Watching the Douglas County Commission in January vote to approve a plan to expand its jail as many residents voiced opposition to the project made Shannon Portillo realize she had to act.
Portillo, 35, a University of Kansas associate professor and administrator who has extensively studied criminal justice, said she chose to run for the County Commission so she can bring her background in that field to the ...
Douglas County Commissioner Nancy Thellman has unfinished business.
Thellman, who is running to earn a fourth term on the County Commission, said she wants another four-year term to continue working on mental health and criminal justice initiatives.
“It’s clear change takes time,” Thellman said, noting the county’s ongoing construction of a behavioral health campus in Lawrence. “Some of the work ...
Ron Thacker wants to make sure rural communities of Douglas County have a voice on the County Commission.
Thacker, 52, lives in rural Douglas County in Lecompton Township. He said he noticed many of the candidates running for the County Commission this fall reside in Lawrence, which could make the county’s governing body city-focused.
“It’s all Douglas County, so I’m not trying to discount the people ...
During the 2016 election cycle, Karen Willey said she noticed the fractured nature of politics and realized she needed to do something to bring people together.
Willey, 44, who currently serves on the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission as a county appointee, said she chose to run for the Douglas County Commission this fall so she could try to bring local people together to overcome those ...
A Douglas County church leader hopes to make up for lost time on criminal justice issues if she is elected to the Douglas County Commission this fall.
Pam McDermott, 54, said she chose to run for the County Commission because she opposes the county’s plan to expand the Douglas County Jail. She said the County Commission’s decision to approve the $29.6 million project in January, despite Douglas County ...
A massive influx of cash for coronavirus recovery is heading to Douglas County soon. But before the county can receive the money, it must craft a plan for how to use the funds and submit it to the state.
To decide how the nearly $25 million of federal relief funding will be spent, Douglas County has put together a coordinating team consisting of local leaders representing education, housing, medical services, ...
