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friday, april 20, 2001
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6A
Newly elected mayor Mike Rundle helps Edith Meyer, Lawrence resident, at the Community Mercantile Co-op, 901 Mississippi St. Rundle has worked at the Merc for three years. Photo by Joshua Richards/KANSAN
service with a smile
new mayor represents unique Lawrence values
story by erin adamson kansan staff writer
awrence's newest mayor works long hours sacking groceries, answering the phone and guiding customers through the sometimes unfamiliar world of organic food at a local grocery store. He lives in a small rental house behind a funeral home and has no plans to move. He'll even do a midnight jig at the post office to entertain stragglers rushing in to mail their taxes at the last minute.
Rundle came to Lawrence from near the small farming community of Logan, Kansas.
Mike Rundle's lifestyle has not changed much since he was a college student more than 25 years ago.
in the northwestern part of the state — and left behind his childhood farm where his parents raised cattle, hogs and wheat to establish himself as a reluctant politician and activist in Lawrence.
Rundle's politics have not always been popular. He has supported the inclusion of sexual orientation as a civil right in city law, the preservation of historic homes and neighborhoods, and folk music organizations. He has opposed tax abatements, building in the floodplain and unchecked development.
After Rundle graduated with a degree in Human Development and Family Life from the University of Kansas in the mid-1970s (he could not remember the exact year), he said he forgot to leave. He came to the University intending to study medicine, but was put off by what he said he thought was insensitive training of doctors.
After college, he stayed
A blind lean into local politics
Mike Rundle listens to fellow commissioners just after he was named Lawrence's mayor on April 10. This is Rundle's second term on the Commission. Photo by Laurie Sisk (KANSAN)
A proposed mall pulled Rundle into politics. In 1987, the city proposed building a downtown mall, closing the roads between Sixth and Seventh streets and demolishing historic buildings such as Liberty Hall to make room for the mall. Overnight, Rundle said, he jumped into city politics.
"I'm probably unique in that it was an overnight thing," Rundle said. "I was a concerned citizen. I was not involved in terms of neighborhood associations."
It was an election year, and Rundle said he was afraid that none of the candidates would oppose the mall, which he felt would be devastating to downtown.
"I was feeling frantic because I wasn't sure there were any candidates who would represent my concerns," Rundle said. "I filed for office a few minutes before noon deadline."
In the end, the proposed downtown mall was rejected—the majority of voters who responded didn't want the mall when the question was asked of them on the ballot for
the city election. Eventually, the mall was built along the Kansas River.
Rundle is now taking a turn as mayor of Lawrence and is serving his second term on the Commission. After being passed over as mayor in 1990 during his first term as a commissioner, he was chosen as mayor after the most recent city elections on April 3.
Rundle said it was an unwritten tradition that after a year as vice mayor, that commissioner would become the new mayor. In 1990, Rundle said he was a vice mayor expecting to be nominated and approved for mayor, but the Commission didn't choose him.
Sue Hack, Lawrence's current vice mayor, said that Rundle's support for slow development had placed him at odds with some commissioners and residents who favored more rapid development.
"I don't think that anybody in the Lawrence community is against growth," Hack said. "I think that some people favor slower growth, and I think Mike is one of those people."
"I think he's a man with very little ego," Jones said. "He believes in the wisdom of the people. I don't think Mike has ever backed away from his belief that government ought to be fair."
Charles Jones, Douglas County Commissioner, said that Rundle thought in terms of the big picture for the community.
As mayor, Rundle has the power to appoint the members of the Planning Commission, a group that has made recommendations on issues such as the housing ordinance that lowered the number of
unrelated people who could live together in residences zoned for single families from four to three, the city-wide bus system, bike lanes, increasing development in western and southern parts of town, and how much money to contribute to the arts and downtown revitalization projects.
Rundle said he considered his role helping pass a Human Rights Ordinance, which initially failed when it was brought before the commission, was one of his most important accomplishments as a commissioner.
"I want to acknowledge Lawrence's leadership to include sexual orientation in the human rights ordinance," Rundle said. "It is a basic human right not to be discriminated against. People do discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation."
Rundle will give an address at tomorrow's Rights March as part of Gay Pride Week. The march will begin at 11:30 a.m. and start at city hall and proceed down Massachusetts Street. Rundle will speak at South Park after the march.
Welcome to the Merc
Like his father, who was a farmer and also worked a day job, Rundle has held down a variety of jobs while serving as a commissioner. A seat on Lawrence's City Commission isn't lucrative — commissioners earn $8,000 a year and the mayor earns $9,000.
To make ends meet the first time he served on the commission. Rundle worked part-time on campus as a secretary in the design department and for Visiting Nurses Association. Throughout his second stint on the Commission, Rundle has worked at the Community Mercantile, 901 Mississippi St.
Many Lawrence residents might know Rundle as the guy wearing the green apron in the grocery store.
Beth Peterson has worked with Rundle at the Community Mercantile for a year and a half.
"He does seem to be well known and well liked around town," Peterson said.
Rundle is the front end manager in the store. He sacks groceries and runs the cash register when the store is understaffed. In the last year, he retired from his post as publisher and reporter for the Merc's monthly newsletter.
"He's a very busy person and seems to have a lot on his mind, but has a great deal of energy." Peterson said. "He is very, very good with customers and is friendly."
As his mayoral duties increase, Rundle said he was hoping to slow down.
Mayor Mike Rundle dances with Peter Avila, Lawrence resident, to the Alferd Packer Memorial String Band at the Lawrence post office, 645 Vermont St., Monday night. The post office stayed open late to accommodate for late-night tax filers. Photo by Joshua Richards/KANSAN
Fiddlin' and Pickin'
Long before he became involved in local politics, Rundle participated in the Lawrence folk music scene.
"I first got involved in cultural affairs with the KU Folk Dance Club," Rundle said. "Lawrence Barn Dance club evolved out of that group. It was the barn dance association that led me to get involved in the music scene."
Mike Horan, local musician, said he had attended every Fiddling and Picking Championship in Lawrence since he moved to town, and Horan said the festival wouldn't have come to fruition each year without Rundle.
"It wouldn't go on every year," Horan said.
"It definitely would have stopped without Mike running it."
Kundle has organized the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships since the early 1980s. Now, Kundle said he would pass the leadership torch on to someone else who could organize the fiddling and picking championships, held every summer in South Park.
After college, Rundle said he thought he would move to a big city, like Minneapolis, that was brimming with art and music. But somewhere along the line, like many KU students, he realized he had strong roots in Lawrence and stayed.
"I'm passionate about Kansas," he said.
Edited by Doug Pacey
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