City Commission candidate Christian Lyche.

Being decades younger than some of his fellow Lawrence City Commission candidates doesn’t discourage Christian Lyche.

Lyche, 19, said that he and others his age have something to add to the conversation.

“Both political parties count on the support of the young generation and the millennials, but yet they don’t see any representation in the government themselves,” Lyche said.

Originally from San Diego, Lyche, whose name is pronounced “LIE-key,” moved to Lawrence about 10 years ago with his family. He is a sophomore at the University of Kansas, where he is double majoring in marketing and information systems.

A different perspective

Lyche said he thinks his experiences traveling have prepared him to be a member of the City Commission. He said he’s traveled a lot with his family, visiting almost all the states and 19 countries.

“I’ve seen how other governments are run, not only domestically but also abroad,” Lyche said.

Specifically, Lyche said he travels regularly to Norway, where he has relatives. He said policies in Norway help all people and everyone is taken care of. He noted that Norway is often ranked one of the happiest countries in the world.

“You do not really see people struggling like they are here,” Lyche said. “I’ve never heard anyone complain about affordable housing and not being able to feed their families, especially not in Norway.”

Norway is characterized as a social democracy, and while Lyche said that he is not advocating socialism, he thinks more attention should be paid to how policies affect people. He said that applies to economic incentives, affordable housing and property and sales tax rates.

Issues

Lyche said the main focus of his campaign is government transparency. He said the city should be “really open” with its budget process. That includes issues such as the recent discovery that the city failed to send invoices for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“We’ve seen them kind of brush it under the rug and then ask for another tax increase,” Lyche said. “I just don’t know how you can tell the residents of Lawrence, especially the ones that are struggling, who are barely able to pay their rent, let’s increase the taxes.”

The billing issue was discovered by the city’s finance director and brought to the attention of the commission in May. The city hired an outside auditing firm to identify the missing payments, but a final report has not been completed. A preliminary review found that at least 10 leases of either city land or other property have missing invoices or payments.

Lyche also said the city should maintain the city auditor position, which is one of 11 positions that the city’s 2018 budget proposes eliminating. As currently structured, the position is a performance auditor that evaluates city programs and that reports directly to the City Commission.

Another issue Lyche is focusing on is job growth. He said the city could use more small businesses and needs to bring jobs to Lawrence that pay a living wage. He said having well-paying jobs is a big issue for college students and the town as a whole.

“If you rack up tens of thousands or more in debt and you come out (of college) and you can’t get a decent-paying job, you’re going to be crushed for the rest of your life,” Lyche said. “I see this happen all the time with people that are older than me who have graduated and can’t find a job in their field.”

Regarding economic incentives, Lyche said he thinks the city should use them more aggressively to pursue businesses. He also said he’d like to ensure the incentives program has a positive impact on the community.

“I see a lot of times we use the incentives program to bring a big building to Lawrence, but it really only brings a few jobs,” Lyche said. “I would say that if a company wants to get incentives from the city they really have to prove that they have meaningful jobs.”

A third issue concerning Lyche is bringing new technology and alternative energy companies to Lawrence. He said such companies bring careers that will be around into the future and that are better for the environment.

Lyche’s candidacy has also included some controversy. After Lyche filed as a candidate, Rachael Sudlow, wife of incumbent candidate Matthew Herbert, posted on social media allegations that Lyche had hosted a keg party at a rental property that Herbert and Sudlow manage, and that the party caused thousands of dollars in damage. Lyche has denied that he hosted the party, which was the subject of a small claims lawsuit against him. That suit was dismissed.

The terms of commissioners Lisa Larsen, Mike Amyx and Matthew Herbert are expiring this year. Eight candidates have filed for the election: Herbert, Larsen, Jennifer Ananda, Bassem Chahine, Dustin Stumblingbear, Ken Easthouse, Mike Anderson and Lyche.

The primary election on Aug. 1 will narrow the field to six candidates. The general election will be Nov. 7.