Joe Reardon (born 1968) is an American attorney who is the former
mayor/CEO of the
consolidated city-county
In United States local government, a consolidated city-county is formed when one or more cities and their surrounding county ( parish in Louisiana, borough in Alaska) merge into one unified jurisdiction. As such it has the governmental powers o ...
of
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
and
Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which ...
. He is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Personal life and education
Reardon is the son of Jack Reardon, who also served as mayor of
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
. Reardon is a lifelong resident of Kansas City. He has a wife, Amy, and two sons, Jack and Connor. Reardon graduated from
Rockhurst University
Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019.
History
In 1909, Fr. ...
in 1990 with a BS degree in political science. He joined
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...
at Rockhurst. Reardon went on to earn a Juris Doctor degree from
University of Kansas School of Law
The University of Kansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Kansas, a public research university in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas Law School was founded in 1893, replacing the earlier Department of Law, which had exi ...
in 1994.
Career
After law school, Reardon joined the law firm McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips from 1994 to 1999 as an Associate Attorney. In 1999 he began working for Thomson Reuters Westlaw, where he stayed until he was elected mayor of Kansas City, Kansas in 2005.
Reardon began the public service portion of his career when he was elected
Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County (; county code WY) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245, making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City, with which ...
Commissioner in 2003, representing the second district in the downtown area.
Reardon was elected mayor of
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...
after his predecessor, Carol Marinovich, chose not to run for a third term. Reardon helped build
Sporting Park
Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the home of Sporting Kansas City. The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandotte County, Kansas. It opened during th ...
, the home of
Sporting Kansas City
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...
. Reardon also played a role in attracting
Google Fiber
Google Fiber is part of the Access division of Alphabet Inc. It provides fiber-to-the-premises service in the United States, providing broadband Internet and IPTV to a small and slowly increasing number of locations. In mid-2016, Google Fiber ...
to the city.
Reardon was also credited with helping to attract a casino and a
Cerner
Cerner Corporation is an American supplier of health information technology (HIT) services, devices, and hardware. As of February 2018, its products were in use at more than 27,000 facilities around the world. The company had more than 29,000 emp ...
development. In 2012, Reardon was named
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
Mayor of the Year.
After his term as mayor ended, Reardon returned to the law firm McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips. Reardon became President/CEO of the Greater KC Chamber of Commerce in 2016. Reardon serves on the boards of the Kansas Secretary of Commerce’s Start-Up Village Resource Committee, the
University of Kansas Medical Center
The University of Kansas Medical Center, commonly referred to as KU Med or KUMC, is a medical campus for the University of Kansas. KU Med houses the university's schools of medicine, nursing, and health professions, with the primary health science ...
Advancement Board, and the KCI Airport Study Panel. Reardon founded Healthy Communities Wyandotte.
He also joined Rockhurst University in August 2013 as an adjunct professor and executive in residence for the Helzberg School of Management.
References
External links
Reardon's Twitter account
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reardon, Joe
Living people
1968 births
Kansas Democrats
Mayors of places in Kansas
Kansas lawyers
Rockhurst University alumni
University of Kansas School of Law alumni