Brian Platt continues to be suspended with pay as Kansas City manager. The city council voted unanimously today to ratify his suspension.
During a business session, city council members went behind closed doors to discuss Platt’s employment but did not publicly take any other action, such as firing or reinstating him. The council then voted unanimously to keep Deputy City Manager Kimiko Gilmore as the acting city manager.
Platt was suspended with pay two weeks ago after the city lost a whistleblower lawsuit. A jury unanimously ordered the city to pay more than $900,000 to Chris Hernandez, the city’s former director of communications, who alleged he was forced out of his job because he resisted Platt’s suggestions that it’s OK for city officials to lie to the media.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said he and the council think it's best to continue the suspension as they evaluate what comes next.
“We will continue to do everything in a fair way, a methodical way, but one that ensures consistency in this organization’s ability to operate while also making sure that we are respectful to all of our employees along the way,” Lucas said. “We’ll make sure that whatever steps we take ahead, we do it right.”
A city manager was last suspended in 2009, when then-Mayor Mark Funkhouser and city council fired Wayne Cauthen.
In an open letter, a coalition of civil rights organizations is calling for Lucas and the council to fire Platt. The Urban Council said Platt has a “well-documented pattern of racism, sexism, mendacity, and retaliation against Black, Latino, and female employees.”
“History will judge your actions — or your silence,” the group wrote in the letter. “Will you stand for justice, integrity, and the people you were elected to service, or will you continue shielding a man who has repeatedly abused his power, trampled on civil rights, and betrayed public trust?”
The letter was signed by the Rev. Dr. Vernon Howard, who leads Kansas City’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Bishop James Tindall from the Urban Summit of Kansas City, Gwen Grant from the Urban League of Kansas City and Nimrod Chapel from Missouri’s chapter of the NAACP.
According to the city communications office, city council members also received five letters of support for Platt from developers and groups like SpraySeeMO, a mural festival; and People with Lived Experience, Advocates, and Allie, an LGBTQIA+ advocacy group.
Platt was appointed city manager in 2020. In March of last year, the city council extended his contract to August 2027 and gave him a raise from $265,000 to $308,000, making him the city’s highest-paid employee. The move came after he was named one of the finalists for a city manager search in Austin, Texas. His contract extension hinged on him dropping out of that process.
