Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Kay Barnes
Kay Waldo Barnes (born March 30, 1938) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri from 1999 to 2007. She was the first woman to be elected to the office and was elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.
She was the Democratic nominee for Missouri's 6th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in 2008, but lost to incumbent Republican Congressman Sam Graves in a landslide.
In 2025, following the recall of Jackson County Executive Frank White, Barnes was appointed by Jackson County Legislature Chair DaRon McGee as the acting County Executive, effective October 8, 2025, and served until an interim County Executive was selected to serve out the remaidner of White's term on October 16.
Born Beverly Kay Cronkite in St. Joseph, Missouri, she was the daughter of Frederick Pierce "Fritz" Cronkite Jr. (1911-1962) and Helen F. [Morford] Cronkite St. John (1912-2016). Her father was the younger brother of Walter L. Cronkite, making her a niece of famous journalist Walter Cronkite.
She earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from the University of Kansas, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, a master's in secondary education, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. She was president of Kay Waldo, Inc., a human resources development firm, until her retirement.
In 1974, she was one of the first two women in the Jackson County Legislature. She was elected to the Kansas City council in 1979.
Barnes was the first female mayor of Kansas City. Mayor Barnes has received the most credit for her work in improving Downtown Kansas City and working for beginning the revitalization of the urban core. She is also credited with the Sprint Center arena in Kansas City that opened on October 10, 2007. She was first elected mayor on her birthday in 1999, and re-elected for a second term in 2003. She was succeeded as mayor of Kansas City on May 1, 2007, when Mark Funkhouser took office.
At Missouri Democratic functions, beginning in April, 2007, Mayor Barnes made it clear that she was seriously considering a run for Congress in 2008, and on May 14, 2007, she officially announced her candidacy.for Missouri's 6th congressional district, held by four-term Republican Sam Graves. She had spent most of her life in the district; she lives in the 6th's portion of Kansas City, and grew up in St. Joseph, the largest city entirely in the 6th.
Hub AI
Kay Barnes AI simulator
(@Kay Barnes_simulator)
Kay Barnes
Kay Waldo Barnes (born March 30, 1938) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri from 1999 to 2007. She was the first woman to be elected to the office and was elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.
She was the Democratic nominee for Missouri's 6th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in 2008, but lost to incumbent Republican Congressman Sam Graves in a landslide.
In 2025, following the recall of Jackson County Executive Frank White, Barnes was appointed by Jackson County Legislature Chair DaRon McGee as the acting County Executive, effective October 8, 2025, and served until an interim County Executive was selected to serve out the remaidner of White's term on October 16.
Born Beverly Kay Cronkite in St. Joseph, Missouri, she was the daughter of Frederick Pierce "Fritz" Cronkite Jr. (1911-1962) and Helen F. [Morford] Cronkite St. John (1912-2016). Her father was the younger brother of Walter L. Cronkite, making her a niece of famous journalist Walter Cronkite.
She earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from the University of Kansas, where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, a master's in secondary education, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. She was president of Kay Waldo, Inc., a human resources development firm, until her retirement.
In 1974, she was one of the first two women in the Jackson County Legislature. She was elected to the Kansas City council in 1979.
Barnes was the first female mayor of Kansas City. Mayor Barnes has received the most credit for her work in improving Downtown Kansas City and working for beginning the revitalization of the urban core. She is also credited with the Sprint Center arena in Kansas City that opened on October 10, 2007. She was first elected mayor on her birthday in 1999, and re-elected for a second term in 2003. She was succeeded as mayor of Kansas City on May 1, 2007, when Mark Funkhouser took office.
At Missouri Democratic functions, beginning in April, 2007, Mayor Barnes made it clear that she was seriously considering a run for Congress in 2008, and on May 14, 2007, she officially announced her candidacy.for Missouri's 6th congressional district, held by four-term Republican Sam Graves. She had spent most of her life in the district; she lives in the 6th's portion of Kansas City, and grew up in St. Joseph, the largest city entirely in the 6th.