Q&A With … Quinton Lucas, Kansas City Mayor

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas talks about weighing business and health concerns in the age of COVID-19 as restrictions are eased for restaurants and other businesses. 

Q. Is it tough to balance the health concerns you have for the public versus the economic concerns of businesses?

A. Every day is challenging. I have heard now, for about a month and a half at least, about how painful this is for business and how much of a challenge it is for employees and employers and so many who have had their worlds turned upside down in a short amount of time. I want people to know that I care and am concerned about it, but that we’re doing this in the best interest of public health and to make sure that people are safe and that there is consumer confidence. That’s usually what the balance looks like.

Q. What health metrics will you use if you decide to roll back business-reopening rules?

A. The same things that got us to the point when we were looking at opening up are the same things that could get us to close. It would be a rapid increase of new infections that are largely unexplained or untraceable, or if we had an increase in hospitalizations that we thought would be unsustainable. And if we see the national trends changing in such a way that it suggests we need to be more concerned that we need to lock down again, then those are the types of steps that we need to take. I think it’s unlikely that we will lock down again, not because we think we are out of harm’s way, but because of those of us who are reopening responsibly. 

Q. You were upset about the lack of social distancing you saw in public places when this began? Have you seen an improvement at all?

A. As time went on, and its become a little more institutionalized, and we have made more steps to keep people safe, we have seen that level of compliance. You have seen more people respecting the guidance, in large part because a lot of people don’t want to get sick themselves. I’ve been impressed by the fact that we have seen that level of compliance, and it reflects well on all types and populations and not just older folks who are at risk, but also a number of younger people in our city. That’s something I have been delighted to see.

Q. What kinds of problems does it pose when other neighboring municipalities have different social-distancing rules?

A. For better or worse, when you talk about regional collaboration, sometimes it’s collaboration for the better or for the worse. There was a Core Four agreement, but when the first jurisdiction says “We have to start opening up,” and here in Kansas City, it was what we saw from Cass, Clay and Platte counties, when they started opening. It makes things more challenging. It makes us want to come up with better rules, and it makes our messaging more important. As the mayor of 505,000 people I now have the chance to speak to a lot more. That’s why we’re talking about social distancing and responsible reopenings. 

Q. Do you think it’s important for people to wear masks and do you?

A. I do. When I’m out and about I try to wear one, and when I got to an event that publicly accessible, I have. I think we’ll continue to do that as long as it is necessary.

Q. Are we getting enough tests in Kansas City?

A. I think everybody would say that we are not where we need to be. The heath department has invested pretty significantly in more testing, and we continue to try to get more federal resources, including funds from the counties. We are working on it, but we certainly understand that we have more to do, but I don’t think that is something we are alone on.