The Douglas County Courthouse.

Two of three seats on the Douglas County Commission are being contested this election cycle.

Vying for the 2nd District seat is political newcomer Jesse Brinson Jr., who is running as an independent. His opponent is incumbent Democrat Nancy Thellman, who is seeking her third four-year term on the County Commission. The 2nd District includes east Lawrence precincts and eastern Douglas County, including Baldwin City and Eudora.

The 3rd District seat is open with Jim Flory’s decision not to seek a third term on the County Commission. Contesting for the seat are Democrat Bassem Chahine and Republican Michelle Derusseau, It is the first campaign for public office for both candidates. The winner will represent the district of west Lawrence and the western portion of the county, including Clinton, Lecompton, Stull, Globe and Worden.

3rd District

Michelle Derusseau

Republican

Michelle Derusseau says she is prepared to hit the ground running if she earns a seat on the Douglas County Commission in January.

Derusseau has been a resident of Lawrence since 1982, her freshman year at Kansas University, where she studied politics and history before getting a certificate in human resources from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Her first full-time job in Lawrence was with the Kansas University Endowment Association, and she returned to the foundation three years ago after a long stint as a business director with a Lawrence beer distributor.

Derusseau was the first candidate to announce for the 3rd District seat, doing so in the same week incumbent and fellow Republican Jim Flory said he would not seek a third term on the County Commission.

Since that time, Derusseau has regularly attended weekly County Commission meetings, was there for the County Commission’s July hearings on the 2017 budget, taken in all the meetings of the Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council since it was created in March and attended board meetings of all six rural townships in the 3rd District. Additionally, she has met with 22 community partner agencies who receive county funding.

Michelle Derusseau

That preparation built on her 27 years of community service through volunteer work with Lawrence Police Foundation, Douglas County Valor, United Way, Junior Achievement, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Douglas County American Red Cross, LEAP, Go Red for Women and other service organizations, Derusseau said. Derusseau has been particularly active in law enforcement issues, including serving as a leader of a group that unsuccessfully lobbied for a new city of Lawrence sales tax to fund a new police headquarters building.

In Derusseau’s view the ongoing work of the Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council has put the issues involving the mental health crisis intervention center and expansion of the Douglas County Jail back on the table.

“The County Commission formed and is funding a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and the council is making great strides toward addressing issues,” she wrote in a response to a Journal-World question. “As far as I am concerned with the formation of the CJCC, the ballot question as previously discussed no longer exists. The county through its commitment has sent a message it is willing to look deeper into the issue.”

The coordinating council’s work also made premature any endorsements of the jail expansion or the mental health crisis center, Derusseau wrote.

“As a candidate, it would be irresponsible to commit to anything,” she said. “With so many variables and options, there is not an actual question or proposal before us. What I can say is I fully support studying the mental health crisis center as well as addressing the issues at the jail.”

A concern in the 3rd District is the Kansas Department of Transportation’s plan for a future Kansas Highway 10 and Interstate 70 interchange with the planned, but still unfunded, expansion of K-10 to four lanes west of U.S. Highway 59. In October 2015, KDOT shared at a public meeting a plan for a new interchange, which closed K-10 access to Farmer’s Turnpike, as North 1800 Road is commonly known. It has since put all discussion of the interchange on hold as it conducts an environmental impact study of the proposed west-leg improvements. When discussion renews, the county needs to advocate for the continued access to Farmer’s Turnpike, she said.

“If the Lecompton interchange is moved two miles west, we need to ensure the current access to the Farmer’s Turnpike remains open until the new interchange is complete,” she wrote. “Closing this access would create financial hardship on the city of Lecompton, as it would cut them off. It would also create safety issues as KDOT’s suggested alternate routes are East 1000 and East 800 roads and East 600 Road/US Highway 40.”

On a related issue, the county needs to work with the city of Lawrence to ensure that it commits to sharing the cost of extending Wakarusa Drive south of K-10, a project that is on the county’s five-year capital improvement project list, Derusseau said.

Her priorities include safeguarding county employees and residents once concealed carry is allowed in county buildings on July 1, 2017, Derusseau said. The two buildings that should be given priority for electronic detection devices and armed guards are the Community Health Building that is home to Bert Nash and the Douglas County Courthouse, she said.

Another priority would be exploring an expansion of the County Commission to five members to give rural areas better representation, Derusseau said.