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"Hi. I'm Randy Duncan. I'm your county commissioner. And I'm running for re-election. I came by to ask you for your vote."

The man standing on his porch in the gathering dusk shook Duncan's hand, then took Duncan's glossy campaign handout and briefly studied it. They chatted a few moments before Duncan moved on down the street.

"Hello, I'm Randy Duncan. I'm your county commissioner. I'm out campaigning, saying hi, and trying to round up a few votes. Have you heard of me before?" Duncan said, extending his hand to another resident in this west Salina neighborhood.

An informed voter, the man standing in the doorway had indeed. He indicated Duncan had his vote.

"People, when you get engaged in conversations with them, it gets you charged up, fired up -- at least it does me," Duncan said.

Campaigning this fall for his second, four-year term on the commission is a good deal different than his first run for the office, said Duncan, 11599 W. Crawford, Brookville.

The focus of the November 2006 campaign was the proposed 0.25 percent sales tax that would have raised about $11 million of the cost of building a new expo center. Duncan won the general election by opposing the center, which was defeated by about 70 percent of the voters.

This year the expo center and the issue of the leases for Kenwood and Oakdale parks remain unsettled. But no single issue has grabbed the focus of the campaign.

The race shapes up with Duncan, 52, a Republican, touting four years of experience as his edge, while Democrat Barb Shirley, 37, says she'll bring energy and a fresh perspective to county operations. Commissioners are paid about $27,600 annually, plus benefits that include the opportunity to participate in the county's health insurance plan and the retirement plan for state and local public employees.

"It's been a great campaign. I think we've been having fun, have we not?" Duncan said to Shirley at Thursday's candidates' forum sponsored by the Salina League of Women Voters and the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

Property tax concerns

A lot of concerns Shirley said she's heard as she's campaigned are about property taxes, both residential and commercial. It's why she said she thinks supporters of the 0.25 percent sales tax to revive the Smoky Hill River may be trying to do too much at once. She said she supports raising more private dollars through a fundraising campaign and paying off the sales tax for the Kenwood Cove aquatic center before another tax increase.

In 2008, Salinans passed a 0.4 percent sales tax, which included 0.15 for Kenwood Cove. That tax started in April 1, 2009, and lasts for 10 years.

Duncan, a salesman for promotional products, said although he thinks the project has merit and is worthwhile for its potential to create jobs and economic development, he is remaining neutral because the proposal is only for the city, and thus is being voted on only by city residents.

The biggest hurdle facing Shirley might be facing a Republican in an election that some polling suggests shapes up heavily in the GOP's favor.

"Win or lose, I'm glad I'm doing it. I've learned so much on the differences (between the county and city)," said Shirley, 671 Highland, who lost a 2007 race for the Salina City Commission.

Early interest in politics

Shirley, her husband and 9-year-old daughter moved to Salina seven years ago from Manhattan when her husband was hired to work for Salina Media Group.

"I've always been interested in politics, since about the fifth grade," she said recently while out campaigning. "I remember taking a civics class and that was when (Walter) Mondale and (Geraldine) Ferraro were running (for president and vice-president)," she said. "And I was so inspired that there was a woman up there running for something."

She tried to convince her mother, who didn't follow politics, to vote. But in truth her family didn't stay long in one area enough to forge many close ties or interests in local elections.

"My parents moved constantly," she said. She attended 36 schools by the time she left high school.

She earned an associate's degree in criminal justice from Garden City Community College, but has remained working in the field of restaurant management and bartending, a business she learned from the inside, starting as a teenager.

"I think it's important to have someone working for your city or county that has struggled when they're younger," said Shirley, who is the manager and a waitress at Martinelli's restaurant, Santa Fe and Walnut. "And who knows what it's like to work with a budget to try and make ends meet."

She said she relates well to the working-class families of Salina.

"I don't know if you're aware that 48 percent of our kids are on the school free lunch program, and 11 percent receive reduced-price lunches," she said. "That tells you something, right there."

Recovered from the crash

Shirley almost died in 2007 when, as a passenger on a friend's motorcycle, her skull was fractured in two places and she suffered other injuries when the bike struck a deer on Interstate Highway 70. Neither she nor the driver were wearing helmets.

Two weeks later, with 32 staples and stitches in her head, a cane, and her arm in a cast, she sat behind the bar at Martinelli's restaurant and was doing paperwork.

The outpouring of community support yielded so many flowers and cards, her home looked for a time like a funeral parlor, she said. And for weeks afterward, County Commissioner John Reynolds, when he came to Martinelli's, would walk in with a motorcycle helmet and hold it up at her.

"I've known John for years. We've always harassed each other in a good way," Shirley said.

She said she's completely recovered from her injuries, even after breaking all the bones in her left hand. Getting back to work as quickly as she did and being around people who supported her helped her maintain a positive attitude and make a smooth recovery, she said.

Both active in politics

Both Shirley and Duncan have been active in politics in their respective parties.

Shirley has held office with the Saline County Young Democrats, and she was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in August 2008. Duncan served as the Saline County Republican Party chairman for 15 consecutive years, from 1987 through 2002. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in September 2008. He currently serves as chairman of the 1st Congressional District of the Kansas Republican Party.

Support for the president

Recently, while campaigning in west Salina, Shirley approached a resident and handed him one of her brochures. The man asked if she was a Republican or a Democrat?

"I'm a Democrat," she replied.

"Do you like Barack Obama?" the man asked.

"Why is that?" Shirley said.

"I'm just curious," the man said.

"I do. I support our president no matter who it is," Shirley said.

It was the first time anyone's asked her about that, she said.

"I'm honest. I support our president," she said. "I don't care who the president is, you need to support your president," Shirley said. "That's your man in charge out there."

Shirley said she thinks that as a county commissioner she could help make sure the county is getting the most value for its money.

"Don't just say that so-and-so said that's the best deal," she said. "You need to follow up on it. Do some research yourself. I don't think (the commission) is doing that."

An eye-opening job

Both Duncan and Shirley say they don't favor consolidation of county and city governments. There are already more than 40 agreements between the two government bodies concerning services such as emergency medical treatment, the city-county health department and others, Duncan said.

Duncan also said he favors less reliance on property taxes for any future projects, such as improvements at the Saline County Jail or the county's Road and Bridge Department. He said he would favor more use of the guest tax for visitors who use hotels and motels in Salina, and/or a voter approved sales tax.

The county is entering the planning stages of a 10-year plan for capital improvements, he said. Those will include the jail, the road and bridge department facilities, and the expo center and fairgrounds.

"This truly has been an eye-opening public sector job," Duncan said. "More people should care what's going on locally, when you're dealing with a $31 million budget. We touch so many lives, when you start looking at the number of county departments."

n Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 822-1403 or by e-mail at dclouston@salina.com.

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