Lawrence City Commission vacancy applicants, top row from left: Mike Anderson, David Crawford, Kenneth Easthouse, Lisa Larsen, Scott Morgan, Kolbe James Murray, Joe O'Brien. Bottom row from left: Allison Puderbaugh, Terry Riordan, J. Douglas Robinson, David Schauner, Jeffrey Southard, Caleb Stephens, Karl Watson.

The 14 people applying to fill a vacant seat on the Lawrence City Commission have a variety of views about what the top priorities of city government should be.

People interested in filling that vacancy had to submit applications to City Hall by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Those application packets are now available on the city’s website.

Among the many questions they were asked was to list their top priorities. The answers ranged from such topics as economic development and public safety to providing tax relief and restoring public trust in city government.

A citizens advisory committee will soon start sifting through those applications, and members of the public will get their chance to ask the candidates questions during a public forum scheduled for Sept. 24.

Following is a summary of each applicant and his or her top priorities for city government:

Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson

Address: 811 New Jersey St.

Occupation: Host and writer for the “Not So Late Show,” on Wow6. Ran unsuccessfully for City Commission in 2015.

Top issues: “Currently the biggest issue is trust and stability with the City Commission. I find it paramount that the community see the transparency they want in a City Commission. This is one of the biggest reasons why I’m running.”

Anderson also listed economic growth and development, “new urbanism” and commitment to the arts as important issues.

“For me it’s about making smart economic decisions. This includes how we grow, how we use tax incentives, and how we encourage entrepreneurship. I’m pro growth, and am certainly interested in bringing businesses to Lawrence and very interested in seeing businesses started in Lawrence.”

David Crawford

David Crawford

Address: 715 Illinois St.

Occupation: Retired instructor of welding, blueprint reading, fabrication and other subjects. Ran unsuccessfully for City Commission in 2015.

Top issues: Public safety; smart growth principles; tax relief.

“In 2014 there were six homicides in Lawrence, the largest number in at least a decade. This is a disturbing statistic. Improved police facilities, intelligently designed and located to promote proven community policing strategies, will do much to improve public safety.”

Crawford also expressed concern about a “food desert” in the city’s urban core.

“(The U.S. Department of Agriculture) rated East/North Lawrence areas, and Pinckney neighborhood, official ‘food deserts’ — i.e., areas devoid of convenient sources of high-quality primary ingredients for consumption. This distinction is usually reserved for urban wastelands, and remote rural areas; having a food desert in the midst of Lawrence is quite disconcerting. The solution — a downtown grocery store conveniently located in the vacant Borders building.”

Kenneth Easthouse

Kenneth Easthouse

Address: 1611 E. 24th St.

Occupation: Call center supervisor, General Dynamics

Top issues: “First and foremost, the use of tax abatement for multifamily projects — such as renovations for additional apartment buildings — has gone too far. The economic Development Goals were intended to attract significant business to Lawrence. However, the most recent uses of the policy are geared toward expanding additional loft apartments in new construction downtown as a way to circumvent any wage incentives built into the city plan.”

Easthouse also listed reauthorization of the city’s public transit system, and the development of a transit hub, as priorities.

“While the offer of the location at 21st and Iowa from the university is enticing, I feel the city needs to look at the overall economic impact of the hub’s location to make the best financial sense.”

Lisa Larsen

Lisa Larsen

Address: 1117 Avalon

Occupation: Licensed professional geologist

Top issues: “Commissioners are working to hire a city manager, update Horizon 2020, upgrade the (Lawrence Police Department) facilities, develop south Iowa, and build the south Lawrence STP (sewage treatment plant). These projects are in various stages of evaluation and completion. I believe these are the high priority immediate issues. If chosen, I will provide my perspective and work with the commissioners to ensure successful implementation.”

Larsen said the city needs to hire a city manager “who is professional and ethical and who understands the necessity of providing accurate and complete information to commissioners.”

Other issues that she said need attention include infrastructure in older neighborhoods, economic sustainability, long-term water availability and mental health.

Scott Morgan

Scott Morgan

Address: 1618 Inverness Drive

Occupation: Editor and publisher. Served on the Lawrence school board, 1999-2003; and 2007-2011.

Top issues: Morgan said there is no single issue prompting him to seek a seat on the commission.

“I do believe that the number one issue of any elected body and its individual members is to maintain and build the level of confidence community members have in their government. A representative government is a special gift that we tend to treat far too casually. People need to know that their voice is heard and that they have access to information and answers.”

“Beyond the general issue of public confidence there will always be the issues of jobs, diversity of the tax base, infrastructure, budget, safety (including police facilities), planning, and general quality of life. The specifics of each of those will change from year to year. No matter the level of planning reality has a nasty way of popping up and yelling, ‘Surprise! Here’s something you have to address now.'”

Kolbe James Murray

Kolbe Murray

Address: 539 Millstone Drive

Occupation: Student

Top issues: “The top issue in Lawrence is honesty. In recent years Lawrence has built a tradition on picking favored developers and bending the law.”

Murray expressed several concerns about the recent development of the new recreation center and tournament facility known as Rock Chalk Park.

“We should not have prioritized the recreation center over an upgraded police facility and an upgraded wastewater treatment center. These upgrades are not as glamorous or fun for the city, but they are necessities.”

Joe O’Brien

Joe O’Brien

Address: 456 Rock Fence Place

Occupation: Kansas University faculty, School of Education

Top issues: O’Brien listed four top issues: public safety and infrastructure; affordable housing; sustainable development; and economic development.

“Ensuring public safety and providing and maintaining (a) physical infrastructure both are the most critical responsibilities of a local government and are the foundation of a city’s existence, let alone its future growth.”

“I agree with the need to reassess the identified urban growth areas and to consider them in light of current and future potential growth. Horizon 2020 hardly addresses Lawrence’s growth as a bedroom community, and the corresponding implications for services, Lawrence’s approach to neighborhoods, and the larger community involvement.”

Allison Puderbaugh

Allison Puderbaugh

Address: 616 Country Club Terrace

Occupation: Environmental project assistant

Top issues: “Issues facing the City of Lawrence include the need to improve infrastructure and public facilities including an improved police department while letting the people of Lawrence have a say. Guiding strategic growth while maintaining a vibrant downtown. The City of Lawrence needs to foster its artists while attracting/providing well-paying jobs to the citizens.”

Terry Riordan

Terry Riordan

Address: 1613 Tennessee St.

Occupation: Pediatrician. Former city commissioner, 2013-2015.

Top issues: Riordan listed 13 separate issues that he believes the city needs to address, starting with the filling of vacant positions.

“Filling the vacancy on the City Commission is the first issue that needs to be addressed so the city can move forward with important business on behalf of the citizens, including the search for a permanent city manager.”

Other issues he listed include job creation in Venture Park, public safety and the development of a new police station, redevelopment of older neighborhoods, re-evaluating the bus system and development of a new wastewater treatment plant.

J. Douglas Robinson

J. Douglas Doug Robinson

Address: 127 E. 19th St.

Occupation: Custom product sales, Home Depot

Top issues: Robinson said he is primarily concerned about the growth in city government itself.

“As I read the mailed-out citizen survey recently from the City of Lawrence, I was struck that it had an unspoken set of values informing the choice of questions and multiple choice responses. What was that bias? Simple, it was all predicated on the notion that government is growing and should provide more and more and more services and facilities for this rather affluent community.”

“There was no place where I could write my thoughts out that the government of Lawrence is growing faster than the community and at times without community input. Every institution, every business, every association tends to take on a life of its own and can run away with the people in it taking on more and more things they never intended to do when they started out.”

David Schauner

David Schauner

Address: 5002 Jeffries Court

Occupation: Attorney, Kansas National Education Association. Former city commissioner, 2003-2007.

Top issues: Schauner listed job creation and planning for future transportation needs as two of his top five issues.

“Without a strong job base and the spending power that follows, the rest of our issues will be even more challenging. As a university town, wage growth has always been problematic. Beyond service industry jobs, we must attract and retain value-added jobs.”

On the issue of transportation, Schauner wrote: “Cars, bicycles and buses are not mutually exclusive. The interface of these choices will become more important as the cost of street repair and construction increase. Less than a mile of four lane street costs $1,000,000 today. As the costs rise, choices will be more financially burdensome.”

Jeffrey Southard

Jeff Southard

Address: 724 Indiana St.

Occupation: Retired attorney

Top issues: Southard listed eight issues of importance, including job growth and developing new public safety offices.

“The granting of tax abatements, whether through reduced property taxes or sales tax refunds, is a useful tool in recruiting businesses, but can be overused. I would favor such abatements in the case of new businesses which create jobs which pay a living wage, and which do not compete with existing businesses. Apartments should not be eligible.

“There has been much discussion over the past two years about the need for new facilities for the police department, something which I think is long overdue. However, since the public has rejected an increase in the sales tax for this purpose, the commission will need to re-examine its spending priorities (such as installing fewer roundabouts) to find the necessary funds.”

Other issues Southard mentioned included low-income housing, the need for a mental health treatment facility, public transit, downtown parking and continued support for older neighborhoods.

Caleb Stephens

Caleb Stephens

Address: 3806 Pinnacle Circle

Occupation: Adolescent addictions counselor, therapist, social worker.

Top issues: Stephens listed social justice, activism and hope as his top issues.

“My most important issue within the city of Lawrence is that each and every individual feels safe. Each person had a different understanding of what ‘safe’ means, but there are definite understandings of what safety does not mean. Safety does not mean the criminalization of individuals experiencing and living in the reality of poverty.

“As an activist, I have marched, educated, spoken, and wept for the lives lost in Ferguson, and the various other lives of the black men and women who have been murdered by the system of institutional racism and systemic oppression that plagues our country, and even our very own city of Lawrence.

“Hope is something that people lose when justice is not served and people are not willing to actively stand and speak up for the blood spilled, and the lives taken.”

Karl Watson

Karl Watson

Address: 2516 Atchison Ave.

Occupation: Chief financial officer, GPW & Associates

Top issues: Watson listed economic development, “leveraging our community’s strengths,” and recruiting a city manager as his top issues.

“The Lawrence economy is ready for growth. A variety of factors are contributing to a positive outlook. During the last 10 years our community invested in improving city services and infrastructure. The completion of the SLT opens new areas for housing, retail and business.

“Investment in the Arts District increases our diversity. Investment in existing schools renews vital neighborhoods. A new library provides access to information locally as well as worldwide. We’ve expanded facilities to support a healthy community and environment. We now have an opportunity to leverage these investment(s) for the benefit of the community.”