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Personal Biography
Lance has built a reputation as a steady, collaborative leader and a practical problem solver. From serving as a Captain in the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office to leading the Shawnee County Emergency Communications Center for 10 years, his work has focused on protecting communities and improving the everyday systems people depend on.
Community/Public Service
He has taken on leadership roles in a range of community organizations, including Kansas APCO, Leadership Greater Topeka, the Capital Area Major Case Squad, local nonprofits, and his church, Grace Episcopal Cathedral.
Education
A graduate of Washburn University with a degree in Criminal Justice
Ballot City
Topeka
County
Shawnee
category
County Commission
Shawnee County has an aging infrastructure in its public facilities, as well as roads and bridges. This was addressed in 2018 with the 2038 Comprehensive Plan and we need to continually evaluate how we are keeping up with our goals, and where funding can be accessed for the work needed.
We also have a need to attract and hire more 911 center operators to provide top-notch emergency management to the public. Infrastructure and Emergency Management are both funded through property and sales tax, but we must also continue to research possible grants and partnerships to offset our taxing needs.
Also, access to childcare is a critical issue facing many of our residents. The Family Forward initiative has made a large impact through their facilities and family scholarships program. My hope is that we can learn from these type of models to bring a self-funded childcare facility to our county that everyone can depend on; businesses and families alike.
In my experience we need to hear from all stakeholders so that we can address challenges and work in collaboration to address the issue. A process that I have used to allow for these type of conversations, and build trust, is to bring everyone into a room to hear from them. This would include the State of Kansas, as well as local government, business, workers, unions and residents. I would approach this conversation with the goal of bringing new employers into Shawnee County without providing unreasonably large tax credits.
Shawnee County has done a good job in supporting Public Safety and our Parks and Recreation department. Our community has an abundance of beautiful public areas and interesting programs for every age. We need to have safe communities and opportunities for engagement, so people stay in our community, and our young people return after job training or college. I will work hard to continue this focus on public safety and public spaces as your Shawnee County Commissioner.
