photo by: Nick Krug

Lawrence City Commissioner Stuart Boley is pictured Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017 outside City Hall in downtown Lawrence.

Commissioner Stuart Boley has filed for reelection to the Lawrence City Commission.

Boley, who is a retired auditor with the Internal Revenue Service, was elected to the commission in 2015 and served as mayor in 2018.

Regarding why he wants to continue his service on the commission, Boley said that with the commission’s new strategic plan and priority based budgeting process, he thinks the commission is making progress in providing excellent city services to Lawrence residents at a reasonable cost. He said he would like to continue that work.

“It’s been an honor to serve the community, and I’d like the opportunity to continue my service,” Boley said.

Two other issues Boley said would be important in the upcoming term were addressing homelessness in the community and the ongoing process of cleaning up environmental containments at the former Farmland Industries fertilizer plant. The city took ownership of the plant in 2010 with the goal of using a portion of the 467-acre site for its new business park, now known as VenturePark, but it’s now estimated that cleaning up contaminated areas of the property will cost millions more than originally thought.

Boley said he would work to provide leadership on budget and financial aspects of those and other issues, and would work as a team with his fellow commissioners, in support of their areas of expertise, to meet the needs of the community and get things done.

“We’ve got to find a way to be successful with these critical issues,” Boley said.

Boley retired in 2009 after working as an IRS auditor for 32 years. He served as the administrative officer of the Douglas County Community Foundation from 2011 to 2017. Originally from Lenexa, Boley earned his Bachelor of Arts in English and modern European studies from the University of Kansas. After working in different areas of the country, he returned to Lawrence in 1983.

Boley previously volunteered with the Lawrence Community Nursery School, the Schwegler Neighborhood Association, Boy Scout Troop 59, Friends of Eutin, the Sister Cities Advisory Board and the Lawrence Traffic Safety Commission. He currently serves as a Master Food Volunteer with the Douglas County Extension Service and is a member of the NAACP History Committee.

Boley’s term on the commission is one of three expiring this year. The others are those of commissioners Lisa Larsen and Jennifer Ananda. Larsen has filed for reelection and Ananda announced Thursday she would not seek another term. Ma’Ko’Quah Jones and Bart Littlejohn have filed for election.

The filing deadline for the City Commission race is noon on June 1. Candidates will have an Aug. 3 primary, if needed, and the general election will be on Nov. 2. Primaries will be scheduled only if the number of candidates who file is more than two times the number of open seats.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the threshold to trigger a primary election.