Contact Your Local Officials
Advocacy from the heart of the community is the best! If you want your voice heard, take a minute to communicate with your elected officials or write a letter to the editor. Below is information about contacting:
Lawrence City Commission
To support our coalition’s efforts or to advocate on other City issues, you can write directly to our City’s elected representatives.
To: commissioners@lawrenceks.gov, ccagendas@lawrenceks.gov
Subject: [Include your specific request or complaint here]
Email content: Dear City Commissioners,
[Insert short message about your request or complaint. You may want to address how the issue at hand affects you.]
[Close with a respectful salutation and your name]
Notes:
The Commissioners receive a lot of written information each week, so they may be more likely to read your full email if it's short and to the point.
If you want your comments to be public, include the "ccagendas" email above, and your email will be included at the end the Commission's weekly packet.
You can also email individual Commissioners here: Amber Sellers, Brad Finkeldei, Kristine Polian, Mike Courtney, and Mike Dever.
Or you can email them all together here - asellers@lawrenceks.gov, bfinkeldei@lawrenceks.gov, kpolian@lawrenceks.gov, mcourtney@lawrenceks.gov, mdever@lawrenceks.gov.
Douglas County Commission
Our coalition is focusing on City efforts at this time, but we are also interested in bringing our vision to the County. We believe that collaboration between the City and County could also be improved.
You can reach your individual County Commissioners here - Erica Anderson, Gene Dorsey, Karen Wiley, Patrick Kelly, and Shannon Reid
You can email them all together at publiccomment@dgcoks.gov
Or you can copy and paste their emails addresses here - eanderson@dgcoks.gov, gdorsey@dgcoks.gov, kwilley@dgcoks.gov, pkelly@dgcoks.gov, sreid@dgcoks.gov
Lawrence School Board, USD 497
We would like to bring our vision to all governmental entities in our community, including our local school board.
You can reach the individual school board members here - Bob Byers, Carol Cadue-Blackwood, GR Gordon-Ross, Kelly Jones, Matt Lancaster, Shannon Kimball, and Yolanda Franklin
You can email them all together at schoolboard@usd497.org
Or you can copy and paste their emails addresses here - Anne.Costello@usd497.org, bbyers@usd497.org, ccaduebl@usd497.org, gr.gordon-ross@usd497.org, kelly.jones@usd497.org, mlancaster@usd497.org, skimball@usd497.org, Yolanda.Franklin@usd497.org
To speak before the School Board, residents must register in advance and attend in person to speak. If you're interested in speaking, email PublicComment@usd497.org by noon on the day of the meeting to let them know that you plan to attend and provide public comment.
Write to Our Newspapers
We are fortunate that The Lawrence Times and The Lawrence Journal World accept letters to the editor and invite news submissions from our community. Here is the information you need to know to submit your own letter to the editor or press release:
Letters to the Editor
The Lawrence Times - Submit your letter to Letters@lawrencekstimes.com. Recommended length is 500 words or less. Include your name, pronouns, city, and phone number (not published with your letter).
The Lawrence Journal World - Submit your letter to letters@ljworld.com. 250 words or less. Include your name, address, and phone number (address and number not published).
News Submissions
The Lawrence Times - Email hello@lawrencekstimes.com with news. Anonymous tips can be submitted through this form.
The Lawrence Journal World - Email news@ljworld.com with a news tip or press release. You can also submit news through this online form.
The University Daily Kansan - Fill out this form to submit news.
The Kansas Reflector - Email info@kansasreflector.com to submit news.
Kansas Public Radio - Contact KPR with this form, or fill out this form for an event submission.