Whatever the case, more people filed to fill the Distinct 1 City Council vacancy than ran in any of the other districts during this spring’s elections. And with a state representative, former state representative, former Council member, a pastor and three District Advisory Board members, the District 1 roster may also include more experience and name recognition than any of the races voters saw this spring. Some in City Hall say that Rev. Lincoln Montgomery, the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church, was also going to submit a petition — and probably be a top candidate. But his name wasn’t on the list by the noon deadline.

“There’s no doubt, it’s a strong bunch of people,” said Carl Brewer, who left the seat to become mayor four weeks ago.

Brewer said that he doesn’t think there is a clear front runner.

Starting tonight, the advisory board will begin interviewing candidates, then it will forward four or five names to the City Council, which will vote until a majority agrees on someone. They could also agree to reject the candidates and appoint any other District 1 resident for the position.

Eugene Anderson, 63, is a building contractor who was former Democratic state senator (1984-1991) and house representative (1972-1976). He said he wants to add jobs to the city’s economy by encouraging young people to get into the building industry and by making sure downtown arena building and concessions are locally operated.

James E. Barfield, 67, is the organizer of the Citizens for Arena Re-Vote and a host of River City Forum on KCTU Channel 5. He’s a former metropolitan Planning Committee member and also served on the city’s district 1 advisory board years ago. He wants to create more interaction between police and District 1 residents to improve community relationships and reduce crime.

Lonnie Barnes, 51, is a former Boeing engineer who is now unemployed. He has been involved in the NAACP, Urban League and Northeast Heights Neighborhood Association. He said he wants to encourage more neighborhood revitalization by increasing home ownership and making people more aware of existing city programs that help people improve their homes.

James M. Benage, 53, is a program manager at Nex-Tech Aerospace. He returned to Wichita in January after living in Hutchison, but lived in Wichita for more than 20 years. He said he wants to encourage more citizen involvement in city government to improve services and help people take advantage of what’s already available.

Treatha Brown-Foster, 61, is a District 1 Advisory Board member and is in the Northeast Millair Neighborhood Association. She said she wants to create new jobs and retain young people by improving downtown and using ideas that have proven successful in other cities.

Earl Burkhalter, 52, is the pastor of Strangers Rest Missionary Baptist Church and has worked with numerous boards that have examined policing and spiritual issues. He said he wants to improve reinvestment programs to improve District 1 and make people more aware of programs that the city already offers.

Oletha Faust-Goudeau, is a a current Democratic state House representative. She has said she would resign from the position if she is appointed to the Council seat. She wants to address people’s neighborhood problems by being more hands-on and by encouraging citizen involvement in city government.

Michael Kinard, 46, is a former Wichita School Board member and former director of the Kansas Minority Business Development Council. He said he wants to find ways to retain young people and increase efforts to reduce blight in District 1.

Steven Roberts, 47, is a District 1 Advisory Board member. We couldn’t reach him Tuesday.

George Rogers, who is 71 and retired, served eight years on the City Council before leaving in 2001 because of term limits. He said he had the experience and qualifications to deal with a variety of issues, including employment and taxes.

Lavonta Williams, 57, is a District 1 Advisory Board member. We also couldn’t reach her Tuesday. But she is on the Visioneering Wichita’s Racial Diversity, Opportunity and Harmony Strategic Alliance and a former teacher, middle school after-school program director and secretary for the local and state NAACP.

But the process is open to a lot of politics. Council members learned Friday that they can select whoever they want to sit on the screening board that reviews candidates and forwards names to the Council for a final vote. So it may not just be the DAB Carl Brewer selected and the Council confirmed vetting candidates — especially if several DAB members are in the running. And the Council doesn’t have to select from the people the screening committee forwards to them either. They can nominate whoever they want and the first candidate to get four votes wins.

That seems to bypass the petition requirement, but, in a meeting Friday, City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf said the Council can nominate whoever they want so long as they live in District 1 (as outlined in the map above). District 5 Council member Jeff Longwell suggested the council allow candidates to come to a Council meeting and give a short speech. Longwell said that worked well when he was on the Maize School Board. Other Council members agreed, indicating they’ll probably set a date to hear from candidates.

“It gives us an opportunity to understand where they’re coming from a little bit,” Longwell said.

A candidate could be voted on as soon as May 15.

So why consider giving up one seat for another? Faust-Goudeau says when she’s talking to her constituents in District 84 (See District map PDF), they’re often looking for quick fixes to their problems — be it repairing sidewalks or eliminating blight. And in her district, which contains “Beat 44” the area widely known as having some of the worst crime and blight in the city, she feels she could have more immediate impact on people’s problems than as a lawmaker in Topeka. “I am a more hands-on type of person, and I interact with people on a regular basis,” she said. But she said she doesn’t want the race to fill Brewer’s spot to get messy. There are a lot of qualified candidates, she said, noting some of those those mentioned in previous posts. “I’m certainly not trying to create any friction,” she said. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

The race begins next Tuesday when the vacancy is officially announced during the Council meeting. “By the last day, we’ll probably get 101 names thrown in the hat,” Faust-Goudeau said.

At his neighborhood city hall, he got hit with TV interview after TV interview after Hall Monitor interview this afternoon. He even picked up a cold somewhere along the way. It’s not getting any less hectic. He’s setting up meetings with the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce (to talk about bringing in new businesses), City Manager George Kolb (to talk about a citywide wireless internet system), newly elected Council member Jeff Longwell (to get to know him better) and others.

Saturday morning, he’ll be at Ryan’s Grill Buffet & Bakery, 3323 N. Rock Rd. (See map.), for his monthly breakfast with community residents — only this time near record attendance is expected. Some of them are likely to be people who want to fill the District 1 seat Brewer is leaving. “I think you’ll see who’s interested if you come there,” Brewer said.

(People interested in petitioning for Brewer’s seat can learn how the city fills vacancies here. See the full city ordinance here.And see a map of District 1 here.)

Here’s a glimpse of people’s reactions to the now-pressing question:

Asked about the vacancy, former mayor Bob Knight pointed to Rip Gooch, the former state senator and former City Council member. Gooch, however, said, “I’ve done that.” He said maybe his daughter Bonita Gooch, publisher of The Community Voice, could take it on. She has a background in public administration, he said. Several people have urged her to step in, he said. Rev. Titus H. James came up too. He’s the pastor of North Heights Christian Church.

Brewer said there’s “an ocean” of good people who could fill his seat. He said many of them are on his District Advisory Board. Lavonta Williams seems to be high on the list. She appeared in Brewer’s campaign ads, boasting Brewer’s neighborhood clean-up efforts. She’s also a teacher and is on the Visioneering diversity task force. James Thompson’s name also surfaced — as did the rest of the DAB, which includes: Gerald Domitrovic, Shane Dundas, Treatha Brown-Foster, Steve Roberts, Debra Miller-Stevens, Inga Taylor and Shontina Tipton.

Tell us who you think will be able to get 100 signatures, support of the DAB and four votes from the City Council.