Inside KC’s Sports Boom: Parades, Drafts, and the World Cup
BW: I think that accessibility is one of the reasons we’ve seen so many dramatic changes here—especially in sports. We’re coming off an epic Super Bowl parade. The Royals are planning a new location. The KC Current will have their own stadium, the NFL Draft is coming, and Kansas City will host a 2026 FIFA World Cup match.
What role does the Kansas City government play in organizing these events? And how do you make sure these developments are equitable and accessible to everyone in the city?
QL: There are a few things we do. First, we provide direct dollars to support many of these events. For the NFL Draft, for example, Kansas City taxpayers are kicking in about $3 million. So we are investors in these things.
Then there are all the structural responsibilities: street closures, law enforcement, public safety, fire and paramedic support. These events are huge operations, and often City Hall ends up taking on a big share of that responsibility.
Our partners at the Kansas City Sports Commission handle a lot of the planning for sporting events—like designing the parade route and so on. But there’s still a lot of “less fun” local-government work: making sure there are enough porta-potties at the Chiefs parade, for example. That’s our world.

Who Actually Runs Kansas City’s Major Events?
BW: Is there a specific person in local government who handles sports events, or is it mainly external groups like the Sports Commission?
QL: We often contract with the Sports Commission to organize things, so they’re a big partner.
Within city government, we have a Director of Conventions who works on making sure a lot of the logistics run smoothly.
But I still end up in a lot of those meetings too—sometimes talking about things that seem really mundane like, “Is this street open or is that one?” or “Who gets to speak at this event?” or “Who’s invited to the VIP experience at the Chiefs parade?”
If I’d known you guys were rising star journalists, I would’ve made sure you were on that VIP list.
BW: We’re definitely winning next year!

How High School Students Can Get Involved Now
BW: What advice do you have for high school students who want to pursue a career path similar to yours? Is there any way they can get involved right now?
QL: Absolutely.
First, I have internship programs at City Hall—that’s a great way to start. I occasionally have students job-shadow me as well. My last job shadow was from Rockhurst High School—though I’m pro-Barstow guys, don’t worry.
Those direct exposure opportunities are valuable.
More broadly, I think schools didn’t always emphasize public service as much as they could have when I was growing up. Post-2020, there’s a lot more discussion about how to be better public servants in our communities. Community service has always been a thing, but I’d encourage students to go deeper: really study up on Kansas City, learn our issues, and pay attention to local government.
You can meet with me, councilmembers, mayors in other jurisdictions—that’s all good. But the big thing is to get to know the issues.
When I was in high school, I read the newspaper every day. It’s not as full or extensive as it used to be 25 years ago, but staying on top of local news still matters.
A lot of people want to argue about what’s going on in Washington. Sometimes that’s necessary, sometimes it’s not. But knowing what’s happening right here is a big deal.

Tackling Housing and Homelessness in Kansas City
BW: I was doing some research on your website, and I saw you created a special housing committee. Could you tell us a bit about that?
QL: Sure. Fifty years ago, local government was mostly building roads, hiring police officers and firefighters, and doing basic services.
Now, if you travel to places like San Francisco or Los Angeles—or any number of cities—you see growing homeless populations. Kansas City is no different.
Our goal was to stop just contracting everything out to outside organizations and start asking, “What’s our plan?”
A few things came out of that. One is a $75 million housing trust fund—the first in our city’s history. I think that’s incredibly cool. When I was on City Council, we didn’t even have money set aside to support those kinds of resources.
We’re also trying to make government more efficient and effective. Historically, we haven’t always been the best spenders of funds. Now we’re saying: we recognize we have this money; we have to make sure it’s spent well, that we’re producing the greatest number of units possible, that we’re providing affordable and accessible housing, and that we’re building it throughout Kansas City—not just concentrating poverty in the same places.
BW: You mentioned that $75 million housing fund. Is that tax-funded or private?
QL: It’s primarily taxpayer-funded. We issued bonds—basically took out a loan—to help pay for the housing, and it’s funded through the city. If anyone out there has money and wants to add to it, we’ll take that too.

Campaigns, Retail Politics, and the Road to Re-Election
BW: From what I’ve seen, you’re expected to win the primary today. So as you move into the general election, what does campaign strategy look like now? How is it different from your first run?
QL: It’s funny what a difference four years makes.
When I first ran for mayor, I was the youngest candidate—34 years old—and there were about 12 candidates in the race. It was tough. I got through the primary with 18% of the vote; the top person had 21%. A whole bunch of people were bunched up behind us.
This time is different. I don’t have to do as many television ads or debates as I did last time.
What I’ll keep doing, though, is what’s called “retail politics.” I love it. It’s just pure engagement with citizens: showing up at events, shaking hands, going to games, talking with people.
I don’t really think of it as campaigning because I enjoy it. For example, I went to a game at DelaSalle high school—they had an exceptional basketball team this year. That’s a chance to watch sports, meet families, shake hands.
So you’ll see me at a lot of sporting events and community gatherings. I do a lot of them.

Looking Ahead: World Cup, Downtown Growth, and Public Safety
JH: Assuming you’re re-elected, as you move into the next four years, are there any plans you can share or things you’re especially focused on?
QL: We’ve got to deliver a great World Cup in 2026. I assume you guys will be out of high school by then, but I want you to come back from college—or wherever you are—and feel proud of what Kansas City did.
I want us to continue building up the city. We’re seeing new offices, new buildings in downtown Kansas City. That’s very different from when I was in high school. Back then, our downtown development had stagnated. I want to see real growth there.
We need to build out the riverfront area.
And fundamentally, we need to make the city safer. There are areas of Kansas City that are very safe, but we still have too many homicides and too many shootings. We have to keep improving.

Making Kansas City Safer for Young People
BW: How do you even start to change that? How do you combat gun violence as mayor?
QL: It’s the hardest thing of all.
It’s shocking, but a lot of people picking up guns for the first time are 13 to 17 years old. So a lot of it is about prevention: how do we show young people there are paths other than violence?
We revived the Mayor’s Night Hoops program—I got that idea from Mayor Cleaver. I’m very proud of it. But Mayor’s Night isn’t just about basketball. We’re trying to expand activities for youth—arts, recreation, other programs—so they see real opportunities for themselves.
A lot of our young people may not be going on to college. So making sure they know there are other good options and real job paths is key.

The Traits That Matter in Public Service
BW: Your story is inspiring, and what you’ve done in Kansas City is incredible. For people looking to join this sector, what personal qualities do you think are important for success in politics and public service? Are those traits natural, or can you develop them?
QL: I think you can develop them over time. But there are a few you really need.
For one, you need thick skin. I got some practice as student body president in high school—but in public office, people talk about you a lot. You can’t take it all personally. You have to be able to keep moving.
Second, you need the ability to stay calm in tense situations. Not being a hothead is important.
Third, communication matters. You don’t have to be the world’s best public speaker, but it helps. Written communication is important too—being able to distill complex points into something digestible for the public.

Improv, Debate, and Learning to Think on Your Feet
JH: You mentioned public speaking. Were you always good at it? If not, how did you get better—debate, classes, practice?
QL: I did one debate tournament in high school—at Lee’s Summit North High School. It was a big one. I did well, but my real passion was improv.
I did improvisational duet acting in high school and was pretty good at it. A friend of mine and I did all these tournaments—I even spent time in Copenhagen, Denmark, in high school and kept doing it. I thought it was the best training possible.
People will push you toward debate—and debate is great. But improv was huge for me. It made me more creative and more joyful.
Being mayor is a lot like improv—random stuff happens all the time, and you have to respond in real time.

One Last Meal in Kansas City
BW: We don’t want to take too much of your time, so we’ll end with one last question. If you could only eat one last meal in all of Kansas City, where would it be, what would it be, and why?
QL: If it’s truly my last meal, I’m getting burnt ends at any number of barbecue places. I don’t want to pick a favorite—I love them all. But it’d definitely be barbecue and burnt ends. That’s comfort food for your last meal.
If I’m taking my wife out for our last meal together in Kansas City, then I’d go fancier. I really like a German restaurant called Affäre in the Crossroads—A-F-F-A-R-E. It feels like taking a trip every time I eat there.
Honorable mention: Tacos El Gallo on Southwest Boulevard. It’s awesome. You guys should go there for lunch.

A Glimpse Into a Mayor’s Daily Routine
BW: Johnny and I want to thank you so much for sitting down with us. We’ve been looking forward to this interview, and we hope to make it a good one.
Our goal today is to give high school students a better understanding of which career paths they might want to pursue—in this case, a career in politics and public service. And because of the timing of this interview, with the 2023 local primary elections being held today, we’ll also ask you a couple of questions about the future of Kansas City.
QL: Awesome. You guys picked great timing.
BW: I’ll start us off. What does a typical day look like for the Mayor of Kansas City? What time do you get up, what time do you go to sleep, how many meetings do you have?
QL: I usually get up around 4:30 a.m. I try to hit the gym—because I’m trying not to have a heart attack while I’m still mayor. I’m only 38, so it feels early for that.
Then I get back, have a little family time, and I’m usually doing interviews by about 7 a.m.—mostly radio and media hits. I’m at City Hall by around 9.
I try to do most of my “intellectual work”—emails, reading, anything that requires real focus—in that 4:30 to 8 a.m. window, in between the gym and being with my kid.
Once I get to City Hall, I’ll usually have meetings starting at 9. I meet with internal staff—our city manager, my chief of staff, my team—mostly between 9 and 11. We try to schedule a lot of events and public appearances in the afternoon.
In the evening, I’m often at dinners, sporting events, or community events. So usually I’m engaged politically from about 6 a.m., when I start sending emails, until 7:30 or 8 p.m.
It’s pretty full. I don’t get to watch a lot of sports on TV—I miss out on that part.

From Housing Insecurity to City Hall
JH: Why did you pursue politics? Were there any experiences in high school that pushed you in that direction?
QL: Yeah. I remember when I was in high school—I went to school on State Line, like a lot of folks here do—the mayor back then, Mayor Cleaver, came and gave a speech. I remember thinking, “Mayors actually really get stuff done.”
They’re people who can make a difference without getting bogged down as much in the partisan battles you see in Congress or in the state legislatures in Missouri and Kansas. I thought it was a great way to have an impact.
For me, a lot of that came from my own experience. What we now call “housing insecurity”—we went through that. My family was homeless for a little while when I was growing up. It was an interesting mix: I was going to Barstow, but we were also staying in a by-the-hour motel in east Kansas City at one point.
That strange combination really shaped me. It encouraged me to find a way to help people and make sure fewer kids had to go through some of the challenges I did. That’s what pulled me into public service.
Just quickly on my education: I went to Washington University in St. Louis for college. Then I attended Cornell for law school—loved it. A lot of my buddies were going to practice law in New York City and were like, “What the hell? You’re going back to Kansas City? What are you going to do with your life?”
But I’ve loved it ever since. I ran for City Council in 2015, about six years out of law school.

Thinking Beyond City Hall: Governor, Cabinet, and Executive Leadership
BW: You talked about how impactful mayors can be. Are there any other roles in government you’d consider pursuing in the future?
QL: You’re asking the good questions—the kind they’ll use against me someday in a campaign.
If we’re being honest, I think it would be amazing to be governor of a state. I don’t know if I’d ever get elected governor of Missouri, but executive positions are really interesting because you get to be the decision-maker.
Mayor, governor, president—those are the roles where you’re hiring people, setting direction, making real decisions that shape a city or state. I think that’s fascinating.
And if the current president—or a future one—ever called and said, “I want you to be Secretary of Transportation,” or something like that? I’d be very interested. That would be fascinating too.

What a Mayor Actually Does in Kansas City’s Regional Ecosystem
JH: So as mayor, are you essentially the executive for the city council?
QL: Yeah. I get to pretend to be the “president of the city,” basically.
The cool thing about Kansas City is that so many of the big things we handle are regional. The airport is in Kansas City. A lot of our public transit, big venues, big events—they all serve a region of about 2.5 million people.
So you get to have an impact that’s bigger than just Kansas City, Missouri itself. That’s exciting for me.

Balancing Competing Needs Across a Growing City
BW: On that note of making Kansas City more dynamic: with the city’s popularity growing every day, how do you balance the needs and interests of different communities?
QL: It’s the hardest thing of all.
Some people really care about more funding for the arts. Other people say, “I don’t care about that—fix the sidewalk in front of my house.” Then there are a lot of people who say, “All of the above. I want everything to be perfect.”
The first step is engaging with a lot of different people. That’s why I’m out and about so much. You have to talk to people to know what’s really going on.
The other important thing is finding the concerns everyone shares. Potholes, for example, are something people deal with whether they live in a wealthy neighborhood or one with much lower home values.
I try to listen a lot and engage a ton. During the pandemic, I gave my cell phone number to the whole city.
People always ask, “Was that a good idea?” I say: eh. It got me a lot of random texts and calls. But it also gave me a chance to be out there, engaged and accessible.
One of my biggest goals is to be the most accessible mayor in the country. And I think we’ve come a long way toward that.