The Wichita Journalism Collaborative, of which The Voice is a member, will hold a forum on July 15 for candidates running for the Wichita District 1 City Council seat.
Three City Council seats are up for re-election this fall. But District 1 is the only one with a primary election in August.
The candidates are LaWanda DeShazer, Darryl Carrington, Aujanae Bennett, Chris Pumpelly and Joseph Shepard.
The forum is Tuesday, July 15, at 6 p.m. in the Marcus Welcome Center at Wichita State University. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Wichita State University Political Science Professor Neal Allen said a candidate forum is a good way for citizens to hear from candidates.
“It’s hard to expect voters to know much about individual candidates,” Allen said.
He said that the election should be competitive.
“This is a nonpartisan race and there are not large issue differences between the candidates,” Allen said. “This is a district that is by far the most liberal and progressive in the city, and this district is the one opportunity in city and county politics for the Black community of Wichita to be able to have a strong role in choosing their representative.”
District 1 has had a decades-long history of being represented by Black candidates who have had consensus support of the Democratic Party.
“This is a different election as the local Democratic Party is not clearly backing a single candidate, certainly not single African-American candidates,” Allen said. “It will be interesting to see which two candidates emerge from the runoff.”
Allen said he has seen a lot of spending by candidates in past City Council races.
“Raising money for a primary election in a district that is … lower income is very difficult,” Allen said. “So, events like a candidate forum are important because chances of a voter getting information on a candidate from traditional campaign advertising channels are nearly zero.”
Kansas State Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, who represents District 29, said that she’s excited that so many candidates have entered the race.
“I live in District 1 … so I have concerns and a pulse on the community as I represent District 1 inside of my Senate District 29,” Faust-Goudeau said. “I think like most people, everybody’s concerned about economic development, job opportunities. I know that I am for my constituents.”
She is also concerned about what the candidates will do to address housing issues in District 1.
“What will we do with some of the vacant houses? How can we turn that into homes for those living on the streets in downtown Wichita?” Faust-Goudeau said.
Jacinda Hall is a recent Wichita State University graduate and the summer 2025 intern with the Wichita Journalism Collaborative.