On Friday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined Up To Date for a wide-ranging interview in front of a live audience at Crows Coffee in the city’s Red Bridge neighborhood.
Here are some of the highlights of his conversation with KCUR’s Steve Kraske:
Will he run for statewide office?
Following a huge night of electoral wins for Democrats around the country, Mayor Lucas thinks his party will have a chance to flip major statewide offices in the Missouri gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races in 2028.
He is term-limited as the mayor of Kansas City and will leave the office in August of 2027. Lucas hinted at running for one of those seats himself on KCUR’s Up To Date on Friday.
“I think we need Democrats to take control in both seats,” he told KCUR. “As I go through the next several months and up to the next year, I'll absolutely evaluate where my voice can be best (used) in making sure that we take over, that we have common sense governed Missouri, and more than anything, that we have elected officials that are responsive to us, not Donald Trump and not Washington's special interests,” Lucas said.
What does he think of the Royals’ downtown ballpark plans?
Last month, the Kansas City Royals released detailed renderings for the organization’s new downtown ballpark at Crown Center. The Kansas City Council approved $600 million in public funding for the stadium in August.
Mayor Lucas has long been a supporter of the Royals stadium project at Crown Center, but also said he respects people who have fundamental disagreements on the idea of taxpayer-funded stadium support. He thinks the ballpark will be a boon for the city.
“What (the Royals) showed and exhibited well was how you can integrate that development into what exists now at Crown Center into the neighborhood,” he said. “I know there are a lot of people who have disagreements on sports stadiums broadly, but I think you could leave those renderings saying this will be a good project, one that architecturally matches and one that supports, frankly, urbanism in the way that we want. People having the opportunity to walk to a game, to bike to a game, to be in the community close to it.”
On Kansas City’s April 2027 ballot, voters will weigh in on whether they should have a say in the city’s decision to fund certain stadium projects. Lucas does not believe the ballot measure will have an impact on the decision by city leaders to fund the Royals stadium project, but others disagree.
What does he want in the next Kansas City police chief?
Mayor Lucas is one of the five members of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners who will hire Kansas City’s next top cop. Stacey Graves will retire from her role as the chief of the Kansas City Police Department at the end of the year.
On Friday, Lucas said he wants to hire someone who is familiar with new public safety practices that are being tried throughout the country.
“I think what I'm looking for is somebody who is innovative, somebody who has studied what is happening in public safety around America, somebody who actually engages with communities and people,” he said. “If there was a challenge with the police chief before our current one, he was a good officer in many ways, but, I don't know if he was somebody who saw the need to be with the people, who saw the need to chalk it up with communities that actually had different views.”
Will he endorse someone to be his successor?
A few months into his final year in office, several candidates are running to replace Lucas.
He told KCUR that he doesn’t plan to endorse anyone in the race at this point, but he does have ideas for what the next mayor should prioritize heading into their administration.
“I want people who can make sure Kansas City is affordable for everyone. I want people who want to make sure that we have a local voice in policing in Kansas City. I believe that local control is essential, and I think that we should continue to fight for that. We should continue to make sure that there is neighborhood policing,” he continued. “So, to the extent we have candidates who say different things, then I think I will point that out. But at this point, no, I'm not planning to endorse.”
