Bruce Shopfner

Bruce Shopfner

In his run for Leavenworth City Commission, retired Lt. Colonel Bruce Shopfner (pronounced “Shof-ner”) hopes to bring his organizational skills to help Leavenworth achieve financial sustainability while growing its economy.

Shopfner graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science Agriculture as a poultry science major and then earned his master’s degree in teaching with an emphasis in biology from Park University. 

Shopfner has called Leavenworth home for 25 years. He retired from the Army after serving in the National Guard and the Navy in his career. 

His entry into the race for commissioner stems from his desire to his adopted town grow its business base with a future vision while balancing its budget. 

“I’ve lived here 25 years,” Shopfner said. “This is my home, and I want it to be a good home – a functionally stable home.”

Although he’s not previously held elected office, Shopfner said he has been delving into some of the economic issues that would improve things in Leavenworth. 

“I believe we should have a really good relationship with Fort Leavenworth,” Shopfner said. “I think the people that live on Fort Leavenworth can spend their money in Leavenworth instead of going to Kansas City. They pay sales tax so if we could get them to spend their money here, that would be great. I was at PAIR Day (this year) and I was really enthused to see all the businesses from Leavenworth there.  I know these students are only here for a year but if we can get them to see they don’t have to go over there to North Kansas City or Zona Rosa or the Legends, they could do things here in Leavenworth.”

In choosing Leavenworth as home, Shopfner pointed to the positive reasons for his decision.

“Even though I’m complaining about taxes, it is a low cost of living here,” Shopfner said. “The other thing is the culture here. I know I’m a Southerner but the culture here really in this Midwestern town, the culture here is not very different than what it was down in Arkansas for me. It’s peaceful here. It’s quiet. It’s a good place to live. I’m not a city guy. Although Leavenworth is the biggest city in the county, it’s not a large city. It meets my needs. I don’t have to go hardly anywhere to get anything. I can eat here, buy things here. 

There not a lot of crime here. It’s safe. To me, there’s not a big crime problem here. These are the things I like about it.”

Although Shopfner has his own philosophies about how to approach budgeting, he shared how his military experience and skills translate towards helping Leavenworth achieve its goals and vision for the future.

“Even as a battery commander, you’re managing over 100 people and you’re looking at all kind of things – at a business, more or less,” Shopfner said. “You learn this big thing called ‘situational awareness.’ When you’re doing planning, you’re looking at so many different things and how those things interact with each other. And that’s how you have to look at a city, too. That’s where the military has really helped me with organizational skills.

When you’re working with people with different ideas, you’re dealing with many different pieces and you’re not all going to see eye to eye. But you have to think of the big picture and the mission. What’s the mission?”

Shopfner addressed the CoreCivic issue as what he sees as a contributor to the local economy. 

“I think that will help out on economic development,” Shopfner said. “That’s the main reason I want it.” 

Shopfner acknowledges that there are other issues involved, though.

“I’m aware of (the protesters’) side of it. I understand the city side of it,” Shopfner said. “But I think it should be an economic issue, not a political issue. On the permit issue, I can see both sides of it.”

A proponent of historical museums, Shopfner talked about how museums are an important draw for visitors that can boost local economies. 

“I think the (Frontier museum) would be a big boost for people as an attraction to come here and spend some money,” Shopfner said. “Where I grew up in Fort Smith, Arkansas, they acquired the National U.S. Marshal Museum down there and there’s a lot of Western history down there, too. It boosted their economy downtown something fierce.”

Working with others in the community and the city commission involves civil debate and dialogue to come to agreements on city spending. 

“You have a way of thinking about how you’re going to use the expenditure – if you’re going to spend it on infrastructure or spend it on other issues,” Shopfner said. 

Ultimately, Shopfner said that a seat on the city commission is going to be about accomplishing a joint vision for the future of Leavenworth.

“We’ve got to look at what’s best for the city of Leavenworth,” Shopfner said. “Maybe my idea is as good as somebody else’s, but you’ve got five different points of view on that commission. So, maybe you need the little pieces of each point of view that would be the best solution – the overall benefit of the city.”