Victor Callahan (born July 4, 1963, in
Independence, Missouri
Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...
) was a
Democratic member of the
Missouri Senate
The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...
, representing the 11th District from 2003 to 2013.
In 1988, Victor Callahan was elected to the city council of Independence, Missouri, and continued to serve in that capacity until 1992. He then went on to serve as a legislative assistant to State Senator
Ronnie DePasco. In November, 1994, Callahan was elected to represent the 1st District At-Large in the
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri, on the border with Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (af ...
Legislature. At the end of September, 1996, he was elected by fellow legislators as Chairman of the Legislature, a position he held until January, 2003. Upon the death of Senator DePasco in late May 2003, Callahan ran for the then-vacant seat and was elected in a special election in November 2003, winning re-election in a regular election in November 2004.
In 2006 and 2007, Callahan spearheaded a move to annex seven schools from the
Kansas City, Missouri School District
Kansas City 33 School District, operating as Kansas City Public Schools or KCPS (formerly Kansas City, Missouri School District, or KCMSD), is a school district headquartered at 2901 Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
The di ...
into the
Independence School District
Independence Public School District (usually referred to as the Independence School District, acronym is the ISD) is a school district headquartered in Independence, Missouri, United States. The district serves most of Independence and Sugar C ...
. Voters in both districts approved the measure in a special election on November 6, 2007. The schools in question were formally annexed on July 1, 2008 and re-opened as Independence schools on August 18, 2008.
The success of the measure boosted Senator Callahan's popularity in
Jackson County, Missouri
Jackson County is located in the western portion of the U.S. state of Missouri, on the border with Kansas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 717,204. making it the second-most populous county in the state (af ...
, also raising his profile in the statewide political arena, and he was unanimously elected as
Floor Leader
A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are thei ...
of Missouri State Senate Democrats, in a vote on November 6, 2008, two days after he was re-elected in the
general election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
.
Senator Callahan served on the following committees:
*Administration
*Gubernatorial Appointments
*Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government
*Progress and Development, Chairman
*Small Business, Insurance and Industry
*Select Committee on Oversight of Federal Stimulus
*Joint Committee on Gaming and Wagering
*Joint Committee on Government Accountability
References
External links
Manual, State of Missouri, 2007-2008.'' Jefferson City, MO:Secretary of State.''official government website''
*
1963 births
Living people
Politicians from Independence, Missouri
Democratic Party Missouri state senators
University of Missouri alumni
21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly
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