Post last updated at 4:54 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6:
Voters have decided four of five Douglas County Commission seats and the county’s top prosecutor position.
Here are the returns as the elections office has processed thousands of votes cast Tuesday. Additional ballots will still be added to these vote totals on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
No results are official until the general election canvass, which is set for 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 18. The canvass is open to the public at the elections office, 711 W. 23rd St. Suite 1 in Lawrence.
Douglas County Commission
This election is adding two commissioners. Douglas County voters in 2022 voted by a margin of roughly 61% to 39% to expand the commission from three to five seats.
Here’s how the races break down:
• District 2: Incumbent Democrat Shannon Reid faced a challenger in Independent Brad Chun.
• District 3: Incumbent Democrat Karen Willey faced a challenger in Republican Pam McDermott.
• District 4: Democrat Gene Dorsey, Libertarian Steve Jacob and Republican Timothy Bruce faced off to represent this new district.
• District 5: Democrat Erica Anderson, Libertarian Kirsten Kuhn and Republican Rich Lorenzo faced off to represent this new district.
You can check which district you’re in by visiting myvoteinfo.voteks.org.
With all precincts reporting, Reid and Willey would both keep their seats and Democratic candidates Dorsey and Anderson would win Districts 4 and 5, respectively.
“It’s been a long campaign, and I’m glad it’s over. The only problem is now the harder work starts, being on the commission,” Dorsey said. “So I guess I’m looking forward to it.”
Dorsey said he has been following the commission and had reached out to build relationships with other candidates so he was ready to get to work no matter who won.
Reid said she was feeling grateful, but after she won her last general election by just a handful of votes, she learned to wait until all votes were counted.
“I’m really looking forward to what’s possible in terms of coalition building with five of us,” Reid said, referring to the expanded commission. “That means that I’ll be able to have conversations outside of our public meetings and formal business discussions, and be able to build coalition with one or two commissioners about things that are really important. So I’m excited to learn more about my fellow commissioners in that way, and be able to really see what’s possible to strengthen with more of us and more representation.”
Chun posted to Facebook shortly after midnight Wednesday to congratulate the winners, and he wrote that “I’m disappointed that the people chose to have more of the same: tax increases and opacity, but that’s democracy.”
Anderson said she’s excited to serve Douglas County. To her, that begins with learning from current commissioners, public health officials and other city and county staff.
“This whole process has just really solidified my desire to serve but also my desire to better understand individuals and to ensure that we’re bringing all voices to the table when we are making decisions,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she also plans “to learn from our taxpaying citizens and to listen to those needs, to listen to wants, to listen to desires, to listen to challenges and barriers, but also to focus on what is going really well, so that we can really leverage what is going well to then better understand how we can build that.”
Willey could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Douglas County district attorney
Democrat Dakota Loomis ousted incumbent Suzanne Valdez in the August primary. He and Republican Mike Warner faced off in the general election.
With all precincts reporting, Loomis held nearly two-thirds of the vote. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Other Douglas County races
Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister, Treasurer Adam Rains and Register of Deeds Kent Brown each won their Democratic primary elections in 2020 and ran unopposed in the general election that year. All three ran unopposed this year.
Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew, also a Democrat, was first elected in 2004. He has not faced an opponent since ’04, and he ran this year for his sixth term.
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Election results: Douglas County Commission incumbents to hang on; Democrat wins district attorney race
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