How Mayors Are Handling The Crises Facing Their Cities

We’ll talk to two mayors about the challenges they face in running their cities now. Amid protests for racial justice, the global pandemic, and surging unemployment rates, we’ll discuss the way forward at the local level.

Quinton Lucas, Democratic mayor of Kansas City, Missouri since 2019. (@QuintonLucasKC)

David Holt, Republican mayor of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma since 2018. (@DavidFHolt)

KCUR: "As Operation LeGend Gains International Attention, Civil Rights Groups Call On Kansas City Mayor To Reject Federal Agents" — "A coalition of civil rights organizations is calling on Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas to formally reject the presence of federal agents in the city after 200 agents arrived last week as part of Operation LeGend, an initiative aimed at tackling violent crime."

Public Radio Tulsa: "Oklahoma City Mayor Reports ‘Tsunami Of Cases’ Among Young" — "Oklahoma City’s metro area is witnessing an alarming spike in COVID-19 infections among young people that is being driven largely by 'super spreader' indoor events like church activities, fitness classes, weddings, funerals and at bars, city officials said Tuesday. Mayor David Holt held his first press conference in weeks to discuss the dramatic increase in the number of new cases, especially among people in the 18 to 49 age group, and a spike in hospitalizations."

The New York Times: "Oklahoma City Marks 25 Years Since America’s Deadliest Homegrown Attack" — "Timothy J. McVeigh slaughtered 168 people, including 19 children, by gutting a federal office building with a massive truck bomb on April 19, 1995, yet he features only fleetingly in the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum."

CNN: "Four mayors reflect on their evolving response to the coronavirus pandemic" — "Since the pandemic began, mayors have been at the front lines of the battle to contain the coronavirus in cities all across the country. Because of that, we spent time this spring — toward the start of the crisis in the US — speaking to mayors about the vast challenges at the local level they were navigating. Their medical workers didn't have personal protective equipment, they didn't have tests and they were worried about hospital capacity."

KCTV5: "Group of Kansas Citians launch petition for Mayor Lucas to resign" — "The Recall Mayor Quinton Lucas Facebook page has just hit 10,000 followers. Group organizers say they are confident they’ll get more than the required 13,700 signatures they need. They have the next 30 days to get it done. 'Right now, they are trying to treat us like a pup, tell us to muzzle up,' petitioner Brian Nelson said."