Lucas will be guest on Landmark Live this week
He is a very busy man as he guides his city through a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Kansas City Mayor will give 30 minutes of his time to engage in conversation with The Landmark.
Lucas will be the guest on the Thursday, April 9 telecast of Landmark Live, the newspaper’s podcast that is shown live on Facebook at Platte County Landmark. The show will begin at 5:30 p.m.
With City Hall closed to the general public, Lucas will join the show through a video call on Skype. The screen will be split three ways to allow viewers to see Lucas and the two Landmark Live hosts at the same time. Viewers will be able to post questions and comments as the discussion is happening live on Facebook.
Landmark publisher Ivan Foley and columnist Chris Kamler will conduct the interview with Lucas, who has been among the most active local leaders in guiding coronavirus response efforts. As is the case with most episodes of Landmark Live, the discussion will also take on a lighter tone as the first term mayor chats with the show hosts.
If you miss it the video will be posted on Facebook at Platte County Landmark for viewing at your leisure. The video will also later be posted on the Platte County Landmark channel on YouTube
Lucas was elected mayor last year, winning handily over Jolie Justus with 59% of the vote. At age 34, historians say Lucas is the youngest Kansas City mayor “in living memory.”
Lucas–known as Mayor Q on Twitter–is also described as a noted super fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, so you know the local sports world will come up at some point in the Landmark Live conversation. The new KCI Airport under construction in Platte County will also be discussed.
The importance of government transparency will also be discussed. During discussions surrounding the financing and development of a new KCI Airport being constructed in Platte County, Lucas emerged as a firm advocate for transparency, disagreeing with his friend and colleague, former Mayor Sly James.
“My concern is I continue to believe we overuse closed sessions,” Lucas told The Kansas City Star at the time. “I think the spirit of the Sunshine Law is not for council to deliberate on myriad issues on public policy in secret.”
As mayor, Lucas has prioritized making Kansas City’s neighborhoods safer, creating more accessible and affordable housing and public transportation, fostering a healthier community and improving basic services.