Voters in November will elect two Lawrence city commissioners and three Lawrence school board members.
Here are some opportunities coming up to get to know the candidates better, plus info on forums we’ve covered so far.
Upcoming forums
• The Coalition for Collaborative Governance will host A Candidate Conversation about Collaborative Governance. It will include candidates for Lawrence City Commission as well as Lawrence school board.
That’s set for 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1 at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.
“I think this forum will provide an interesting counterpoint to the Mayor’s Forums, which were hosted by people who had been government leaders and were focused on policy issues, whereas ours is hosted by a community organization and is focused on community relations, transparency, and collaboration,” said Holly Krebs, lead organizer with the coalition.
Read more about the event and the questions to be asked at this link.
• The Lawrence chamber of commerce will hold its city commission candidate forum from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8.
In-person attendance is limited to Chamber members (who can register at this link), but the forum will be broadcast live on KLWN, 101.7 FM and 1320 AM.
Are we missing a forum that should be included here?
Please let us know — email us at Hello@LawrenceKSTimes.com.
Forums we covered
Lawrence City Commission candidate forums:
• Former mayors’ forum, part 1:
Candidates for Lawrence City Commission address annexation, homelessness during forum, Sept. 17 —
Click here for the article and audio recording; click here to open the audio recording in YouTube
• Former mayors’ forum, part 2:
Lawrence City Commission candidates address tax breaks, debt financing during forum, Sept. 22 —
Click here for the article and audio recording; click here to open the audio recording in YouTube
• Lawrence Board of Realtors and Lawrence Home Builders Association:
Candidates for Lawrence City Commission offer ideas on housing development at forum, Sept. 24 —
Click here for the article and audio recording; click here to open the audio recording in YouTube
• Speed campaign event:
Voters meet Lawrence City Commission candidates at ‘speed campaign’ event, July 19 —
Click here for the article
School board candidate forums:
• Women for Kansas, League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County and NAACP:
School board candidates address future of Lawrence Public Schools at forum, Sept. 7 —
Click here for the article; click here to see a video recording by Jerry Jost on YouTube
More resources to learn about the candidates
• Our election coverage: See it all at lawrencekstimes.com/election2025.
• Our YouTube playlist of candidate forums and more can be found at this link.
• Lawrence Chamber of Commerce: The chamber has asked the Lawrence City Commission a series of “business-minded questions.” See their answers on video:
— Part 1: Why they decided to run; barriers to economic growth; skills required of an effective commissioner — watch on YouTube
— Part 2: How they’d improve the development process; Project 2040 — watch on YouTube
— Part 3: To be released at youtube.com/@LawrenceKSChamber
How and when to vote
Read more from the candidates in our introductory questionnaire.
Douglas County voters can register quickly, update their registration and/or request a mail ballot online at KSVotes.org.
Oct. 14 is the deadline to register to vote or update voter registration for the general election. Advance in-person voting runs from Oct. 15 to noon Nov. 3. Folks can apply for an advance ballot to vote by mail through Oct. 28.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Visit the county website, dgcoks.gov, for more voting information.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
If you have news tips, questions, comments, concerns, compliments or corrections for our team, please reach out and let us know what’s on your mind. Email us at Hello@LawrenceKSTimes.com (don’t forget the KS!), or find more contact info and a quick contact form at LawrenceKSTimes.com/contact.
Follow us so you won’t miss the local news that matters most to you:
More Election 2025 coverage:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Latest Lawrence news:
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
