Karen McCarthy

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Karen McCarthy
Karen McCarthy

Karen McCarthy (born March 18, 1947) is a Missouri politician. She served as the U.S. Representative for the fifth district of Missouri from 1995 to 2004.

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[edit] Early life

McCarthy was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and English from the University of Kansas in 1969 and a Master of Arts in English Education from the University of Missouri–Kansas City in 1976. McCarthy later earned an M.B.A. at the University of Kansas.

[edit] Missouri state politics

First elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1976 as a Democrat, McCarthy was re-elected eight times, generally with little opposition. She became a ranking party member in the state House, serving on numerous committees including chairman of Ways and Means, and member of the Appropriations and Energy committees. McCarthy also served as President of the National Conference of State Legislators.

[edit] House career

In 1994, Congressman Alan Wheat ran for U.S. Senate, leaving an open seat. McCarthy was elected to the United States House of Representatives that year, and she was re-elected four times in a heavily Democratic district. McCarthy served on the Energy and Commerce committee (subcommittees: Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Energy and Air Quality, Telecommunications and Internet and Environment and Hazardous Materials) and the Select Committee on Homeland Security as the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence and Counterterrorism subcommittee.

Selected honors include the Missouri Citizens for the Arts 2005 Advocacy Award and the Business and Professional Women of the USA's Woman of the Year award.

[edit] Global climate change activities

McCarthy served as co-chair of the Missouri Commission of Global Climate Change, an extensive two-year (1989–1991) study of scientific data to develop environmental and economic policy options for state action. She was also a congressional representative to the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change and a Harvard fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government "The Politics of Alternative Energies", in the fall of 1982.

[edit] Post-congressional activities

In December 2003, McCarthy announced that she wouldn't seek another term in the House. She was succeeded by Emanuel Cleaver, a fellow Democrat. McCarthy resides in Kansas City, Missouri where she sits on a number of boards and is an active fundraiser and sponsor for a variety of cultural and political activities.

[edit] Electoral history

Missouri's 5th congressional district: Results 1994–2002[1]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1994 Karen McCarthy 100,391 57% Ron Freeman 77,120 43%
1996 Karen McCarthy 144,223 67% Penny Bennett 61,803 29% Kevin Hertel Libertarian 4,110 2% Tom Danaher Natural Law 3,835 2%
1998 Karen McCarthy 101,313 66% Penny Bennett 47,582 31% Grant S. Stauffer Libertarian 2,646 2% Elizabeth Ann Dulaney Reform 2,144 1%
2000 Karen McCarthy 159,826 69% Steve Gordon 66,439 29% Charles Reitz Green 2,548 1% Alan Newberry Libertarian 2,350 1% *
2002 Karen McCarthy 122,645 66% Steve Gordon 60,245 32% Jeanne Bojarski Libertarian 3,277 2%
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2000, Reform candidate Dennis M. Carriger received 974 votes.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Election Statistics. Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Alan Wheat		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Missouri's 5th congressional district
1995–2005		 Succeeded by
Emanuel Cleaver