IN Conversation with Kansas City’s Former Mayor Kay Barnes

Photo by Cameron Gee

The phone rings exactly the second the smart phone clock switches from 8:59:59 a.m. to 9:00:00, and it’s the Kansas Citian of the Year calling.

When I remark on this extreme punctuality, former mayor Kay Barnes seems temporarily at a loss for words. “I thought it was the thing to do.”

And this explains much about why the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce bestowed arguably the city’s most coveted honor.

At 80, Barnes is still at the top of her game—effortlessly professional, competent, and modest, because she doesn’t know how not to be. It’s in her DNA.

She was born Kay Cronkite in St. Joseph, the only child of a high-school football and basketball coach and a career teacher. Walter Cronkite, America’s most trusted news broadcaster in the 1960s and ’70s, was her first cousin. He was 21 years old and already off making a career at CBS when she was born, but she spent a lot of time with him as an adult in New York, at family vacations on Martha’s Vineyard and on his frequent trips to Kansas City, where his wife was from.

Serving on the student council in high school, Barnes discovered early a knack for public speaking. She earned a BA in secondary education at University of Kansas, and a masters in secondary education, as well as a Master of Public Administration degree at University of Missouri-Kansas City. She gravitated to community activities and was asked to head up a task force to go into suburban churches and lead workshops and adult Sunday school classes about social issues.

Soon and with little fanfare, she began shattering glass ceilings. She was the first female speaker signed by National Speakers, headquartered in Kansas City, and spent seven years travelling around the country giving all-day seminars. It was a grueling regimen, sometimes visiting five cities in one week, that tempered her for the rigors of politics.

In 1974, Barnes was elected as one of the first two women on the Jackson County legislature. From 1979-1983 Barnes served on the City Council of Kansas City, Missouri. In 1999, she became the first female mayor of Kansas City, serving two terms.

Since 2007, Barnes has worked for Park University, where she is currently senior director for university engagement, speaking to classes on leadership and also working on strategic planning, and promoting and representing Park in the community.

Barnes lives near the Country Club Plaza with her husband, Tom Van Dyke. She has two children, Kelly Dillman and Fritz Waldo, who both live in the metro area, and a granddaughter, Sydney Dillman, who lives in Denver.

I sensed that day that there was a growing feeling of pride in Kansas City that many people had not experienced before.”

How was your cousin Walter Cronkite, who was 21 when you were born, different than how he seemed on his news broadcasts?
He had a lighter personality (than how he seemed on TV). He loved to tell jokes. He was gregarious and genuinely enjoyed meeting and talking to all kinds of people. I remember he was invited to speak at a fancy dinner when I was growing up and the first thing he wanted to do when we all arrived was go in the kitchen and meet the people who were preparing and serving the meal.

What was Kay Cronkite like as a kid?
I got a lot of attention from my parents, being an only child, and I was expected to work hard and do well in whatever I took on. I remember as a 7 or 8-year-old that I wanted to start a business, and my business was going to be making doll clothes for dolls that were owned by neighbors. I remember going door to door in my immediate neighborhood soliciting orders—I don’t recall getting any orders, just smiles.

As the first female speaker for National Speakers how did you deal with sexism when you were on the road giving seminars?
I would make a point of going into the seminar room 10 or 15 minutes early—the number of attendees varied from 50 to 250—and I would go around the room and just greet everyone as they were getting settled. I would just smile and welcome them. In other words, I would make every effort to send a message to people that I was friendly, that they could be comfortable with me, and that we could learn some things together. I think that helped a lot.

Fast forward to 1999 when you took office as Kansas City’s first female mayor, and you were trying to turn a sow’s ear of a downtown into a silk purse. What kind of pushback did you get?
There are always the skeptics and (laughs) the apathetics—they’re almost worse—who either think the type of ambitious proposal we were making is crazy or will never work or will never gain enough support. That is to be expected.

How did you counter those negative messages?
I knew some of the private sector movers and shakers, so that helped. I also spent a lot of time going out and speaking to community groups and organizations, talking about how it wasn’t just about downtown, it was really about job creation. 

What gave you hope?
One day we hosted an open house at the Sprint Center for everyone to come and take a look around. We were expecting three or four thousand people to come and 25,000 people showed up. I was astonished. I sensed that day that there was a growing feeling of pride in Kansas City that many people had not experienced before.

What was the thing that worried you the most late at night?
(Long pause.) Would AEG agree to be our private partner on the Sprint Center? Would we be able to convince the Cordish Company to be our private partner on the entertainment district? Would we be able to convince the Missouri [she says “Missour-ruh”] State Legislature to pass the legislation that we absolutely had to have for the entertainment district to be built? There was a succession of those challenges.

There was a lot of criticism about the city’s failure to land a pro sports franchise for the Sprint Center. But now the arena is arguably more profitable as a concert venue than if we had landed an NBA team. Is it gratifying to you?
Yes, it is. And I give enormous credit to AEG, and we are so lucky Brenda Tinnen (senior vice president and general manager of Sprint Center/AEG) came back to Kansas City. She grew up in Gladstone and had a stellar career in the arena business around the country—she managed the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Home Depot Center (now the StubHub Center) at California State University, the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. She is the best in the industry. She knows everyone in the indoor sports world. She is why Garth Brooks did his nine shows in Kansas City. She is why Tina Turner did two weeks of rehearsals for her world tour in Kansas City.

I think a lot of kids have learned how important good interpersonal skills are. I believe face-to-face human communication is at the heart of what it takes to have a viable society.”

You mentioned naysayers when you were pushing to rebuild downtown, but you must have experienced sexism as well.
Well, certainly there was talk behind my back, and behind the backs of [former Kansas City, Kan. Mayor] Carol Marinovich and [Leawood mayor] Peggy Dunn and [former Lee’s Summit mayor] Karen Messerli. What was said about each of us when we took office was, “Well, she may be OK as mayor, but she won’t be interested in or know how to do economic development.” And that was the area where all four of us focused most of our attention and made the most progress.

How did you deal with that kind of ignorant bias?
We laughed about it when we got together and just kept doing the work.

How much better do you think things have gotten?
I am confident that there are still situations where women experience discrimination, whether that is discrepancy in salaries or exclusion from movement up into the highest levels in organizations. And statistics are clear that fewer women are serving on corporate boards than should be. I applaud the efforts being made by women and some men to correct those discriminatory situations.

2018 was a good year for women getting elected at all levels of government. What is your best advice to all the women taking office for the first time?
To recognize what they don’t know. To learn from others. And at the same time to not hesitate to express their views, to introduce legislation, and to speak up and speak out. I would also encourage them to trust their intuition, to not burn bridges and to take the time to celebrate any victories along the way.

Millennials and Generation Z (people born in 1995 or later) get maligned a lot. What are your observations about those groups of young Americans, since you spend time in classrooms with them at Park University?
I’m very encouraged. Many in those groups are very knowledgeable at an early age about the rest of the world, whether it’s geography or current challenges facing other countries. Many seem personally interested in being directly involved in politics and community activities.

It’s become tough to land a good paying job even with a college degree; what advice would you give students?
I think some would benefit from getting their noses out of their devices, looking up and interacting with human beings in person, although I think that applies to a minority. I think a lot of kids have learned how important good interpersonal skills are. I believe face-to-face human communication is at the heart of what it takes to have a viable society. 

Interview condensed and minimally edited for clarity.

No Comments Yet

Comments are closed