Name and office sought: Andrew Davis, 8th District Commissioner
Age: 26
Occupation and experience: Community engagement coordinator at Harvesters Food Network (current)
Previous management analyst intern for the city of Lawrence (2020-2021)
Youth and college pastor at Vintage Church in Lawrence (2018-2020)
Education: KU ‘18 BA, double major in political science and religious studies
Minor in African American Studies
KU ‘22 MPA
Public Administration with an emphasis in local government management
Organizations, clubs, groups to which you belong: Voter to Voter Network (2020)
Learning Club (January of 2021)
Judge for Young KCK Entrepreneurs (2021)
Timbercrest HOA (current)
Reasons for running: I am running to bring a new voice and a fresh perspective to the 8th District and the rest of the Dotte. We have so many challenges that our residents are upset about: lack of transparency, lack of communication, lack of access to city hall, arduous bureaucratic processes, high utility bills, high taxes and lack of amenities. I want to bring more innovation, transparency and equity to the Unified Government to improve the quality of life for everyone.
What are the three most important issues facing this position and how would you handle them? All of these issues (safe and welcoming, access to voting, youth investment etc.) are important but for the sake of brevity I will pick 3.
Lack of communication from leadership
Solution: Host regular town halls throughout the 8th district to build trust, transparency and familiarity with the community.
Lack of community involvement in economic development deals
Solution: Create a streamlined Community Benefit Agreement process so neighborhoods and community members play an active role in development deals.
Lack of small business investment (especially those that are veteran-owned, minority-owned and woman-owned)
Solution: Create the Dotte Business Directory to support all locally owned businesses to residents and visitors.
If you are not an incumbent, what would you change if elected?
All of my platforms and ideas to improve the quality of life in the Dotte can be found on my website – Andrewdavisforug.org. If elected I would change the following:
I’d advocate to make voting day a county wide holiday so we all can celebrate our rights as American citizens.
I am a yes vote for Safe and Welcoming because time is overdue for us to protect immigrant communities and give them access to services.
I’d invest in our youth through a youth advisory board and advocate for internships for them in our economic development deals. I’d also encourage summer activity through ATSIF (Annual Teen Summer Involvement Fair).
I’d be a big advocate for criminal justice reform by decriminalizing cannabis and removing municipal laws that target the poor by advocating for non-monetary accountability measures for ordinance violations. Our law enforcement officers should have to focus on the real threats to our safety, not petty crimes.
