photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center, 2920 Haskell Ave., is pictured in June 2025.

Peaslee Tech will host City Commission candidate forums in September that will be conducted by a group of former mayors.

The two forums will happen on the Peaslee Tech campus at 2920 Haskell Ave., on Sept. 17 and 22, with the candidates being asked questions developed and posed by former mayors of Lawrence.

Four candidates — Bob Schumm, Kristine Polian, Bart Littlejohn and Mike Courtney — advanced from a crowded primary field after receiving the most votes in the primary election on Aug. 5. Two seats are up for election in the November general election. Bob Moody, a former mayor and co-coordinator of the forum, said all four candidates will be at each of the forums.

Shirley Martin-Smith, a former mayor and one of the coordinators of the forums, said in a press release she believes the forums will give the public an opportunity to hear the candidates answer “incisive questions,” adding she expects the questions to be “more directed” than previous forums.

Mike Amyx, a state representative and a former mayor and a coordinator for the event, said the forums will “give the candidates the opportunity to go into detail answering questions they have not seen before the event.”

The public is invited to attend in person. The forum will also be available on Zoom for people who can’t attend in person.