Bart Littlejohn reflected Tuesday on the city’s progress over the past year during his term as mayor and looked ahead to “a bigger and brighter future.”
Littlejohn, selected by his fellow commissioners as mayor on Dec. 5, 2023, said this has been one of the greatest years of his life.
He looked back at the completion of some projects. Construction on East 23rd Street finally wrapped up shortly after Littlejohn took the helm as mayor in December 2023, and he said he’s looking forward to seeing construction on Sixth Street finish.
In addition, the city has made progress on the downtown Lawrence Transit station and has maintained fare-free rides.
The Pallet shelter village on North Michigan Street opened in March, and the Lawrence Community Shelter has continued to expand its capacity to help people experiencing homelessness.
More projects have gotten their starts, as well. Several affordable housing projects are underway or in the permitting process.
There are also projects underway that will create more affordable housing for older people, such as the New Hampshire Street Lofts, and the new Estates of Lawrence townhome complex is currently moving people in, he said.
“I continue to be excited to work with you all to keep pushing us forward to bigger and brighter future,” Littlejohn said. “I want to thank you all for the opportunity to serve as mayor this year. It’s been one of the greatest of my life, and I look forward to continuing the journey.”
He thanked his family for their support, his fellow commissioners and city staff for their work, and his employer for allowing him to serve the city.
Littlejohn was first elected to the commission in 2021. He served as vice mayor in 2023. For the final year of his current term, he will return to the position of commissioner.
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday chose their next mayor and vice mayor: Mike Dever, elected to the commission in 2023 with the greatest number of votes, will serve as mayor for 2025. And Brad Finkeldei, reelected in 2023 with the second greatest number of votes, will serve as vice mayor. Read more about that at this link.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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