Contact the Douglas County Commission

We believe it is a healthy and essential function for members of the public to contact the people who are making laws and decisions on their behalf. Therefore, we’re listing contact information and social media pages (although some may not be present or active on all platforms) on our site.

Three Douglas County commissioners are elected to four-year terms by districts that are relatively equal in population. The offices are partisan. One or two commissioners are elected in even years. They are paid about $40,000 per year.

With the November 2024 election, the commission will expand to five seats. Voters in November 2022 determined that the commission should expand.

Meeting info

The Douglas County Commission meets most Wednesdays in the courtroom on the second floor of the historic Douglas County courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. An elevator is available. Business meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. Oftentimes, the commission also holds work sessions, where no action is taken, starting at 4 p.m.

See a list of upcoming meetings at this link. Meeting agendas are available via this link. Meetings can be accessed live via Zoom, and recordings are posted on the county’s YouTube channel.

The commission welcomes written public comment until 24 hours before the meeting begins. Email written public comment to Robin Crabtree at rcrabtree@douglascountyks.org. If you can’t email comments, written comments may be placed in the county’s information drop box in the south parking lot adjacent to the courthouse. The commission also hears live public comment during meetings.

You can sign up to receive notices from the city and agendas for upcoming meetings at this link.

Last update: April 3, 2024

County commissioners

Patrick Kelly, 1st District

785-393-8346 • pkelly@douglascountyks.org
Twitter: @PatrickKelly4DG • Facebook page
Democrat •  First elected to a four-year term in 2018
Read his county bio

Shannon Reid, 2nd District

785-331-9635 • sreid@douglascountyks.org
Twitter: @ShannonReidDGCO • Facebook page
Democrat • First elected to a four-year term in 2020
Read her county bio

Karen Willey, 3rd District

Democrat • Selected by Democratic precinct committeepeople to finish out a four-year term in August 2022; sworn in Sept. 14, 2022
Read her county bio

Districts

The easiest way to determine the county commission district in which you reside is by entering your name and date of birth at this link on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website; then scroll down to the dropdown that says “Districts.” New districts are reflected in this information so voters will know in which district they fall for the November 2024 election.

See a larger, super-high-resolution version of the map on the county’s website at this link. See a map of the full county with districts at this link.

County-Comm-Districts-2022-2

The 1st District, depicted in pink, is geographically smallest, and it contains a large portion of central Lawrence. The district is not square, but its southernmost boundary is West 19th Street; its easternmost boundary is Massachusetts Street; one segment of the district reaches as far west as Wakarusa Drive; and an intricate boundary divides the northern side of town between the first, second and third districts.

The 2nd District, depicted in purple, contains most of Douglas County east of Louisiana Street / East 1400 Road and north of the Kansas River. According to the city’s website, it contains Baldwin City, Eudora, southeastern Lawrence, Eudora Township, Grant Township, Palmyra Township, and Wakarusa Township (East).

The 3rd District, depicted in yellow, contains most of Douglas County west of Louisiana Street / East 1400 Road, and “the townships of Clinton, Kanwaka, Lecompton, Marion, Wakarusa (western & northern) and Willow Springs, which include the communities of Big Springs, Clinton, Globe, Lakeview, western Lawrence, Lecompton, Lone Star, Pleasant Grove, Stull and Worden,” according to the county’s website.

Meeting archives

See a list of past county meetings at this link. Information about meetings before June 2014 can be found at this link. Find recorded meetings on the county’s YouTube page. Prior to spring of 2020, audio recordings of meetings are available via the information pages.

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