ITEMS IN THE NEWS

A total of 11 candidates, including our own James Barfield, have filed for the District I position on the Wichita City Council vacated when Carl Brewer was elected mayor.
There are quite a few familiar faces in the group: former State Senator Eugene Anderson; African-American Republican Party activist Treatha-Foster Brown, the Reverand Earl Burkhalter; State Representative Oletha Faust-Godeau; former Wichita School Board Member Michael Kinard; former City Council Member George Rogers; and District Advisory Board Members Lavonta Williams and Steven Roberts.
Also running are Lonnie Barnes and James Benage.
--Rogers and Anderson face allegations (albeit none legally proven) from their pasts;
--Kinard has a recent bankruptcy;
--Foster-Brown was trounced in her only bid for public office;
--Area residents wonder why Faust-Godeau wants to swap what most people perceive is a more powerful position in Topeka;
--Williams and Roberts are little-known outside their neighborhoods.
The District I Advisory Board will meet tonight and Thursday at the Atwater Neighborhood City Hall to interview the candidates, then recommend five to the City Council.
The Council will then pick one at their May 15 meeting.
--R.J. Dickens