Over the years, Kay Barnes built quite the reputation for just not showing up. In fact, many of our early sources brought that up as something we should investigate. So investigate we did.
It turned out this was somewhat old news in that her 1999 mayoral opponent brought her absenteeism up. The Star reported it, and then ignored it as any good lapdog newspaper should. The fact remains, right up until the end Barnes just couldn’t be bothered to work.
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Jackson County Legislature (1974-1979) - In her first year Barnes missed all or part of 10 meetings (21%)
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As a Jackson County Merit Commissioner (1993-1995) - Barnes Missed 11 of 32 meetings (34%)
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As Board of Police Commissioner (1999-2007) - Barnes missed 72 of 151 regular or business meetings. (48%)
Barnes also missed a significant number of meetings as a TIF commissioner from 1993-1996. And there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of Barnes not showing up for, arriving late for, or leaving early from Kansas City Council meetings and committee meetings. Unfortunately, Barnes’ handpicked City Clerk threw enough obstacles up that we had to stop looking through years of microfilm from Barnes’ councilwoman days. And the same City Clerk never adequately replied to several sunshine requests for electronic copies of all council meeting minutes while Barnes was Mayor. Ask around though, and it is obvious she would rather be somewhere else than working for the citizens who elected her.
Interesting Tidbit #1 – Kay Barnes finished a distant third in her run for city council re-election in 1983. The main reason cited by the Star and others was her missed vote over a union contract. It was a tough vote for her colleagues and the fact she “took a pass” irritated them to no end. It is rare for an incumbent councilman to not even make the runoff, but “absent” Barnes managed to pull it off.
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