photo by: Contributed

Karen Willey

Incumbent Douglas County Commissioner Karen Willey has won the District 3 seat and will continue serving on the commission.

On Tuesday, Willey received 7,008 votes against Republican Pam McDermott, who won a total of 5,266 votes. District 3 is the largest Douglas County Commission district by geographic area. The district includes the western portion of Lawrence, the city of Lecompton and the entirety of five townships: Willow Springs, Marion, Clinton, Kanwaka and Lecompton.

Willey told the Journal-World via text that she is grateful for the enthusiasm of the many people who helped get her message out, and she’s proud that her campaign stayed positive.

She said that achievements she’s proud of in her two years on the County Commission are the adopted plans to address climate change, housing and homelessness, and open space.

“I look forward to building policy around these plans addressing economic development through these lenses,” Willey said in a text.

Willey, a Democrat, has been on the commission since 2022, when she was appointed to replace Shannon Portillo, who moved out of state. Willey currently serves on the Legal Redress Committee of the Lawrence NAACP, as president of housing nonprofit BRAC, and as a volunteer firefighter. Additionally, for the last 31 years, she has served as a volunteer on a dozen community boards, including the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission.

Willey previously told the Journal-World that one of the things she supports is the partnership plan between the City of Lawrence and Douglas County to address homelessness, “A Place for Everyone.” She said this collaboration needs to focus on prioritizing local funding for local residents and on both subsidized and market rate housing, and that the county needs to establish infill and greenfield developments.