Voters will elect two Lawrence city commissioners and three Lawrence school board members in the upcoming general election.
Here are the candidates on the Nov. 4 ballot endorsed by two local labor unions.
Lawrence Education Association endorsements
LEA, the labor union for Lawrence Public Schools educators, announced that “After reviewing candidate questionnaires, interviewing our top four choices, and being approved by our building representatives, we proudly stand with” newcomer Matt Lancaster and incumbents Shannon Kimball and Kelly Jones for school board.
Lancaster has a background working as both a teacher and administrator. He called himself an “educator’s educator.”
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Kimball is the longest-running incumbent on the board with 14 years of service, and she is up for reelection after most recently running for a two-year term that began in 2023. Her platform focuses on “expanding student opportunities, supporting staff, improving communication with families, and advocating for strong public schools.”
Jones is running for her third four-year term and said she wants to continue to expand the district’s early childhood education; provide competitive wages and work-life balance for employees; improve arts and athletic facilities; craft innovative policies for artificial intelligence that support education equity; and continue with equity work.
The other four candidates are incumbent Bob Byers and newcomers ChrisTopher Enneking, Pam Shaw and Molly Starr.
International Association of Firefighters Local 1596 endorsements
The local charter for IAFF, the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical firefighters union, endorsed Mike Courtney, Kristine Polian and Bob Schumm for city commission.
Voters can select up to two candidates on their ballots. In a social post, IAFF Local said any of those three candidates would support a safer Lawrence.
“Their opponent, (incumbent) Bart Littlejohn has a voting record of cuts to public safety funding and a recent vote shut down fire Engine 5 (19th and Iowa) for 2026,” the post reads.
Littlejohn responded in a Facebook comment, stating that “For the record, last year I approved a budget that kept 4 people on a truck, and this year, the budget I approved made sure that we would not lose any fire staff. While there are hard decisions to make every budget year, I continue to advocate and do everything I can to keep our services running and most importantly keeping our public safety folks employed.”
In a questionnaire for The Lawrence Times, Courtney said he wants to leverage technology solutions to create a more efficient and cost-effective city. He proposed multiple options to address Lawrence’s housing affordability crisis.
Polian said her experience in local government has given her skills in public finance and the tools to protect taxpayer dollars. She said she wants to capitalize on city resources “to increase housing inventory, maintain our infrastructure, and bring higher paying jobs through economic development.”
Former commissioner and mayor Schumm advocated to keep rec centers free for residents. He is in favor of the KU Gateway Project, saying it will lead to an increase in sales tax revenue, and wants to reduce the capital improvement plan to address the issue of rising property taxes.
Representatives of other local unions could not be reached for their candidate endorsements.
Early voting underway
Read more about the school board candidates in this questionnaire. Read more about the city commission candidates in this questionnaire.
Find coverage of candidate forums and more at lawrencekstimes.com/election2025.
Douglas County voters can still request an advance ballot be mailed to them through Tuesday, Oct. 28. File a ballot request at KSVotes.org.
Lawrence voters can cast their ballots in person at the Douglas County elections office, 711 W. 23rd St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through Friday, Oct. 24. Early voting hours expand to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays from Monday, Oct. 27 through Friday, Oct. 31.
Voting will be available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, and from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, Nov. 3.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As long as voters are in line to cast their ballots by 7 p.m., their votes will be counted. Look up your polling place at myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView.
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