‘Time for action’: Civic group calls for firing of Kansas City manager Brian Platt
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Kansas City civic group is calling for city leaders to make a decision.
The Urban Council inked an open letter to Brian Platt.
“The question before you is not simply whether City Manager Brian Platt should remain in his position—it is whether you will stand on the side of justice, ability, and the citizens who elected you or if you will allow the continued erosion of integrity and public trust in our city’s leadership."
Brian Platt started working as the Kansas City manager in December 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. He came from Jersey City, New Jersey where he’d served as city manager for less than five years.
History in Kansas City
Over the past five years Platt is credited with improving the city’s snow removal and improving Kansas City’s street maintenance plan.
The city provided emails sent to city council ing Platt and the work the city manager has done, including “advancing housing development and shaping the city’s future” according to one of the emails.
He was a finalist for City Manager in Austin, Texas, last year, but withdrew his name when Kansas City renewed his contract through June 2027.
Then came a very public lawsuit.
A former city employee filed a whistleblower lawsuit and claimed Platt suggested city staff lie to the media.
A jury ruled in favor of the employee. The verdict means the city will pay the whistleblower $700,000.
What’s Next?
Following the verdict, Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council suspended Platt with pay.
When asked last week if he still ed City Manager Platt, the Mayor didn’t answer directly but shared he s employers having the choice to keep or remove employees.
“This is a chance to see where we wish to go forward going into the future so I don’t have an answer to that for you today,” said Lucas.
The Urban Council made its feelings known in the open letter Wednesday. The group said the latest verdict confirms what Civil Rights leaders have said for years.
A decision on Platt’s future is expected to be made on Thursday, March 20 by the City Council and the Mayor.
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