experience and is in politics, of getting away from that. But this is something where experience is needed. It’s not a bad thing.”

City Commission vacancy applicant Dr. Terry Riordan

Three current commissioners — Stuart Boley, Matthew Herbert and Leslie Soden — were all newly elected this spring

The City Commission has a “lack of experience,” Riordan said, and is in need of someone who “knows what the issues are, knows the players and knows the people who try to blow smoke and the people who are honest with you.”

“I think service recently and experience recently is what the city needs,” he said. “We’ll see what the city commissioners think.”

At last week’s public forum, Riordan talked about the city’s transportation system — an issue he said he’s “passionate about.”

The city has debated for about three years where to construct a new transit hub. In July, city commissioners rejected the idea of locating a hub on a piece of property at 21st and Iowa streets owned by KU Endowment.

“I think we need to solve that problem,” Riordan said. “The bus system is so important to so many of my patients, to get to and from work, to shopping. Lots of people don’t have transportation. We need to have a centralized bus area.”

Overall, he said, he wants to tackle issues that help “at-risk people to have a better life.”

“There are things we can do to help single moms and help people without transportation, the homeless, people with mental disorders,” Riordan said. “We can create an environment so their lives are better. I think those are the types of issues we need to look at.”