photo by: Contributed

Shannon Reid

Incumbent Douglas County Commissioner Shannon Reid was reelected on Tuesday, and will now be serving another term in the District 2 seat.

Reid’s opponent, Independent candidate Brad Chun, received 2,228 votes, while she acquired 4,899 votes. The district Reid will continue representing includes North Lawrence, the eastern Lawrence area around downtown, Grant Township and the portion of Wakarusa Township north of Lawrence.

“I’m feeling really good and grateful right now after what has been a hard fought few weeks in the campaign,” Reid told the Journal-World. “I’m just glad for the opportunity to be able to keep serving my community and try to make it better for all people.”

Reid said that looking back in the previous term, some of the things she is proud of are the action and strategic plans that the county has worked to develop and improve in recent years, including the city of Lawrence and Douglas County plan to end chronic homelessness, “A Place for Everyone.”

“My hope is that with some of those plans and strategies moving forward, we can work to reduce that harm and that impact on our community on a local level,” Reid said.

Reid added that she would like to start building a foundation for more supportive housing and bring together multiple sectors to increase the housing supply and amount of support available. She also wants to address the concern of affordability in the county, particularly with housing and how the county can grow and attract other businesses and developments.

Reid, a Democrat, works as a court advocate for victims of domestic violence at The Willow Domestic Violence Center. She told the Journal-World that she has provided direct advocacy for victims of domestic and sexual violence in Lawrence since 2010.

Reid said that regardless of who people in the county voted for in the election, she wants people to feel like they can access their local elected officials and ask questions, express concerns and get feedback.

“I’m interested in doing more relationship building on an individual level, which I think will be more possible with the increase in county commissioners,” Reid said.