photo by: Contributed

Paul Buskirk

Updated at 4:07 p.m. Wednesday, April 16

A former candidate for federal office has filed for a seat on the Lawrence City Commission.

Paul Buskirk, a special adviser in the University of Kansas athletics department, filed to run for a commission seat on Wednesday. Buskirk previously ran for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. Senate race in 2022, losing out to Mark Holland. Buskirk ran as the Democratic nominee against Republican Rep. Tracey Mann in the 2024 race to represent Kansas’ 1st District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Buskirk told the Journal-World that he’s been a Lawrence resident since 1979 and since 1989 has worked at KU, where in various roles he has helped high school and college students as an adviser. Through his previous runs for office, Buskirk said he was able to see Lawrence from different perspectives, and he wants to ensure that the city remains a good place to raise families.

Three specific areas of concern for him, he said, are ensuring that fixed-income or working families who struggle with property taxes rates aren’t forgotten in the city’s budget process; making sure that no party “is taken for granted” in the city-KU relationship; and having better communication between the city and county to ensure there are no surprises.

Buskirk is the eighth person to seek election for one of two at-large seats on the five-member commission. Eric Hyde, Alex Kerr, Steve Jacob, Ruby Mae Johnson, Gary Rexroad and Bob Schumm are also running, as well as Commissioner Bart Littlejohn, as the Journal-World reported. Commissioner Lisa Larsen, whose term is expiring, has not yet announced whether she plans to run.

The deadline to file for a seat on the Lawrence City Commission is June. 2. A primary will be held on Aug. 5, after which the top four vote winners will move on to the general election on Nov. 4.