Karen McCarthy (March 18, 1947 – October 5, 2010) was an American educator and politician. She served as the U.S. representative for the fifth district of Missouri from 1995 to 2005.

Early life

McCarthy was born in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

and grew up in

Leawood, Kansas Leawood is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,902. History 19th century After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the area ...

, and graduated from

Shawnee Mission East High School Shawnee Mission East High School is a public high school in Prairie Village, Kansas, United States, for grades 9 through 12. It is one of five high schools operated by the Shawnee Mission USD 512 school district. Shawnee Mission East High Sc ...

. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in Biology and English from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1969 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in English Education from the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) is a public research university in Kansas City, Missouri. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and one of only two member universities with a medical school. As of 2020, the university ...

in 1976. McCarthy later earned an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

at the University of Kansas. Prior to running for public office, McCarthy taught English at Shawnee Mission South High School and the Sunset Hill School.

Missouri state politics

First elected to the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

in 1976 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, 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 (1983-1995), and a member of the Appropriations and Energy committees. McCarthy also served as the first female president of the

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

in 1994.

House career

In 1994, Congressman

Alan Wheat Alan Dupree Wheat (born October 16, 1951) is an American politician from the state of Missouri. Early life His father was James Wheat, an officer and civil engineer in the U.S. Air Force. His mother Emogene (Jean) Wheat was a teacher. Since his ...

ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

, leaving an open seat. McCarthy won a crowded six-way primary, and then defeated Republican Ron Freeman with 56 percent of the vote. She was easily reelected four more times. 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. McCarthy announced in 2003 that she wouldn't run for a sixth term in 2004 after revealing that she suffered from alcoholism. A widely reported incident in which an intoxicated McCarthy fell down inside a House office building forced her to admit her problem and seek treatment. 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.

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 The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

on global climate change and a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

fellow at the Institute of Politics at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

"The Politics of Alternative Energies", in the fall of 1982.

Post-congressional activities and death

In December 2003, McCarthy announced that she wouldn't seek another term in the House. She was succeeded by

Emanuel Cleaver Emanuel Cleaver II (born October 26, 1944) is a United Methodist pastor and American politician who has represented in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005. Cleaver represents a district that includes the southern three-fourths of Kans ...

, a fellow Democrat. McCarthy returned to Kansas City, Missouri where she sat on a number of boards and was an active fundraiser and sponsor for a variety of cultural and political activities. In June 2009, her family revealed that McCarthy was suffering from an advanced form of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and was residing in a nursing home. Their statement said her difficulties were compounded by a bipolar disorder that apparently went undiagnosed for at least a decade. A non-injury car accident involving McCarthy at her home in April prompted her friends to seek medical help which revealed her illnesses. McCarthy died on October 5, 2010, at age 63.

Electoral history

Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2000,

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

candidate Dennis M. Carriger received 974 votes.

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Karen 1947 births 2010 deaths Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Kansas Harvard Kennedy School people People from Leawood, Kansas Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri University of Kansas alumni University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni Female members of the United States House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Women state legislators in Missouri Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians People with bipolar disorder