photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County elections office at 711 W. 23rd St. is pictured Monday, Oct. 31, 2022.

The field of candidates running for seats on the soon-to-be-expanded Douglas County Commission is beginning to take shape.

This year’s general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, will be a significant one for Douglas County. That’s because the ballot will include not only the existing District 2 and District 3 seats that are up for election this year — currently occupied by District 2 Commissioner Shannon Reid and District 3 Commissioner Karen Willey — but also two newly created seats as the commission expands from three to five members.

As a reminder, Commissioner Patrick Kelly, who represents District 1 — located entirely in central Lawrence on the new commission district map — won’t appear on this year’s ballot since he was reelected to another four-year term in the 2022 election. Otherwise, at least two new faces are guaranteed on the next County Commission, from districts representing parts of southeastern and southern Lawrence and the communities of Eudora and Baldwin City.

photo by: Douglas County

This map shows the new districts coinciding with the Douglas County Commission’s expansion from three to five members.

By general election day, it will have been a full two years since Douglas County voters passed a ballot measure increasing the county governing body’s size. Near the end of 2022, Gov. Laura Kelly gave approval for Douglas County’s two new commissioners to be chosen during the next general election this year, rather than electing commissioners for the two new seats via a special election.

With about a month to go before the June 3 candidate filing and withdrawal deadline for the August primary election, at least one candidate has filed for election in each district. Here’s a look at who’s filed as of April 30, and a reminder of the area that each district encompasses.

District 2:

District 2 includes North Lawrence, the eastern Lawrence area around downtown, Grant Township and the portion of Wakarusa Township north of Lawrence.

As of May 1, Democratic incumbent Shannon Reid is the only candidate to have filed for election in District 2. Reid, who works as the court advocate for The Willow Domestic Violence Center, was elected to the County Commission in 2020. Along with serving on the County Commission, Reid is the commission representative on the county’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

photo by: Contributed photo

Shannon Reid

District 3:

District 3 is the largest in terms of geographic area, including the western portion of Lawrence, the city of Lecompton and the entirety of five townships: Willow Springs, Marion, Clinton, Kanwaka and Lecompton.

So far, two Republican candidates have filed for the seat — John Landon and Pam McDermott, who both filed on the same day in mid-April.

Landon, a third-generation resident of Douglas County, has lived in rural Douglas County for over 30 years. He currently serves as director of the Shawnee County Weed Department and previously was the director of the same department in Douglas County for 12 years. Landon also served as a volunteer firefighter in Wakarusa and Kanwaka townships for 20 years.

photo by: Contributed

John Landon

McDermott has lived in Lawrence since 1983, when she came to Douglas County from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to attend the University of Kansas. McDermott and her husband are among the founders of Morning Star Church, where he is the pastor and she has worked full-time since 2013 to direct the church’s community involvement. She also ran for the County Commission as a Republican in 2020.

photo by: Contributed

Pam McDermott

Willey, a Democrat and the current commission chair, has yet to file for reelection in District 3.

District 4:

Two Democrats and one Libertarian are running for election in District 4, which includes a small portion of southeastern Lawrence, Eudora and Eudora Township, and the small portion of Wakarusa Township located between Grant Township and the eastern edge of Lawrence.

Gene Dorsey, the first Democratic candidate, filed for election in August 2023. Dorsey is a retired financial controller and third-generation Kansan who grew up in Gardner and has lived in Lawrence since 2005. Dorsey helped form the Schwegler Neighborhood Association, where he served as secretary for six years, and currently serves as secretary and treasurer for the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center Governing Board of Directors.

photo by: Jeff Burkhead

Gene Dorsey

Mike Kelso is the other Democratic candidate in District 4, having filed for election in February. Kelso, who lives in rural Douglas County south of Eudora, is a senior IT systems manager with Epiq and currently serves on the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission. He’s also held various other leadership positions in Douglas County, including a 12-year stint on the Eudora School Board, 10 years with the East Central Kansas Cooperative for Education and six years on the Douglas County Fair Board representing Eudora Township.

photo by: Contributed

Mike Kelso

The Libertarian candidate, Steve Jacob, was selected for the party’s unofficial nomination at its 2024 state convention earlier in April. Jacob has lived in the same area of Lawrence since 2001 and works for the City of Lawrence as a maintenance technician. Prior to the changes to commission districts, Jacob in 2022 ran for election in District 1 against Patrick Kelly.

photo by: Contributed

Steve Jacob

In Kansas, Libertarians file for election in local races at the state level, rather than with the local county clerk, because they do not appear on the primary election ballot. Instead, Jacob will join the other candidates for the seat on the general election ballot in November, pending the submission of his paperwork with the state of Kansas in May.

District 5:

In District 5, which includes a small portion of south Lawrence, southern Wakarusa Township, Baldwin City and Palmyra Township, one Democrat and one Libertarian have filed for election.

Nicholas Matthews, the Democratic candidate, filed for election in late April. Matthews grew up in Lawrence and previously worked for the governor’s constituent service office in Montpelier, Vermont, before returning to Lawrence.

photo by: Contributed

Nicholas Matthews

The Libertarian candidate is Kirsten Kuhn, who according to the Libertarian Party of Kansas lives in Eudora. The Journal-World wasn’t able to locate contact information to ask Kuhn for a photo or biographical information for this story.

Like Jacob in District 4, Kuhn advances straight to the general election ballot in November because of the state-level filing process for Libertarian candidates.

Other Douglas County positions:

In addition to seats on the County Commission, voters will also select a county treasurer, county clerk, sheriff and register of deeds in the general election. So far, only the incumbents for each of those roles — Douglas County Treasurer Adam Rains, Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew, Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister and Douglas County Register of Deeds Kent Brown — have filed for election. All four are Democrats.

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The deadline to register to vote in the August primary is July 16. More information about election deadlines, candidate filings and the new commission district map is available on the county’s website.