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 north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

and grew up in Leawood, Kansas, and graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School. She received a

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

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. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1969 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in English Education from the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

in 1976. McCarthy later earned an M.B.A. 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, 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 ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, 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 would not 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 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 global warming is oc ...

on global climate change and a

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

fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government "The Politics of Alternative Energies", in the fall of 1982.

Post-congressional activities and death

In December 2003, McCarthy announced that she would not seek another term in the House. She was succeeded by Emanuel Cleaver, a fellow Democrat. McCarthy returned to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, 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 neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

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 refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

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 in the United States 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 members of the Missouri General Assembly 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians People with bipolar disorder Pembroke Hill School alumni 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives