University Daily Kansan, November 16, 1984
Page 5
Heaviest voter turnout since 1971 slows tallying process
By JOHN EGAN Staff Reporter
More than 4,000 students voted in this week's Student Senate elections, the largest turnout since 197).
The heavy turnout bogged down last night's tallying process.
In balloting for student body president and vice president, 4,261 students cast votes. That figure represents about 17 percent of the student body at the University of Kansas.
Unofficial vote totals were completed at 2 a.m. today. Thom Davidson, Student Senate Elections Committee chairman, said tallying
for Senate seats would be completed by about 4 a.m. today.
Initially, Davidson had expected 5,000 students to cast ballots in the elections.
In March, 2,301 students or 11 percent of the student body turned out at the polls, the lowest voter turnout in Senate history.
BEGINNING AT 7 P.M. yesterday, about 25 students and administrators rummaged through a bag of ballots in the Party Room of the Frank R. Burge Union.
The ballot-counting process, Davidson said, was hindered by the tallying of the lengthy ballots for Nunemaker senators. The ballots were counted in minutes to count, he said. Sixty-nine
caldariates one of the finaker seats.
but overall, Davitt said the ballot
provinces.
candidates ran for 17 Nunemaker seats.
"People seem to be hanging in there pretty
he said midway through the tailing.
"Tabular," he said.
As voices and the sounds of music and adding machines bounced off the walls, the volunteer tabulators furiously counted ballats at tables set up throughout the room. The volunteers sipped coffee, downed soda pop and munched on doughnuts and sandwiches.
THE TABULATOR SIFTED through the ballots from the polling places with the largest percentage of votes.
Union - then worked their way to counting votes from Summerfield Hall, the polling place with the smallest turnout.
After tabulation by the volunteers, the ballots were taken to a room across the hall where Cynthia Weok, director of Legal Services for Students, completed the final tallies.
Two floors above them, a few supporters of various conditions trickled in to check tallies on the floor.
A Frontier Coalition supporter, Jon Gilchrist, chairman of the Student Senate Finance Committee, kept a vigil at the Burge's in Fulton on Wednesday as candidates gathered at Frontier's victory
part at the Elks Lodge No. 595. As he waited
Gilchrist completed homework assignments.
Complaining about the slow vote tally, Gilchrist said, "I'd rather not spend my whole evening here. I thought about bringing my TV."
"You've got to keep your spirits up," she said.
Jill Gulbread, a student running as a senator on the Momentum Coalition ticket, remained optimistic, despite her coalition's poor showing.
John M.Dermott, presidential candidate for the Reality Coalition, chimed in with "it's so sad."
Downtown
continued from p. 1
mall downtown yesterday asked the city to extend its developer status, which would be another step in the lengthy process of redevelopment.
Town Center Venture Corp. for 10 months has been the city's developer of record for a quarter-century. It is
Duane Schwada, president of Town Center, is trying to obtain commitments from department stores, a necessary step before any future progress can be made with the development.
Schwada asked yesterday in a letter to the Lawrence City Commission that his company's developer of record status, which expires in January, be extended for at least two years. The commission will consider the request Tuesday at its regular meeting.
Lawrence debated for several years about where to build a mall. The adoption of Plan '95 in 1977 and the Downtown Comprehensive Plan for Development in 1882 effectively subdued such discussion. Both plans say that downtown should be the retail core of Lawrence.
But evidence from other communities nationwide indicates that building a downtown mall is one of the most difficult and lengthy ventures a city can undertake as compared with a suburban shopping development.
Department stores prefer suburban malls, which are designed to meet their needs. This capilificates efforts to convince department stores that the city needs Lawrence's, designed for the city's needs.
The department stores will have to be persuaded that Lawrence is committed to developing downtown, a process that sometimes takes two to three years. Schwada said department stores prefer to sit back and allow the store cave in' and allow a suburban development
Suburban malls also present fewer problems for mall users, such as land acquisition and the need to rent.
"With a suburban mall, you can just jump onto a flat piece of land and go." Mayor Ernest Angino said "You don't have to walk down building floors or moving anybody."
So far, city commissioners have supported downtown redevelopment.
In 1981, commissioners rejected a proposal to build a suburban mail south of town on Iowa Street. A proposal in the same location earlier this year was withdrawn.
Angino said at one time that it was time to "fish or cut bait."
But various city groups lately have shown support for Town Center. The Downtown Improvement Committee issued a public statement last month reaffirming its support for the city's downtown project. The Downtown Lawrence Association and the Downtown Commerce have recently supported extending Town Center's agreement.
Concerns about progress
Angino said that after discussions with Sowada, he was satisfied with the progress she made.
"I think TCVC ought to have their contract extended," Angino said. "There is a tendency for people to be impatient. We have to keep working the ground."
Commissioners David Longhurst and Howard Hill both agree with Angino.
"It would be a very serious mistake to drop the plan after one year and change horses."
Hill cited a slow economy and doubts about Lawrence's commitment to downtown as possible reasons department stores were reluctant to commit.
Some community members, Angino among them, have voiced displeasure recent about the decision to close the library.
"We need to stay with them and give them a chance to put this together," he said. "Extending the contract would be one sign we are serious about downtown."
Commissioners Mike Amyx and Nancy Shortz both said they would support renewing Town Center's contract if they saw satisfactory evidence of progress.
"I would want to know whether department stores have shown any interest at all in Lawrence," shontz said.
An urban development board
Commissioners agree that the time may have come for Lawrence to form a group without commission ties with the specific purpose of handling downtown development.
"If this project is to proceed, that is one vehicle we have which would allow us to know step by step what we need to do and how to get there," Amux said.
Anyx and other commissioners see several advantages to an urban renewal project.
First, since the commission presently handles urban renewal, the board would be able to operate free from commission responsibilities. This also would help keep downout out of the political arena because commission elections are every two years.
Despite the difficulties in developing a downtown mall, city officials are optimistic about Lawrence's chances to succeed.
Optimism for what lies ahead
"We will succeed," Hill said. "There needs to be an understanding on the part of the leadership and the people that this is a challenge, project. We all want to build tomorrow."
Others echoed Hill's comments.
"If the city wants the development as they say they do, they've got to be persistent," Angino said.
Palos pointed out that the ball was in the developer's court
"The real work is with TCVC," Palos said. "But as long as the commission sticks with its guns and remains committed to downtown development, we'll be successful."
Amyx said the future depends on the development of an urban renewal board, but Shontz emphasized the needs of Lawrence residents.
"It depends on whether there is sufficient interest in the community to do something very positive downtown," Shontz said. "We need to show up and a clear eye on what is needed."
Longhurst said, "I think it can be done, and I think we can do it. There is a lot of diversity of opinions, but there is also a rather underlying commitment to downtown.
"When push comes to shove, the bottom line is we do what needs to be done."
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