AT OUTSET OF FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS: CRITICS CONTEND KANSAS CITY MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS POWERED BY SOCIAL MEDIA STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE!!!

Mayor Quinton Lucas has enjoyed a boost from Super Bowl glory and overall his likeable, thoughtful and friendly manner have spared him from typically harsh criticism over a lack of progress on issues like crime, infrastructure and corporate welfare taxpayer subsidy which still plague Kansas City.

Moreover . . .

AS MAYOR LUCAS APPROACHES HIS FIRST STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS, SOME VOTERS ARE INCREASINGLY CRITICAL OF HIS ADMINISTRATION THAT'S MORE PERSONALITY THAN POLICY CHANGE!!!

A note about the big speech that's already playing below the radar:

Mayor Lucas will deliver his inaugural State of the City address next Wednesday, February 12 at Center High School. During his address, Mayor Lucas will highlight the policy successes of his first six months in office and will preview his budgetary priorities for the Fiscal Year beginning May 1. The proposed City budget will be delivered to the City Council on Thursday, February 13.

Now, a word from a TKC reader sent our way from a Southeast Kansas City power player . . .

"Do you follow any of his socials? The pandering to constituents is insipid and follows the same pattern as former Mayor Sly James. Sure, Quinton Lucas is younger and much more photogenic but it's the same script. There are a lot of affable statements and great photos on his Instagram; but what has he accomplished so far? We still haven't seen his vision for Kansas City. It's starting to look like business as usual to a lot of people."

Of course we thought it was fun that the Mayor announced paying off his student loans . . .



However, here are more serious examples sent our way to back up the the criticism and offer more info for both supporters and detractors alike:



- The KC Tenants resolution and "bill of rights" is the Mayor's biggest policy achievement so far. Funding for enforcement remains in flux and many landlords also claimed victory during this debate -- So-called "home providers" argue the legislation was mostly gutted and won't change much.



- Mayor Lucas recently announced plans to pardon 8,000 misdemeanor marijuana offenders and that has earned high praise from stoners and social justice advocates. However, law enforcement and neighborhood volunteers aren't so enthusiastic about the pro-weed agenda at City Hall.



- Mayor Lucas promised gun control legislation cooperation with Jeff City, then, just as our blog community predicted -- Guv Parson double-crossed the mayor and backed up Missouri's pro-gun 2nd Amendment GOP politics.



- In one of the biggest disappointments of his new administration, the Mayor was absent from a sales tax increase vote that threatens to spike the cost of living even higher for low-income residents.



- Despite talk of reform, the Mayor Lucas was unable to persuade his colleagues against endorsing HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS worth of subsidy for the Strata downtown office building and Waddell & Reed's new corporate HQ. And now the question of a downtown stadium reveals the Mayor isn't so averse to the idea as he initially hinted after his election.



- Finally and most importantly, the homicide count and trending Kansas City violent crime remain at a 10-year record pace. We've enjoyed a few relatively peaceful days recently but this has been an unseasonably bloody winter. Already a mass shooting has made national headlines along with an out of control repeat offender meth suspect nearly crashing the Super Bowl parade. 

And so . . .

DESPITE FOOTBALL GLORY, THE HONEYMOON IS OVER FOR MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS AS POLITICAL CRITICISM STARTS TO RISE DURING THIS DIVISIVE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SEASON!!!

Developing . . .