Lawrence commissioners say direct mayor election needs more discussion
Commissioners balked at a plan to let Lawrence voters directly elect the mayor, saying the idea needs more public discussion before any 2026 ballot question.
Lawrence city commissioners on July 21 pushed back on a proposal to let voters directly elect the city’s mayor, saying the idea is not ready to move quickly toward a ballot question. The discussion at City Hall came after several members of the public spoke against the change and after The Chamber of Lawrence Kansas asked commissioners to consider placing a resolution on the November 2026 ballot.
The chamber’s request, submitted by Bonnie Lowe, the group’s president and CEO, would move Lawrence from its current system, in which the mayor is chosen from among city commissioners, to a directly elected mayor. That would change more than a title. It would affect who sets priorities, who speaks most visibly for the city and how residents decide who is accountable when disputes over downtown, housing or public safety sharpen.
Lawrence has been studying possible changes to its commission-manager form of government for years. The city says that work began in 2021, when the governing body adopted Resolution No. 7353 and created a task force to study and recommend modifications to the current structure. Commissioners have already rejected one attempt to advance the idea: in August 2022, they decided not to put a ballot question on directly electing a mayor before voters.
The latest debate comes after another warning sign for supporters of structural change. In the November 2024 election, Lawrence voters rejected a separate form-of-government question. That result suggests any new proposal would need a clear explanation of how a directly elected mayor would fit into the city’s current commission setup, what powers the office would actually carry and how it would change the balance among commissioners.
For now, the commission’s stance is that the idea needs more discussion before residents are asked to vote. Any future ballot measure would likely depend on broader public engagement and a clearer public case for why Lawrence should change the way it chooses the city’s top elected face.
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