Candidate for House, Missouri , District #6

Contact Information

Bio

Kay Barnes was born and raised in St. Joseph, Missouri. Her parents were Fritz and Helen Cronkite. Kay graduated from St. Joseph Central High School. Fritz had been a coach and teacher at St. Joseph Central, and Helen was an English teacher at Washington Grade School and later at St. Joseph Central. Her father once worked as a chief of staff to northwest Missouri congressman William C. Cole, a Republican. Fritz's brother Walter was the father of CBS broadcaster Walter Cronkite, making him Kay's first cousin.

Mother of two children, Kelly and Fritz, Kay was previously a staff member of Kansas City's Metropolitan Inter-Church Agency. Kay also worked as the Director of Volunteers for CrossLines, an inter-faith sponsored social service agency.

Kay's second husband Frank Barnes passed away in June, 2000.

She helped found the Women's Resource Service Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and developed multicultural women's speaking panels throughout the western United States.

Kay Barnes was president of Kay Waldo, Inc., a human resources development firm. She co-hosted and produced a cable television talk show, "Let's Talk," focusing on community issues, and co-authored a book published by McGraw Hill, "About Time! A Woman's Guide to Time Management."

In 1974, she became one of two women on the Jackson County Legislature. In 1979, she was elected to a four-year term on the City Council, serving the Fourth District At Large.

In 1999, Kay Barnes was elected the first female Mayor of Kansas City, the largest city in the State of Missouri. She served two terms leaving office due to a two term limit on May 1, 2007. Mayor Barnes was rated by the media and other independent observers as one of the best Mayors in the City's history. She won acclaim locally, nationally and internationally for the revitalization of downtown Kansas City.

She is currently a professor at Park University, Parkville, Missouri.

Barnes is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in secondary education. She also earned two Masters Degrees, one in secondary education and another in public administration, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

On May 14th, Kay Barnes announced her candidacy standing in front of her mother's home in St. Joseph. Four generations of Cronkites, Morfords, and Waldos joined her that day.