photo by: Bremen Keasey

Lawrence's City Hall, located at 6 E. Sixth St., shown during June 2025.

The field of candidates for the Lawrence City Commission race is set, with one current commissioner opting against another run.

Commissioner Lisa Larsen will not seek reelection. Larsen, who once served as mayor, has been on the commission since 2015, when she was appointed to a seat. Larsen then won reelection in 2017 and 2021. The Journal-World has reached out to Larsen for comment on her decision not to run again.

Larsen’s decision leaves Bart Littlejohn as the lone incumbent in the race for two open seats on the City Commission. Littlejohn began serving on the City Commission in 2021, and was the city’s mayor in 2024.

One other new candidate entered the field ahead of Monday’s noon deadline. Mike Harreld filed to run for one of the two seats on the commission. Harreld told the Journal-World he has worked 11 years in various roles related to the health care industry, including working in home care and as a case manager. He said those experiences helped him see how some policies make things harder for people who are financially struggling, and he said he would want to be a voice for more equitable systems.

Additionally, Harreld said he wanted to run because of the worries about the proposed cuts to Medicaid at the federal level. Those proposed cuts can have impacts that will affect a host of other issues, and he said the city needs to find ways to “build resiliency” ahead of those possible impacts.

Harreld said he considered himself a “leftist” and shared similar ideas about governing with people like U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. As a candidate, he hopes he can bring in new policy ideas and be a voice for change.

Littlejohn and Harreld will join 11 other candidates: Paul Buskirk, Michael Courtney, Eric Hyde, Alex Kerr, Steve Jacob, Ruby Mae Johnson, Amanda Nielsen, Kristine Polian, Bob Schumm, Peter Shenouda and Courtney Shipley.

Those 13 candidates will face off in a primary election on Aug. 5. The four highest vote earners will advance to the general election on Nov. 4.