Two Democrats, a Republican and a Libertarian are running to represent Eudora, parts of eastern Lawrence, and east-central Douglas County as the commissioner for the new District 4.

Candidates shared the personal experiences that they believe qualify them for this office, their views on solar and wind energy and more.

Democrats Gene Dorsey and Mike Kelso will face off in the Tuesday, Aug. 6 primary election. They will be on the ballot with Republican Timothy Bruce and Libertarian Steve Jacob in the Nov. 5 general election.

We asked all candidates in races in which there are primary elections to participate, even if they don’t face a primary opponent, to allow our readers to start getting to know the whole field well before November. We noted candidates’ parties throughout this questionnaire.

Candidates were given a week to respond to these questions. We did not give candidates a word count limit but advised them to keep answers concise. Candidates’ answers appear below verbatim, minus minor typos edited for clarity.

Will this race be on my ballot? Check which Douglas County Commission district you’re in at myvoteinfo.voteks.org.

Early voting began Wednesday, July 17. Voters can request a ballot to vote early by mail through Tuesday, July 30 at KSVotes.org. See this article for key info on how to cast your ballot.

Look for more coverage and candidate questionnaires still to come at lawrencekstimes.com/election2024. 

Jump to a topic:

• Meet the candidates
• Experiences and qualifications
• Top 3 issues
• Property taxes
• Wind energy regulations
• Sky Energy Center solar project
• Question for your opponents
• Free space
• Just for fun

This district

District 4, the green district on the map here, includes Eudora and much of eastern Douglas County, and it reaches west into portions of Lawrence as if it’s pointing a finger.

Its northern and eastern boundaries extend as far as the county line in some places. Its western boundary zigzags through east-central Lawrence, as far west as Iowa Street for a short stretch between West 19th and 23rd streets.

In Lawrence, its northern boundary hits around North 1550 Road/East 11th Street, running west just past Haskell Avenue and approximately to Burroughs Creek Trail before dipping south.

Its southern boundary in Lawrence runs along 23rd Street to Massachusetts Street, then heads south to East 30th Terrace and East 31st Street and includes most of Prairie Park neighborhood. At East 1800 Road, the boundary heads south to North 900 Road; at East 2000 Road, it heads further south to North 700 Road.

Click here to open a big zoomable PDF map of the district in a new tab.

Meet the candidates

About you and your positions

Q: What specific experience and qualifications do you possess that make you the best candidate for the commission seat you’re seeking?

Dorsey (D): Financial experience in directing and preparing budgets in excess of 800 million and capital budgets exceeding 200 million. I have attended most county commission meetings since 2016 and I am the only citizen to sit through all budget hearings for the last two years. I am the only candidate to graduate from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Citizens Academy this year. Additionally, I have lived experience as the caregiver to my son with bipolar schizoaffective disorder for the last two years of his life. He died of heart failure at home in his sleep November 29, 2022. I have also attended Eudora Township meeting and Eudora City Commission meetings over the last few months.

Kelso (D): 20+ Years as an IT Manager, managing both people and large departmental budgets. 12 years (3 terms) as an elected Eudora School Board member. 10 years as a member of the East Central Kansas Cooperative for Education (Special Education Coop for Eudora, Baldwin and Wellsville school districts) with 8 years serving as either President or Vice-President. 6 year term as Eudora Township member on the Douglas County Fair Board. Current member of the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission.

Bruce (R): As a City Commissioner for the City of Eudora over the past 9 years, I’ve spent countless hours hearing the local citizens concerns while balancing the initiatives of the city. I’ve served cities across Kansas as a local business owner for 11 years which has provided me insights on how the county can assist and provide resources for not only our people but also the businesses of Douglas County. For two decades I’ve held executive positions in project management roles with experience in overseeing the people, resources, and timelines for multimillion dollar projects.

Jacob (L): I pledge I will turn in a revenue neutral budget and call for a vote on ending the county food sales tax.

Q: Please list the top three issues motivating you to run for this office. What concrete ideas do you have to make a difference on each issue if you are elected?

Please be as specific as possible.

Dorsey (D):
Transparency and Cost Control
The budget has doubled in about 5 years. Commissioner salaries have gone up an average of 5.6% each year for the last 5 years. This years budget calls for a salary of 49,706 versus 38,794 in 2020. Legal fees have gone from 246,000 in 2021 to 550,000 for 2025. Outside counsel costs 220 an hour while internal counsel would be less than 85.00 per hour saving over 300,000 a year. Not a second was spent on administration costs during the recent hearing.

Infrastructure, expanding commercial base, and housing
The Panasonics ultimate 8,000 employees will affect Douglas County. We need to join the Mid-America Regional Council and the Total Transportation Policy Committee to have a seat at the table. Current K-10 plans call for 6 lanes to the Douglas County Line then dropping to 4. The County needs a new industrial park to attract related businesses to Douglas County to spread the tax base. We need more housing in affordable ranges to attract young families with children to fill our schools.

Listening to Constituents
To give more voice to Eudora city and Township citizens I will be in Eudora a lot holding informal meetings and getting feedback.

Kelso (D):
There is no doubt that the amount each of us pays in taxes, particularly property taxes is at the top of seemingly all voters minds. Unfortunately, those who are elected will inherit the budget that is currently being debated by the current County Commissioners. When budget time rolls around in 2025, the new 5 member Commission will need to make cuts. Our number of mils that each of us pays needs to go down. This will need to be done strategically and thoughtfully.

A second issue is affordability, particularly housing. If we want to increase our tax base, by increasing the number of rooftops we need to do what we can to figure out what affordable housing, both big A and little a, means in Douglas County. Home values have sky-rocketed to the point where first time buyers are left wondering what to do. This isn’t an issue that will be solved overnight. It will require work with Planning and Zoning, developers and builders, City Commissions and Townships to come up with creative ideas on how to tackle the issue.

For me, a third, and the most critical issue facing our current Commission, and many other leadership bodies is listening. We must listen to the citizens of Douglas County. This includes those that voted for each of us and those that didn’t. This includes those in our districts and those not in our districts. Every discussion, decision and vote that a County Commissioner makes affects each and every citizen in some way, either small or large. We must listen and actively listen. If someone is reaching out via a phone call, an email, a public comment in a meeting or even a passing conversation at the grocery store, it is important to them and it better be important to us. We work for the citizens, not the other way around.

Bruce (R):
1. Ensuring the voice of the rural parts of Douglas County are heard, in my view the constituents in our county feel like they are not currently represented for their needs and wants.

2. I have a desire to protect the county, specifically when it comes to our agriculture, that will be impacted by the solar and wind farms which do not have a place in Douglas County.

3. I am committed to help lower our taxes by improving the tax base and clearly examine all of the programs under the current budget to ensure they are beneficial to the county as a whole and not a specialized group. Given my vast experience with infrastructure, I am devoted to make use of this knowledge to make sure the county is provided the best level of service countywide.

Jacob (L):
1) For sure taxes, Democrats are talking a good game about it at the forums. And in general Libertarians don’t trust Republicans on doing what they say. Did you see the deficit under Trump? That’s why we need a Libertarian to be in there to make tough decisions that no one else will.

2) Ending the sales tax on food at the county level. That’s the most cruel of taxes.

3) Corporate welfare. I have not worked for the city for 34 years cleaning toilets so I can retire here and make the Doug Comptons of the world richer.

Q: Many Douglas County residents have voiced concerns about property taxes increasing over the last several years. Do you believe that property taxes can be reduced from current rates? If yes, how would you reduce them, and if no, why not?

Again, please be as specific as possible.

Dorsey (D): I believe costs can be controlled through analysis. Raising expenses to meet the growth in property valuations is not sustainable. We can’t afford to pay our employees above average salaries when people ae in danger of losing their homes due to property taxes.

Kelso (D): Property taxes are too high. They can be reduced. Some current Commissioners believe it isn’t as simple as saying they can be reduced, but it is. It will take a careful, thoughtful process to do those cuts, but it can be done. I am absolutely committed to lowering taxes.

Bruce (R): Property taxes can be reduced. The current surplus of funds clearly shows the county is currently collecting more taxes than they need to operate or even to maintain a healthy fund balance for unforeseen expenses. In my view we have plenty of areas to minimize spending that could easily allow for reduced taxes and not compromise the level of service the county is currently providing.

Jacob (L): Hiring freezes, layoffs if necessary, targeting nonessential employees, stopping major construction and road projects, giving back the cash pile already stolen from past taxpayers.

Q: On a scale of 1-5, please rank how much you support the wind energy regulations the commission approved in May.

(1= Do not support at all; 5 = Fully support)

Dorsey (D): 3

Kelso (D): 5

Bruce (R): 1

Jacob (L): 3

Q: If you had been a commissioner in April when the commission approved a key permit for the planned Kansas Sky Energy Center, how would you have voted?

Only yes/no option given

Dorsey (D): No

Kelso (D): No

Bruce (R): No

Jacob (L): Yes

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Q: Please explain your answers to the previous two questions, if you wish, and/or share other key points you’d like voters to know about your stance on wind and solar energy projects in Douglas County.

Dorsey (D): Planning is guided by Plan 2040, which states, “All development proposals must comply with the comprehensive plan. If a proposal does not comply with Comprehensive Plan requirements, then the applicant must pursue a plan amendment.” Since the plan does not address utility scale renewable energy any conditional use permits for solar or wind are premature.

Kelso (D): As one of the 4 members of the sub-committee that spent 2 hours a week for 6 months rewriting the wind regulations, I absolutely know what is in those regulations. Part of the process of redoing those regulations, was listening to hundreds of citizens telling us how wind farms (positively or negatively) might affect their ways of life. We were tasked with writing regulations that would protect and serve the citizens of Douglas County, all of them. We didn’t write regulations for energy companies, we wrote them for the citizens of Douglas County. The meetings, emails (hundreds of them) and conversations showed how important this topic was to a large portion of our county. In the end we submitted and approved strict, defendable regulations that will serve our county well. Do the regulations make it easy for a power company to come into Douglas County and build a wind farm — the answer is no. It would be challenging and difficult. But it is doable. Again the regulations are not for the energy companies, they are for the citizens of Douglas County. I proudly voted yes when the Planning Commission voted to approve the wind regulations and pass them onto the County Commissioners with a recommendation for them to support and approve them.

When it came time for the Planning Commission to take up the proposed Savion/Evergy Solar Farm in northern Douglas County, I again heard from hundreds of people. Many of them came to our meetings and gave public comment. Each member of the Planning Commission got to provide comment and ask questions to the representatives of those two companies that were present. My questions came towards the end of a very long meeting but the one that needed to be asked, was never answered. I asked a consultant to Savion/Evergy that worked for Black and Veatch about the steel pylons that will be used in the project. I asked for him to tell about other similar projects where 144,000 (the number of steel pylons that will be used here in Douglas County) were driven into the ground, where the ground water is as low as 6 feet below the surface. I then tightened up the question adding, since your CUP (conditional use permit) in Douglas County is for 25 years, what is the status of other similar projects after 25 years. He never answered the question and I called him out on this and he then admitted that he didn’t know as they had never done a project like this where the pylons would all be in ground water. That was strike one for as so many people that live around the area of the Solar Farm rely on the same ground water for their wells and drinking water. Also as that ground water flows to the Kaw River, a few miles down the river are the wells for the city of Eudora pulling from the same ground water.

Strike two was the unknown of what the solar farm would do to an already problematic water runoff/flooding problem in that part of the County.

Strike three was the “wildlife friendly” fencing that will surround the project. The openings in the fencing are fine for small animals such as rabbits, mice, etc. The openings aren’t fine for deer. The fencing will force the deer to go around around the fencing, to either side when they cross the highway that splits the solar project. This in affect will create two killing zones where deer will die and unfortunately people will too.

Strike four was the removal of so many hundreds of acres of the best farm ground in the county and possibly the state. Plan 2040 tells us to protect and preserve our prime farm ground. This project doesn’t do that.

The reasons above are why I voted against this plan. Would I have felt differently if a different location was chosen, absolutely.

Bruce (R): As one of motivations to run, I do not feel that cannibalizing our beautiful agricultural land for solar and wind farms is the best use of our resources. The county has spent a good deal of time and resources over the last 20+ years trying to keep our agriculture in tack and I do not believe solar and wind farms will not be value add for our county.

Jacob (L): We have GOT to get off coal somehow. Anything helps, and the less government involvement in doing it the better.

Q: Please share a question we didn’t ask that you’d like your fellow candidates to answer. How would you respond?

Dorsey (D): County Commissioners at $49,706 now make more than beginning school teachers, will you commit to working full-time for a full-time wage? I will.

Kelso (D): How do you plan to bring the new commission together as nothing will get solved if we are a divided commission.
For my answer to that — treat everyone with respect. Actively listen to the viewpoints, cares and concerns whether I agree or not. Come together on those things where we all agree and then work, really work on the areas where we don’t agree and compromise. Craft and create plans that show true compromise.

Bruce (R): How do you plan to make sure our county thrives for generations to come?

As a resident that was born and raised in Douglas County and is now raising my kids here, it is important that Douglas County stay/become again a safe, healthy and cost efficient place to live and raise a family. We do that by first taking care of the county before we extend help to those from outside the county. When you are flying they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before you help the person next to you. They say that because you cannot help someone else if you are not healthy enough to help. I think the same applies to the county. By continuing to improve our infrastructure we live a better life and provide a better life to those around us.

Jacob (L): Did you vote Yes or No on “Value them Both”? I voted No.

Q: Free space: Please share anything you’d like voters to know about you and your stances that we haven’t asked here.

Dorsey (D): I have compassion for the mentally ill due to my personal experience but I also have compassion for the late 70’s widow who is struggling to stay in her house with ever increasing property taxes.

Kelso (D): 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. Less than 50 known cases of an adult onset Wilm’s Tumor are known by the Mayo Clinic. I had multiple surgeries in which the tumor, my left kidney, my spleen and a piece of my diaphragm, and later my thyroid were removed. Following all that was the regiment of radiation and chemotherapy along with hospital stays and serious infections, one of which nearly ended my life.

Throughout the entire 9 month process I got to witness and be the recipient of how amazing Douglas County is. No one in our family had to cook as people from either the Eudora School District, members of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Eudora, members of the Eudora 4-H Club and many other members of the Douglas County community brought us meals. Multiple times, people came out to our farm to help do things that I physically couldn’t do. My family and I received so much from so many different people.

When I survived my health scare, I knew I needed to give back to the community that had supported me. Along with my wife, I became a community leader for the Eudora 4-H Club, where we served for over a decade, making new friends and seeing local youth grow into amazing adults. I also ran for the Eudora School Board; although I lost my first attempt, I ran again, won, and served three terms. I also served on the East Central Kansas Cooperative for Education for 10 years, holding the roles of President or Vice-President for 8 years.

Inspired to do more, I took over from my wife as the Eudora Township Representative on the Douglas County Fair Board, gaining a broader perspective at the county level. Even after my 6 year term ended, I remain active in the County Fair as a Vendor Superintendent and helped with the Rabbit and Llama Project.

After my time on the School Board ended in 2021, I joined the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission in February 2023.

When Douglas County voted to expand the number of County Commissioners from 3 to 5 in 2022, many people asked if I would consider running. I closely followed the Commission as they redrew the maps for the new districts. District 4, which includes Eudora, aligned perfectly with my plans. I decided to run, and here we are today. When I say I am not running for myself, that I am running for the citizens of Douglas County, I truly mean it.

Just for fun

Candidates were not required to answer any of these questions, but we wanted to give our readers a chance to get to know them a little better and have some fun with this.

Dorsey (D):

Favorite color? Blue

Zodiac sign? Libra

Do you have any pets, and/or what’s your favorite animal? Bodhi is my 2 year old 80 pound sheepadoodle.

What’s a fun fact our readers may not know about you? (Have a hidden talent? Interesting hobby?) I have been to 40 countries and 49 states, I missed North Dakota.

Favorite book, TV show and/or movie? Open Range

Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you in running for office or serving your community that you’d like to share? “Don’t argue with fools. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” — Mark Twain

Kelso (D):

Favorite color? Purple

Zodiac sign? Taurus

Do you have any pets, and/or what’s your favorite animal? 3 dogs, 1 cat, a small herd of hereford cattle and 2 llamas.

What’s a fun fact our readers may not know about you? (Have a hidden talent? Interesting hobby?) I have been a trombone player since the 5th grade and still play whenever I get the chance.

Favorite book, TV show and/or movie? TV Show – Big Bang Theory

Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you in running for office or serving your community that you’d like to share? A friend in Eudora passed away within the last year. Kurt von Achen spent his adult life giving back to his community. He served on the Eudora Planning Commission for decades and coined the term ‘Civic Rent.’ I use that now. We all have a Civic Rent that we need to pay back and pay forward.

Bruce (R):

Favorite color? Orange

Zodiac sign? Taurus

Do you have any pets, and/or what’s your favorite animal? A Dog – Ruby, she is a Goldendoodle.

What’s a fun fact our readers may not know about you? (Have a hidden talent? Interesting hobby?) I love being on or around water with my family.

Favorite book, TV show and/or movie? Freakonomics

Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you in running for office or serving your community that you’d like to share? “Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor”

Jacob (L):

Favorite color? Light blue

Zodiac sign? Capricorn

Do you have any pets, and/or what’s your favorite animal? No pets, possums

What’s a fun fact our readers may not know about you? (Have a hidden talent? Interesting hobby?) Enjoy going to the movies

Favorite book, TV show and/or movie? I loved “Bottoms” I see a lot of movies where you can predict the ending … not that one.

Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you in running for office or serving your community that you’d like to share? “There is only one bad word, taxes” — Ron Swanson

This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.

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