Three Eudora residents are in the running for seats on the County Commission in this year’s election.
After the reorganization of the county’s districts, there will be five districts with spots open in four.
Democrat Mike Kelso and Republican Tim Bruce are running for District 4 county commissioner. Steve Jacob and Gene Dorsey are also running. This district encompasses some parts of southeast and eastern Lawrence, Eudora and Eudora Township, as well as a portion of Wakarusa Township.
Another Eudora resident, Libertarian Kirsten Kuhn, is running for a spot in District 5. Kuhn technically lives in Palmyra Township – which is Baldwin schools – but has a Eudora address. Erica Anderson, Nicolas Matthews and Rich Lorenzo are also running.
The filing deadline was noon Monday, with 13 total candidates filing for the commission’s five districts. Seats are open in districts 2 through 5.
The Eudora Times did brief interviews with each Eudora candidate Tuesday and will provide more comprehensive coverage closer to the election.
Tim Bruce, District 4
Bruce, who is currently on the City Commission, was reelected to his spot last year with the term being up in 2028. He said he plans to stay on the City Commission unless he is elected to the county.
Bruce wanted to ensure he was making the right choice in running now, which led to the last-minute filing Monday.
Q. Why do you want to run for the County Commission?
A. It kind of felt like the next progression in the process of helping my community. I’m just trying to make sure that we can, you know, with the additional two commissioners, just felt like it was a good time to put my name in the hat, so to speak, and see if I couldn’t further my ability to just help the Douglas County/Eudora community.
What do you see as the main issues in the county?
I think just trying to make sure that the county is represented by the county is probably the biggest thing I want to be a part of. And what I mean by that is, you know, Eudora has a City Commission, Baldwin has the City Commission, Lawrence has a City Commission, each individual community – while all part of the county also – But the county does not have its own representation outside of the commission.
So making sure that they’re getting their voices heard. You know, because they’ve got a different way of life in some aspects, as far as what they see every day versus what someone in the city sees every day is just different. And the bulk of our population might be inside the city of Lawrence as far as the county is concerned. They’ve got a different way of life, and I think we’ve got to continue to respect every aspect and make sure that that representation is there.
What prior experience do you have that will serve you in this role?
Well, I’ve spent nine years on the Eudora City Commission, so I would say that and then I’ve got 25 years in the construction industry, you know, managing projects and financials and people and all of that. So I think those things combined give me the ability to be level headed and hear what folks have to say and help move the county forward as best I can.
Why should people elect you to serve as a commissioner?
Because I want to hear what everybody has to say, and I want to try to get both sides of the story. I think when we all have the same information, we all probably come pretty close to the same conclusion and I think making sure that everyone has the opportunity to get their voice heard on things that affect them, maybe more so than they affect others is important, but also understanding that, you know, sometimes things affect three people, and they’re great for a thousand, and it really is unfortunate for three people.
But, you gotta do what’s good for the thousand And that’s just – that’s across the board in everything we do, right? Sometimes not everybody gets what they want, or need, you know, just unfortunately, so it’s got to be what’s what’s good for the group.
Is there anything else you add that I didn’t ask?
I’m just interested to know what people’s thoughts areon the new five commission seats and how they think that’s going to change the governance. Is it? Is it good? Is it bad? I think it’s good. At first I didn’t, but the more I got to thinking about it, the more I think they landed in a good spot. I’m just curious how everyone around the community, i.e. the county, feels about where we’re headed.
I’m excited about the opportunity that lies ahead and hopefully things will work out and I’ll be able to continue to help provide some service and give back to a place I was born and raised. I mean, short of a few years, I’ve lived in Douglas County my whole life.
Mike Kelso, District 4
Q. Why do you want to run for the County Commission?
I want to keep giving back to the citizens of Douglas County. That’s kind of been my goal the last two decades, based on the things that I’ve done, that I want to keep giving back. To quote Kurt Von Achen, who was a very well-known Eudora citizen who died in the past year, I believe we all have a civic debt, and we all should be doing things like this to make this a better place.
What do you see as the main issues in the county?
Well, I think particularly for this new District 4, the Eudora area and eastern Lawrence, change is coming. We need to get out in front of it. And that change is coming from Johnson County and Panasonic. We don’t really know exactly what it is yet, but we need to figure that out. And whether that’s housing or just amenities that the people that are working there need.
Unfortunately, building houses in the way we are currently building houses isn’t going to do it. Because even though $60,000 a year — which is what Panasonic is saying the average salary is going to be – is a good salary, $60,000 a year isn’t going to buy a $350,000 house, so we need to be prepared for things such as apartments or duplexes or townhomes to attract these people to come to Douglas County.
Besides that, I mean, we have very high taxes in Douglas County, and there appear to be some surpluses at the county level. I know that it’s been often talked about of around a $30 million fund at the county level of unspent dollars because of how many tax dollars have come in over the past few years. So we need to figure out taxes and then working with the various cities to figure out true working solutions for the homeless crisis that does affect us a lot.
What prior experience do you have that will serve you in this role?
Well, I served for three terms on the Eudora School Board. I was, along with my wife, the Eudora 4-H club community leader for over a decade. I served a six-year term as the Eudora Township rep on the County Fair Board, and I am currently a member of the Douglas County Planning Commission.
Why should people elect you to serve as a commissioner?
I listen. I think I’ve proved that, particularly the last year and a half as a member of the Planning Commission for issues such as the proposed quarry that was slated to possibly be built south of Eudora, and we kept that shut down. I served on a subcommittee with the Planning Commission to rewrite the wind regulations for the county, and we held many, many different meetings with experts with people in the county and we truly listened to what they had to tell us in things such as setbacks, and sound and blade flicker.
We wrote a very, very stringent set of regulations that I believe will do a fantastic job of protecting the citizens of Douglas County. When I was on the school board, I listened to the parents, the teachers, students, administrators, and when it came time for things that I don’t know much about, I’ll listen to experts. I don’t know everything, but I can certainly investigate everything and listen to the right people.
Is there anything else you add that I didn’t ask?
I have and will continue to dedicate my life to giving back to this area as it has given to me over the past 30 years that I’ve lived here. We live in a tremendous community and by community I mean Eudora, the area around it and Douglas County. Myself and my family have benefited greatly through the goodness and the love from people in this area, and I know that I will never be able to give back as much as I have received.
Kirsten Kuhn, District 5
Q. Why do you want to run for the County Commission?
Well, I’ve been heavily involved just, you know, as a citizen, through a number of things about the past five, six years.
We had that jail expansion/crisis center like issue, but they had them paired together. So I worked really hard with Justice Matters and that whole coalition to get those separated, defeat the jail expansion and then, you know, get the crisis center up and running.
I’m also involved in my second term on the governing board of Bert Nash. And so like I’m just kind of around doing things and, you know, being at the County Commission anyway, having opinions and so with the new, you know, the new two districts with no incumbent, as a third party candidate, I thought this was a great opportunity to give it a shot because It can be hard as a third partier, and so, you know, with nobody already seated, I thought, well, this is a great opportunity for me to actually get out a little bit ahead of it and stuff. Just, you know, when you’re a commenter, it’s more reactionary. If you’re actually seated and serving, you have a little bit more power and say so.
What do you see as the main issues in the county?
Well, the tax rate overall, you know, nobody can afford anything. As a Libertarian, we’re definitely more minimal government and so, out here in the county, it’s not as bad when I lived in Lawrence, of course, the codes are a lot more rigorous and all encompassing out there. But even so, you know, I’m of the belief that people know how to run their lives better than the government ever can. There’s no way that someone seated on a dais somewhere knows every intricacy of my life and yours. So just generally doing too much.
I will also say, and I hope I can say this in a way that isn’t like, you know, denigrating the current seated commissioner or anything, but especially going through a lot of the jail expansion and the crisis center process, it appears, at least from the outside, that there is a real, real heavy reliance on staff to make recommendations. You know, there’s very little pushback. “Oh, if that’s what the staff recommends, that’s just what we’re going to do.”
Perhaps they have some questions, but you know, nine times out of 10, they’re just going to do what [County Administrator] Sarah Plinsky says anyway, so with comparatively little public input, especially compared to Lawrence City Commission, you know, that gets a lot of eyeballs, a lot of engagement. The county, less so. I think that, you know, having engaged citizenry is like part of the whole process, and so if we’re just relying on staff and leaning into their recommendations, I don’t think that’s how we should be operating as a government.
What prior experience do you have that will serve you in this role?
Well, as I mentioned, I’ve been on the Bert Nash governing board. In the two terms I’ve been there, we’ve grown the organization from $12 million to $25 million organization. So in terms of budgeting and growth, that’s been really, really helpful to understand that aspect. And of course the budget is a huge, huge portion of what the County Commission does.
And I would also say, one of the things that I think is a benefit of me is I am not someone who particularly wants to seek office. This isn’t a career path for me, and so I think the experience of just being a citizen being subjected to these things without really having a place to engage and to speak, again, with a third party candidacy, you know, you don’t really get a lot of support, or get your ideas out there really.
And so I think just being an average citizen who has been engaged and has been watching from the outside, the experience of citizenry as opposed to like, “I’m a politician,” I think is a benefit for me. And then, obviously, just being I serve also on two of the subcommittees for the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, the CJCC, as well. And so just having worked in those spaces, worked with these folks for a number of years, having those relationships I think will be really helpful.
Why should people elect you to serve as a commissioner?
Because I care. Because I don’t view this as a career path, but this is honestly – I’m sure that every politician ever has said this – but, you know, this isn’t really something that I’m like, “Yeah, this is what I want to do. I aspire to – this is my life goal.’ I really just want to see a healthy, thriving community. You know, we all live here. We want to get along, we want – at least I want – our community members to be doing well and to have happy, healthy and productive lives for whatever that means for them. And it’s my goal to reduce the government so you can do that. But let’s be clear, because I am a Libertarian, I’m not coming after the roads. You guys can have your roads. We’re not going that far. That’s the one question everybody asks“What about the roads?” “No, no, nobody’s touching the roads. You’re okay.”
Is there anything else you add that I didn’t ask?
Yeah, you know, I will say, I was looking over the [Lawrence] Times coverage and they were, you know, making sure to mention what everybody does for their day job. And I will say another benefit of me is I actually have a very nontraditional and flexible work schedule. I do a lot of gig economy stuff, actually, because I wanted to be able to engage in the civic work that I do. So I actually stopped working in like, you know, the rat race office stuff so that I was able to engage at this level with the community and I also homeschool my stepson. So, it is, you know, I have a lot more time. I’m not going to be balancing the commission with a full-time job. I don’t need to do that. I can dedicate all of my time to the work.
Editor’s Note: This story misspelled Steve Jacob’s name and has been since corrected.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
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