By Jacinda Hall/Wichita Journalism Collaborative
The Wichita Journalism Collaborative will hold a forum on July 15 for candidates running for the 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.
The Wichita Journalism Collaborative is a coalition of 10 newsrooms and community partners that work together to deliver news and information to the city. Kathy Lefler, the group’s coordinator, said the collaborative is hosting the forum to inform residents in District 1 about the candidates’ positions on issues important to their community.
“While the collaborative has focused much of its work together on affordable housing issues and homelessness, the July 15 forum will not be limited to those topics,” Lefler said. “In addition, we have sought questions from the District 1 community about issues that matter to them.”
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.”
Faust-Goudeau said that she has had people contact her regarding the lack of economic opportunity in Wichita’s core area, which includes District 1.
“There are so many times I will attend an event where it’s like a flea market … where everyone’s taking their product to market, and they get to sell their goods for that one day,” Faust-Goudeau said. “I would hope that whoever wins this race, from the City Council’s perspective, they advocate a little more for small, minority-owned businesses.”
Faust-Goudeau said that 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.
Wichita State University Political Science Professor Neal Allen said a candidate forum is a good way for citizens to hear from candidates. It’s also an opportunity for the media to report on candidate positions and how they present themselves as potential council members.
“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.”
Jacinda Hall is a recent Wichita State University graduate and the summer 2025 intern with the Wichita Journalism Collaborative