JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

I’m starting to have a bad feeling about Quinton Lucas.

My fear is he’s going to be a lightweight mayor, one who doesn’t have the courage of his convictions.

Fueling that fear is the way he handled last week’s vote on the proposed $133 million, 25-story Strata office tower above existing buildings at 13th and Main streets.

It’s well known, of course, that Lucas beat Jolie Justus in the mayor’s race earlier this year in large part because he pledged to reduce city subsidies to developers.

A June 10 story on KCUR’s website paraphrased Lucas as saying he would severely limit the incentives available downtown and on the Country Club Plaza. It then quoted him as saying: “The greatest incentives should only be available — with a few exceptions — but should only be available in the East Side or in severely economically distressed parts of the city.”

Strata was the first major test of Lucas’ commitment to his promises…and he flunked.

The original plan included $63 million in incentives — $27 million for the office tower itself and $36 million for the parking garage. When it came before the City Council last Thursday, the office-tower incentive was out and the parking incentive remained…Nevertheless, it was still a huge giveaway.

Seven council members, the minimum needed for passage, voted “yes.” (I’ll give you that vote breakdown in a minute.) Lucas and three other council members — Brandon Ellington, Melissa Robinson and Teresa Loar — voted “no.”

The fattest arrow in the mayor’s quiver, however, is the veto power. On Friday, Lucas’ office said he would not use that arrow.

That action (or inaction) sends a strong signal to developers everywhere that he won’t erect a high wall against similar developments. He’s like the stand-up comedian who holds up one hand trying to stem the applause while subtly beckoning it with the other hand down low.

When he goes out in public and is questioned about the giveaway, Lucas can say, “Hey, I did all I could. I voted ‘no.’ I can’t control what my colleagues do.”

Had he vetoed the ordinance, as he should have, the Strata incentive easily could have been dead. Under the City Charter, it takes eight votes to override a veto. The Strata ordinance passed on a vote of 7-4, with council members Heather Hall, Kevin O’Neill, Dan Fowler, Katheryn Shields, Eric Bunch, Ryana Parks-Shaw and Kevin McManus voting “yes.”

Councilman Lee Barnes was absent, and the only other council member, Andrea Bough, recused herself because of a potential conflict of interest.

Had Lucas vetoed the ordinance, forcing a second vote, Barnes probably would have held the deciding vote, with Bough having to recuse herself again.

I don’t know where Barnes stands on the issue, but he’s a bit of a maverick, and my suspicion is he would have voted “no” — in which case the measure would have fallen a vote short.

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So, that’s where we find ourselves: with a mayor who appears to want to be able to say he’s watching out for taxpayers’ interests while, in reality, sending smoke signals to developers that the city treasury remains accessible to the special interests.

It takes a very strong leader to stand up to the developers, who, collectively, are far and away the biggest contributors to council and mayoral candidates. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear Lucas has the spine voters hoped he had when they voted for him five months ago.

Correction: I initially wrote that it took nine votes to override a veto, but I was informed by a former city attorney it was changed to eight during Cleaver’s years as mayor.