Douglas County Commission candidates discussed data centers, development of county wetlands and farmlands, budget priorities, NDAs and more at a forum Thursday evening.
The forum was hosted by the Women for Kansas’ Lawrence/Douglas County chapter and moderated by former city commissioner and mayor Courtney Shipley.
All candidates participated, including incumbent Gene Dorsey and Ethan Spurling, who are both running as Democrats in the District 4 primary; incumbent Patrick Kelly and challenger Milton Scott, both running as Democrats for District 1; and incumbent Erica Anderson, a Democrat, and Kirsten Kuhn, a Libertarian, in the District 5 race.
Districts 1 and 4 will be decided in the Aug. 4 primary election. District 5 will be decided in the Nov. 3 general election.
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Budget priorities
Shipley asked candidates what county services’ funding should be protected and why.
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Kelly said core county services like the courts, sheriff and other county offices should be protected, and that community members should be asked what services they want prioritized.
Scott said county mental health resources should be protected, as well as managing expectations and outcomes of those services.
Dorsey said it is important that when looking at budget decisions the commission looks at the county versus the City of Lawrence, saying there’s a conflict of county residents paying property taxes for services to residents of the city.
Spurling agreed that core county services should be protected, and said prioritizing underserved communities by working upstream with investments has a higher return rate than responding to crises. He also said investing in people staying housed should be protected. He commended the work the current commission did on the budget this month.
Anderson agreed that core county services should be protected, as well as senior services to let older people “age in place.”
Kuhn agreed on protecting core county services, and said the mental health sales tax fund should be protected. Kuhn said senior services are important but said it’s important to be mindful of citizens of all ages who may struggle with affordability.
Transparency and NDAs
Candidates were asked what their stance is on nondisclosure agreements related to economic development.
Scott said there is no reason to do any business behind closed doors, because commissioners have the “accountability to the constituents to be upfront and honest” about decisions being made.
Kelly said he’s never signed an NDA and is proud of the transparency in recent budget meetings, and that all budget documents are available publicly.
Dorsey said neither elected officials nor staff should sign NDAs.
Spurling said NDAs are not transparent and there should be an “extremely compelling” case for one to be used.
Anderson said she agrees with fellow candidates. She said she has not and will not sign an NDA.
Kuhn said the government works for the people, and that there’s “absolutely no place” for NDAs or hiding things from the public.
Annexation and data centers
Candidates were asked what measures they’d support to ensure that construction of large-scale data centers does not negatively impact local communities, utilities and the environment.
Dorsey said he is against large-scale data centers coming to the county. He also referenced smaller data centers that are in the county currently that the community is “coexisting” with.
Spurling said he does not support large-scale data centers and would like to see a two or three year moratorium on them. He said he wants regulations to completely ban large-scale data centers in Douglas County.
Anderson said she wants at least a three-year moratorium to develop policies and regulations. She said there needs to be community conversations when developing policy. She said she is not in favor of a large-scale data center, and that the county doesn’t have the infrastructure to support one.
Kuhn agreed with fellow candidates, saying she is against large-scale data centers and would support a moratorium of “any number of years.”
Kelly said the county does not have zoning codes or infrastructure to allow for a large-scale data center. He said it should be a community-driven process to decide if the county would allow one to be built, and that judging from the public response to the issue, it was highly unlikely that such a process would lead to development of a data center.
Scott said the county should not have large-scale data centers and that he doesn’t support them. He said policy surrounding them should be clear and concise that data centers aren’t coming to the county.
Local ecosystems and economic development
Candidates were asked what measures they’d support to encourage economic development without converting prime farmland or building in flood-prone areas and protected wetlands.
Anderson said the commission should work with community partners and experts to ensure that the projects are truly right for the community. She said it’s important for community members to be able to weigh in so they know what’s going on in their neighborhood.
Kuhn said it would be important to keep farmers in mind when considering economic expansion. She said it’s important to know all impacts of any expansion proposals brought to the commission.
Kelly said developing and building in flood zones is a “bad idea,” and wording regarding it should be in land use regulations. He said decisions should be informed when trying to expand, but keep in mind protecting open space and farmland.
Scott said he is not in favor of taking any prime farmland or Baker Wetlands land. He said the county should not have to build everywhere and that the community should be able to appreciate the openness of county land.
Dorsey said he opposes any development along the Wakarusa and floodplain.
Spurling said the county should pursue economic growth strategically and with county partners, but said development shouldn’t take place in wetlands and the county should protect farms and open land.
Final answers
Candidates concluded the forum by answering a question about what concrete result they would want to see on their term on the commission and what tradeoff they’d make to make it happen.
Kelly said he wants the commission as a whole to be better at talking about conflictual issues and not having an “us versus them” mentality on issues brought to the commission.
Scott said he would prioritize affordability and reducing taxes as well as holding county services accountable to their intended uses. He said he doesn’t want to lose people in the county due to the issue of affordability.
Dorsey said his goal would be to freeze county commissioner salaries, calling it an “unpopular” issue amongst current commissioners. He said the salary amount of $54,183 should be frozen for two to three years.
Spurling said he wants to tackle affordability of living in the county and said he wants to see it become an “economic powerhouse.”
Anderson said she wants to rethink affordability by revisiting A Place For Everyone, the joint city-county strategic plan to address homelessness, as well as creating attainable housing rather than affordable housing.
Kuhn said she would want to see county expenditures reduced without cutting core county services. She said she doesn’t want people to be priced out of living in the county and wants to lower property taxes to help affordability.
Douglas County Commission candidates answered other questions from the community about data centers, property taxes and transparency at a Douglas County Rural Preservation Alliance candidate forum in June. Read more in this article.
Learn more about the candidates in our questionnaires at the following links:
• Meet the candidates running for Douglas County Commission District 1
• Meet the candidates running for Douglas County Commission District 4
• Meet the candidates running for Douglas County Commission District 5
Advance in-person voting will run through noon Monday, Aug. 3. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is Tuesday, Aug. 4. Visit the Douglas County clerk’s website for more voting information.
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Maya Smith (she/her), reporting intern, has worked with The Lawrence Times since February 2026. She was born and raised in Lawrence and is a journalism student at the University of Kansas. She works at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications as a communications assistant and has been a freelance reporter for the Kansas Reflector since 2024. Read her work for the Times at this link.
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