Voters in November will elect two Lawrence city commissioners and three Lawrence school board members.
Here are two opportunities coming up to get to know the city commission candidates better, plus info on forums we’ve covered so far.
Upcoming forums
• 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.
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• Lawrence Branch NAACP, League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County and Women for Kansas will host a forum with all four city commission candidates from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.
Audience members will have an opportunity to visit with the candidates after the forum, according to the hosts.
Forums we covered
• Coalition for Collaborative Governance:
Lawrence City Commission, school board candidates commit to transparency at forum, Oct. 1 —
Click here for the article; click here for additional written responses from some Lawrence City Commission candidates and click here for additional written responses from some school board candidates
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
• Read more from the city commission candidates in our introductory questionnaire.
• 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: City development expectations and final remarks — watch on YouTube
How and when to vote
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.
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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.
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