Candidates for Lawrence City Commission during a forum Thursday weighed in on local housing instability, which can increase the likelihood that people experience sexual and domestic violence.
Bob Schumm, Kristine Polian, Bart Littlejohn and Mike Courtney all advanced from the Aug. 5 primary and will face off for two Lawrence City Commission seats in the Nov. 4 general election.
The Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center, Sexual Violence Prevention Work Group of LiveWell Douglas County, Coalition for Collaborative Governance and KU’s Center for Community Health and Development hosted the panel Thursday evening.
Zach Newby, prevention education specialist for the care center, moderated. He posed questions based on the city’s A Place for Everyone Plan, Community Health Improvement Plan, and Douglas County Tenant Experiences Survey.
“We also know that housing insecurity, cost burden, eviction risk and the lack of rental protections disproportionately impact women, single parent, female-headed households, survivors of domestic violence and other marginalized groups in our community,” Newby said.
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People experiencing housing instability and homelessness have an increased risk of facing sexual violence and other traumas. Newby asked candidates how the city will fund safe, stable and affordable housing as a vital prevention strategy.
Polian said the city should prioritize capacity building over operational efforts.
“For example, the city can strengthen nonprofits from the inside out by investing in capacity building positions — roles that help organizations bring in more grants and private donations over time, so taxpayer dollars stretch further,” Polian said.
Schumm said the city is expected to pull in around $2 million in spring 2026 from the increased affordable housing and homelessness sales tax that city voters approved in November 2024. That can be used to build and subsidize housing, he said. He also said he suggests incentivizing developers to build a number of affordable apartment units as well as entry-level homes.
“And prior to that, it’d been around a million, and I think that’s going to be go pretty far to help things,” Schumm said.
Of respondents to the tenant experiences survey, 63% reported they had submitted a maintenance request that was not resolved.
Littlejohn and Schumm said they believe the city’s rental inspection program, as it’s currently implemented, is an effective tool to ensure standards are up to par. Polian and Courtney disagreed, given the survey result.
“I do believe we need a stronger, data-driven, proactive inspection model that targets repeat offenders, enforces repairs before licenses renew, and makes inspection results public,” Polian said. “That’s how we protect tenants’ health and safety without unfairly burdening responsible landlords, because we do have a lot of responsible landlords here.”
Among the four candidates, Polian is a current landlord over one Lawrence house, which she said she’s keeping in hopes of passing it down to family. And Schumm, who used to own an apartment in a building that no longer exists, is currently a commercial landlord.
Newby said current city commissioners have expressed interest in a tenants’ bill of rights.
Littlejohn, the sole incumbent, said a bill of rights or tenant right to counsel are good temporary solutions, but that he’d like to reach a consistent partnership between renters and landlords that “works and is fair.” He gave a nod to the city’s updated land development code he had voted to approve and said it offers an opportunity the city should take to invest more in its code enforcement department.
“The code itself addresses our challenges, but code enforcement can help us complete the circle,” Littlejohn said.
Newby said survivors of sexual or domestic violence often face eviction or retaliation when experiencing or reporting abuse, and that retaliation is also feared in 45% of cases when tenants’ dwellings are in need of repairs.
Courtney said he’s aware some landlords discourage tenants from complaining because they may incur penalties for higher rates of crime being reported at their properties. Retaliation against tenants who report code violations and crimes may include eviction or sometimes calling the Department for Children and Families. The topic is one he said he’s interested in learning more about to find solutions.
“I think we can create housing options where survivors can maintain address confidentiality from perpetrators while accessing new housing,” Courtney said. “We cannot penalize tenants who have survival-related charges such as sex trafficking and substance abuse.”
Early voting is underway. Find much more election coverage and info on how and when to vote below and at lawrencekstimes.com/election2025.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, and polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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