Run, Mama, Run: MOMocrats Exclusive Interview with Missouri's Kay Barnes

Former Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes, a mother, grandmother, and accomplished professional with a history of activism in support of women in leadership roles, is credited by fans and critics alike with piloting an unprecedented economic and cultural revival in downtown Kansas City during her two mayoral terms. In 2007, she was awarded the National Planning Leadership Award for a Planning Advocate by the American Planning Association. Kay Barnes is now running for Congress in Missouri's 6th Congressional District against Republican incumbent Congressman Sam Graves.

Sam Graves, known locally by people under 30 as the man who is terrified of goths, has earned zero percent support ratings from the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the Children's Health Fund, the American Public Health Association, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Humane Society (but did manage to squeak by this year with a 40% rating from the Children's Defense Fund, after last year's zero percent rating).

Missouri's 6th Congressional District encompasses urban and suburban parts of the Kansas City metro area as well as a large swath of rural and small-town northwestern Missouri. Due to its diverse population, and a history of closely contested races, the 6th Congressional District is considered by Democrats and Republicans alike to be a key swing seat, and both parties are watching this year's election closely.

As part of our series, Run, Mama, Run, profiling stand-out progressive women candidates, I recently contacted Kay Barnes to ask her a few questions on behalf of MOMocrats.

Image source: Kay4Congress.com

JAELITHE: During your tenure as Kansas City's mayor, you were involved in several major development projects, including a new sports arena and a new entertainment district. In 2007, you won a National Planning Leadership Award from the American Planning Association for your work in revitalizing downtown Kansas City. As a native of St. Louis, I am acutely aware of how urban blight affects the economic security of people living industrial cities across the Midwest. As Congresswoman, how would you work to help struggling cities, both in Missouri and across the nation, restore cultural vitality and economic prosperity to their centers? 

KAY BARNES: You’re absolutely right that we must work to build strong communities to promote economic security and prosperity for all Americans. I am really focused on the interconnectedness of our communities, from larger cities, to mid-sized cities, down to our smallest cities and towns. In Kansas City, we benefited from the State of Missouri’s use of incentives in the revitalization of Downtown Kansas City.

We need to expand opportunities for the federal government to participate in revitalization efforts in all communities. It is time to revitalize Main Streets across America. Cities thrive when the suburban, exurban, and rural areas surrounding them flourish. I am reminded as I travel across the 26 counties of my district that federal and state policies often leave these smaller communities behind. As a Member of Congress, I will have on my staff an expert in rural economic development who will work with these communities to access the resources that already exist. I will also be a strong advocate for programs that allow rural communities to use some of the federal and state taxes generated by economic development projects to improve the infrastructure of their towns.

JAELITHE: Though you have received, as I mentioned, widespread praise on local, state and national levels for your work rebuilding downtown Kansas City, some of your opponents have criticized you by saying you overused Tax Increment Financing as an incentive to bring developers downtown. How would you respond to their criticism?

KAY BARNES: I think the progress we made in Downtown Kansas City speaks for itself. A decade ago, Downtown was a ghost town after 5 or 6 p.m. Businesses were leaving, or considering leaving, Kansas City at an alarming rate. Now, the streets are full of people – many of whom are driving from outlying communities to see performances at the new Sprint Center or to enjoy the amenities of the new Power and Light District. We have seen the crime rate fall and the gross regional product rise.

I worked across party lines with leaders across the State of Missouri, such as my friend, Republican Senator Kit Bond, to revitalize Kansas City and the region by building a strong urban core where people can, as we say, live, work, and play. The critics will be proven wrong in five or ten years – in fact, they already have been.

JAELITHE: In relation to my previous question, with our country facing a ballooning national debt, where do you think the federal government should focus tax relief options, how do you think our government could best fund rebuilding this nation's crumbling infrastructure, and what do you think our government's top funding priorities should be? 

KAY BARNES: Regarding our country’s infrastructure, I believe that the federal and state governments need to address the roads and bridges that are so important for economy. We could free up a lot of funding for these important efforts by eliminating government waste, especially giveaways for multi-billion dollar corporations. It’s difficult for me to understand how Washington can vote to give billions of dollars in tax subsidies to ExxonMobil, one of the most profitable companies in the history of the world, while Americans struggle to pay skyrocketing gas prices and our roads and bridges crumble. I would like to see tax relief for hardworking American families, who are suffering under historic increases in the cost of health care, gas, and food.

JAELITHE: You have spoken repeatedly recently on the campaign trail about the need for the government to find ways to help reduce the skyrocketing fuel costs that are taking a big bite these days out of working families' budgets. What do you think are the most important steps Congress should take within the next year to help reduce fuel prices?

KAY BARNES: For the last eight years, about the only thing Congress has done about fuel prices is to give billions in tax subsidies and giveaways to multi-billion dollar oil companies like ExxonMobil. And we’ve seen how well that worked. It seems as if the more money Washington gives them, the more we pay at the pump, and the higher their profits. We need to take these tax giveaways away from the oil companies, who are making plenty of money as it is, and reinvest these dollars in alternative energy solutions, such as wind power, solar power, and biofuels. None of these alone is going to solve all of our problems, but together, these can help to lower the demand for fossil fuels and increase the supply of alternative fuels.

We also must strengthen the dollar. It has been allowed to fall to historic lows due in large part to the enormous budget deficits run up by the Republicans after they inherited budget surpluses from the Clinton Administration. Some experts contend that the weak dollar accounts for 21% of the rise in gas prices.   

JAELITHE: The rising cost of college tuition, both at state and private institutions, is making it increasingly difficult for working families to send their children to college without taking on massive debt in the form of student loans. As person with a degree in secondary education, and as a college professor, do you believe all Americans, regardless of economic background, should have access to a college-level education? If so, how would you recommend the federal government improve access to higher education for students across the nation?

KAY BARNES: The United States is blessed to have many paths to higher education, ranging from four-year universities to community colleges, with online learning an increasingly important way to access education. For instance, Park University, where I teach, is a leader in online education for our military men and women around the world. With so many options, any American who wants to should be able to go to college. The obstacle is often funding, of course. I strongly support federal government-backed student loans, and I also believe that we should provide a higher education for the men and women in our society who are members of the military. We owe it to our service men and women to pass the new GI Bill, so that they can receive the same quality education that World War II veterans, like my late husband Frank, were afforded after their service to this nation.

JAELITHE: As you know, access to health care is a major issue in the state of Missouri. Under Governor Blunt's administration, Missouri's working poor have faced massive cuts to state Medicaid programs that have left many more Missourians without reliable access to health care. And cuts to state early intervention programs designed to help children with disabilities or developmental delays get access to the medical therapies and treatments they need have affected me personally, as the mother of a child with a developmental disorder. How do you believe the federal government should address the nation's health care crisis?

KAY BARNES: Many people don’t know this, but in the 1940s, President Harry Truman said the U.S. was going to need to figure out how to provide health care for all Americans. This is obviously an issue whose time has come. But the United States is not England or Canada, and their systems aren’t going to work for us.

I believe that a public-private partnership solution is going to be necessary for us to expand health insurance to all Americans. But in the near term, we need to strengthen the programs we already have that work, namely the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicare. Trying to save money by cutting health insurance for needy children is not an acceptable way to approach the problem. In the end, doing this costs us more money, because children who aren’t treated for strep throat end up in the hospital with pneumonia. Medicare has been under constant assault by conservatives during the Bush Administration.  Congress has created health care policy over the last eight years that creates windfall profits for big drug companies. This isn’t the way forward, but rather exacerbates the problem we face.

JAELITHE: During your work with the Women's Resource Service Center at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, you helped to create multicultural women's speaking panels. And during your term as Mayor, you supported racial and ethnic diversity in Kansas City's government, even in the face of criticism from some opposed to affirmative action. In the context of this year's historic presidential race, how would you encourage the Democratic Party to create more opportunities for women and people of color to run for Congress? 

KAY BARNES: I think that the Democratic Party has done an excellent job of opening its ranks to all Americans, including women and people of color. As an early activist with the Women’s Political Caucus in Kansas City, I worked to bring together women who wished to seek elected office. This is one of the best things we can do. I have always said, and I truly believe, that we can get a lot more accomplished if everyone works together toward the common goals we all share.

JAELITHE: As a mother, a teacher, and successful female politician, what advice would you give girls and young women today who might be interested in following in your footsteps and running for Congress one day? 

KAY BARNES: Young women should realize they can be anything they want to be. When I look at my granddaughter, I see her potential to become whatever she chooses in her life. I would say to her and young women like her, not to let anyone tell them what they can or can’t do. The sky is the limit for them.

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Jaelithe loves having interesting conversations with politicians at MOMocrats. She also loves posting transcripts of her interesting conversations with a four-year-old at her personal blog, The State of Discontent.

Comments

[Mom101]

Wonderful interview, wonderful answers. With so many terrific candidates like this out there, I can only hope the Sam Graves of the world are the best the opposition can offer in a futile race.

Good luck to Mayor Barnes!

[KBO]

Fierce interview, Jaelithe. We need more Mamas in office.

[Julie Pippert]

GL to her, and I'm intrigued by her student loan plan. Interest rate? Caps? Payback deets? And good for her on the urban development. Did she incorporate any sustainable design incentives?

I wonder what she'd think about the money for minority and women-owned businesses out of the highway fund.

Great interview!

Julie

[homeducation1]

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[Jester James]

Wouldn't the Momocats be offended that your slogan is promoting Rage Against the Machine? Anyway, thanks for the interview. It was definitely an interesting read.

[Colin Collegio]

I'm a big fan of what Momocrats do. Thanks for the interview and post, pretty great read.