photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Some candidates running in the Tuesday, Aug. 6 primary election participated in a Douglas County Commission candidate forum at the Watkins Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts St., on June 29, 2024.

Six of the 13 candidates running for Douglas County Commission appeared at a candidate forum on Saturday, and a majority said affordable housing is a significant challenge still needing to be addressed.

The candidates – Mike Kelso, Gene Dorsey, Shannon Reid, Lisa Larsen, Erica Anderson and Pam McDermott – appeared at a Douglas County Commission candidate forum hosted by The NAACP and League of Women Voters at the Watkins Museum of History, 1047 Massachusetts St., on Saturday.

The forum, which focused on candidates who have primary challengers, left time for only a few questions, one of them being about what issues have gone unaddressed in Douglas County. For the candidates, it was property taxes being too high for homeowners, leaving the housing market with limited options for county residents.

“Property taxes are going through the roof and it’s definitely an equity issue,” Larsen said. “It affects renters and property tax owners across the board, especially for those on a fixed income. I met a property owner in Lawrence, and she said it’s getting so bad, she doesn’t know if she will be able to stay in Lawrence.”

Anderson, who also agreed with Larsen, said homeowners aren’t fixing up their homes because they don’t want their property values to increase.

“If they have a broken window, they’re not fixing it. They’re not fixing it if they’re the ones who have to pay for it,” Anderson said. People who have lived in Lawrence for 30 to 40 years may have to move because they can’t lower their property taxes, Anderson said.

A common theme was how the county could be expected to grow if the property tax issue remains unsolved.

Additionally, candidates discussed:

* Their opinions about the purpose and effectiveness of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC). The council’s purpose is to serve as a platform for facilitating communication and collaborative coordination among key officials in the criminal justice system.

“I applaud all of the people who are working on the CJCC,” McDermott said. “I feel proud to have been part of the group of people who advocated for its creation back in 2016. I believe in their mission and we want to make sure that real people are being helped by the work that they’re doing.”

At the Douglas County Commission meeting last Wednesday, commissioners adopted new bylaws for the CJCC. Previously, the council had 23 members but now will be transitioning into 15 people. Dorsey and Reid said this is a good initiative.

“I think that was a good step,” Dorsey said. “It will be a more effective committee and I think our criminal justice system is working pretty well.”

* Their thoughts on the county’s climate action and adaptation plan to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

“What I’m most proud of about this plan is that it focused on the most vulnerable and likely to be impacted communities,” Reid said. “It was rooted in the fact that chronic stressors like poverty, disability, language and education barriers, poor mental health and systemic oppression, like racism, does in fact put folks at higher risk for experiencing the catastrophic events of what this climate crisis looks like.”

* The county’s initiative on race and equality, which in January 2020, Douglas County joined the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, a nationwide network of local, state, and regional governments dedicated to promoting racial equity and enhancing opportunities for everyone.

“For race and equity issues, to me, it all starts with education,” Kelso said. “It’s each and every one of our responsibilities to go out and have those courageous conversations, and we have to learn from our past.”

As the Journal-World reported, current commissioner Shannon Reid will face off in the August primary against Lawrence City Commissioner Lisa Larsen for District 2. Two Republicans, John Landon and Pam McDermott, have filed for District 3. Democratic candidates Gene Dorsey and Mike Kelso will be in the running for District 4. And District 5 is between Democrats Erica Anderson and Nicholas Matthews.

Landon and Matthews did not attend the forum.

The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming August primary election is Tuesday, July 16. Early voting begins on July 17 for the primary races and ends on Aug. 5. The 13 total candidates running for county commission this fall will appear on the ballot for the Aug. 6 primary election with polling on August 6, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.