Hotel consultant advised committee chair’s campaign

A city committee exploring the development of a 1,000-room convention hotel decided that it needed to hire a communications professional. The choice? The committee chair’s campaign manager.

On Tuesday, the Kansas City Convention Center Hotel Development Steering Committee awarded KC Consulting a contract “to educate and inform constituents regarding the potential development” of the hotel. KC Consulting is run by Kim Carlos, an attorney and political consultant. Carlos, a former aide to former Third District Councilman Troy Nash and the co-author of a book about living with breast cancer, formed KC Consulting in 2003.

Councilwoman Cindy Circo chairs the steering committee. Campaign records indicate that her campaign paid KC Consulting five payments of $4,000 over the first five months of 2007, the year Circo won her seat.