Blue Springs District 2 resident Chris Lievsay has done some things in town.
Now he wants to be a City Council member.
Lievsay, better known recently as the chairman for the Public Safety Citizens Advisory Board, filed paperwork Thursday with the city for candidacy for District 2, currently held by Sissy Reed.
But Lievsay doesn’t see his candidacy as a way to unseat an incumbent, but rather as a way to inject fresh ideas to an area that needs it.
“That’s not my goal,” he said about unseating Reed. “I’ve been doing a lot of things in the city for a while, and I’ve been thinking about running for a while, too.”
Aside from serving as chairman on the public safety board, Lievsay serves as a local board member for the Selective Service System, is active with the city’s Sign Code Ordinance Committee, has participated in a Prevention Agency Review Team for Jackson County COMBAT, and is an active member along with his wife, Grace, in the Blue Springs Historical Society.
If elected to District 2, Lievsay wants to focus on three areas: the improvement of the Woods Chapel Road corridor, public safety and bringing concensus to the City Council.
“There’s been a lot in the Woods Chapel Road area that has been overlooked,” Lievsay, who lives near Vesper Hall, said. “There have been improvements and good ideas, but there needs to be more.”
He stresses that the area needs increased representation and more concerted effort in acquiring necessary services, including a grocery store.
“Building the highways and improving the roads doesn’t bring in the revenue needed in that area and in the city,” he said. “Improvements like those are good, but they’re not enough.”
He added: “We need to make it a priority to provide the same amenities to the residents of (District 2) that those in (District 1 and District 3) enjoy.”
As he is doing now, Lievsay also wants to continue focus on public safety in the city. As chairman of the public safety board, he now works with a large board in gathering information about safety issues affecting the city. As a council member, he wants to continue those investigations, though his involvement with the board will most likely change.
“Whatever way I can continue to assist I will,” he said.
A graduate of the Citizens Police Academy, Lievsay is also president of the Blue Springs Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, and he participates in the police department's Volunteers in Police Service program.
He also wants to encourage and promote more consensus among the City Council. Oftentimes, though not recently, there have been 3-3 ties with Mayor Carson Ross breaking the vote.
Lievsay believes he’s the right candidate.
“The citizens of District 2 need a strong voice to accomplish those things that are important to them,” he said in a statement. “I bring to the table a fresh perspective and new approaches that will allow me to be successful in being their representative on the City Council.”
