Kansas City is hiring a new city manager, its most powerful job. Get to know the 3 finalists

Mayor Quinton Lucas and the Kansas City Council will soon decide who will lead the city in one of the most powerful positions in local government. Lucas expedited the search for a city manager after the council fired Brian Platt from the role in March.

Platt was suspended and fired after the city lost a whistleblower lawsuit that cost it nearly $1 million. Lucas said that the case and other lawsuits damaged the city’s reputation, and that Platt was ineffective at handling personnel matters inside City Hall.

Lucas recently said the council lost confidence in Platt’s leadership abilities. He also said Platt did not communicate well with city staff and elected officials, nor did he accept constructive criticism.

The new city manager will be charged with correcting these issues and patching up the city’s image. They will also have to be ready to jump into negotiations with the Royals over a downtown stadium, continue World Cup preparations for next year, help guide the city’s public safety policies, and strengthen public works and infrastructure projects.

Kimiko Black Gilmore has filled in as interim city manager since Platt was fired. The city launched an abbreviated city manager search at the beginning of the month. While the position was open to outside candidates, the city did not conduct a national search, like it did when Platt was hired in 2020.

Here’s what to know about each of the finalists:

If chosen as city manager, Gilmore would be the first Black woman to serve permanently in the role.

Gilmore has worked for Kansas City off and on since 2000, when she started as a council aide. Outside of city hall, she worked as a U.S. Senate staffer and chief of staff at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Before being appointed interim city manager last month, Gilmore worked as the deputy city manager and executive director of convention and entertainment facilities.

In her role with convention and entertainment facilities, Gilmore partners with VisitKC to promote the city both nationally and internationally to bring more conventions to the area and update the buildings. Gilmore also helped craft the city’s bids for the 2023 NFL draft and the upcoming World Cup in 2026.

At her public interview with city council, Gilmore said she is guided by the belief that “government should make people’s lives better, and when done right, it can.”

• On her priorities: Gilmore said she wants to meet with neighborhood leaders, small-business owners, faith communities and city staff in her first 100 days. She wants to prioritize better delivery of basic city services, rebuild trust with residents and the media and ensure that city projects are equitably distributed.
• On city jobs: Gilmore said the city has had a long-term problem retaining employees. She said she will prioritize attracting and retaining the workforce needed to achieve the city’s goals.
• On development: Gilmore said she will prioritize development that meets the needs of each district, whether that be housing or retail. She wants to make sure the city works more efficiently with developers and gets feedback from residents on how the projects will impact them.

Vasquez would be the first person of Latino descent to hold the role of city manager if selected by the city council. He currently serves as the assistant city manager and director of city planning and development.

Under Vasquez’s leadership, the city planning and development department worked to match demand for more investment in the city. The department expanded its project services, reduced plan review timelines, increased staff for the permitting division, continued to use third-party inspectors to reduce delays and implemented a project management office for large-scale projects.

Vasquez has worked for Kansas City since 1997, working his way up to assistant city manager through the development department.

Vasquez said he will approach the city manager job “with the mindset of a coach. You need to guide, you need to encourage, motivate and provide corrective action.”

• On city communications: Vasquez said the role of the city’s communications department is to provide truthful and accurate information, even when it’s not the news the city wants to deliver. He said the city needs to acknowledge when it’s made a mistake to rebuild trust going forward.
• On the World Cup: Vasquez said the city is “somewhat unprepared” for the World Cup. He wants to ensure vacancies in the Office of Emergency Management and the fire department are filled as the city prepares for its games.
• On development: Vasquez said he wants to rebuild and reinvest in parts of the city that have been neglected by tackling illegal dumping, home improvements and street resurfacing. He also wants the city’s development agencies to be more competitive so it continues to attract big developments as well.

Klein previously worked as the director of aviation, where he oversaw the Kansas City International Airport and Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport, including the construction of the new terminal at KCI.

He retired in 2023, after a career of more than 25 years with the city in which he began as an analyst. Before serving as director of aviation, Klein was the assistant city manager from 2012-2017, where he worked as the liaison to the aviation department.

For a time, Klein served as the city’s interim spokesperson, including in the aftermath of an explosion at JJ’s restaurant near the Plaza in 2013 that killed two people. Klein has not held a job since his retirement two years ago — his LinkedIn page lists his current role as a “Recovering (Retired) Aviation Director and Local Government Executive.”

Klein said he chose to come out of retirement to apply for the role because he loves Kansas City. If selected as city manager, he said he will lead “with authenticity, collaboration, accountability, transparency and problem solving.”

• On the budget: Klein said he is concerned that federal program cuts, unemployment and a possible recession means the city’s budget could be in a bad spot. He said the city needs to consider cutting back spending to keep itself fiscally sound for the coming years.
• On marketing Kansas City: While Klein acknowledged the city has a lot of challenges coming up, he wants people to know how great Kansas City is. He also wants people to be able to say it’s well run, which he said depends on staff using good governance principles.
• On development: Klein said it will take strong leadership to make sure the city’s big development projects — like Roy Blunt Luminary Park, a downtown Royals stadium and the new city jail — are successful. But he wants to balance that with better infrastructure and affordable housing in all parts of the city.