Karen Willey

Karen Willey, the current chair of the Douglas County Commission, has filed for election to retain her seat on the commission.

Willey, a Democrat, announced that she planned to file for election in District 3 in a press release sent to the Journal-World Tuesday afternoon. As the Journal-World has reported, District 3 is the largest of five commission districts in terms of its geographic area and includes the western portion of Lawrence, the city of Lecompton and the entirety of five townships: Willow Springs, Marion, Clinton, Kanwaka and Lecompton.

Willey joined the County Commission in 2022 and replaced outgoing commissioner Shannon Portillo, who left midway through her first term in office after accepting a job at Arizona State University. Willey wasn’t elected to the seat but instead selected by a vote of precinct committeepeople who live in District 3.

So far, two others have filed for the seat — Republican candidates John Landon and Pam McDermott. Willey is the tenth candidate to file for election for one of the four seats on the newly expanded five-member County Commission.