By Mike Hendricks, The Kansas City Star:

Immigrant who ‘worked my ass off’ is chosen to lead Kansas City government

Mario Vasquez is Kansas City’s new city manager, overseeing a workforce of more than 4,000 and virtually every city service from the water and fire departments, the city’s convention center, street maintenance and real estate development regulations and planning.

Mayor Quinton Lucas announced his choice after an hour-long closed meeting on Thursday. The City Council then approved it by a vote of 11 to 2, awarding Vasquez an annual salary of $265,000.

Only council members Darrell Curls and Ryana Parks Shaw voted no.

“After interviewing all qualified candidates, Mario Vasquez emerged as the clear choice to lead our city administration,” Lucas said in a prepared statement. “His extensive experience in urban planning, economic development, and project management, combined with his 28-year dedication to Kansas City, made him the ideal candidate to guide our city forward.”

Vasquez, 54, is the first Hispanic person to be named chief administrator in Kansas City’s history. The city government he’ll manage services roughly half a million people who live in the largest municipality in a metro area of more than 2 million.

He replaces Brian Platt, whose four years as city manager were marked with both progress and controversy that led to his firing in March.

Deputy City Manager Kimiko Black Gilmore has filled that role on an interim basis since Platt was suspended and was one of the three finalists for the job. Former Aviation Director and Assistant City Manager Patrick Klein was the other finalist.

Vasquez’s vision

In his job interview, Vasquez impressed council members with his dedication to serving the community and his work ethic.

“In my role in as assistant city manager throughout I’ve gotten to meet a lot of different people with a lot of different skill sets, a lot of ability,” Vasquez said.

He also said he believes in encouraging city staffers to set the kinds of goals he set at the beginning of his career.

“I was asked a question not long ago, ‘how did you get to be the guy that people always look to for solutions?’ I just said, I raised my hand, I worked my ass off, and that is what it takes,” Vasquez said. “So I would also expect people to to do the same, you know, work hard — nothing, nobody, can take hard work away from you”

During that interview, Vasquez choked up as he described seeing one of his former employees rise to fill one of his jobs.

Vasquez was born in Bolivia and has spent his entire adult life and career in Kansas City. As a child, he and his family moved to Wisconsin during what he called “a time of economic distress and turmoil” in their home country.

He graduated from a suburban Madison, Wisconsin, high school in 1989. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1995 and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1996.

Vasquez later also earned a master’s degree in entrepreneurial real estate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2014.

He began his career in government as an entry level planner for Kansas City in 1997 and was promoted to project manager in 2005.

Over the next 17 years he worked on a range of projects including the city’s purchase and redevelopment of the Linwood Shopping Center on the city’s East Side.

Vasquesz was promoted to be an assistant city manager in 2022 and last August was given the additional responsibility of becoming director of city planning and development.

In his public job interview with the council last week, Vasquez emphasized the need for constant evaluation of staff roles and compensation, likening it to regular health check-ups.

He highlighted Kansas City’s fiscal challenges, including the need to renew the city’s earnings tax next year, as it accounts for a large chunk of city government’s revenues.

He also said it’s essential to renew the sales tax that funds the Central City Economic Development tax district, which he called “the most incredible resource we have to promote investment” in city neighborhoods that need it.

Vasquez also stressed the importance of public trust, transparency and honesty in rebuilding city departments’ credibility. Among his first tasks would be to address immediate issues like the city’s preparedness for hosting the World Cup next year.

“With respect to the World Cup, I think we feel somewhat unprepared,” he said. “I think we have a liability with respect to that event if we don’t perform as required.”

Key to that preparation will be hiring someone soon to replace the director of the Office of Emergency Management, who recently retired. And the city will need to replace the fire chief, who is also nearing retirement, he said.

Vasquez also discussed the need for equitable economic development, workforce development and regional cooperation to enhance the city’s growth.

Job opening

The City Council fired Platt in late March after a jury in a whistleblower lawsuit awarded $930,000 to the city’s former communications director, Chris Hernandez.

That suit alleged that Platt saw no reason not to lie to the news media about the city’s accomplishments, and council members said that stain on the city’s reputation was one reason for voting unanimously to let him go.

Gilmore, Vasquez and Klein all promised to be honest and transparent in their dealings with the community, employees and news media.

Lucas conducted a limited, national search for Platt’s replacement, because whomever got the job could only be promised to serve until a new mayor is elected and City Council seated at the end of the current term on Aug. 1, 2027.

Lucas said 40 people applied for the job.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article306001191.html