Karen McCarthy, Former Legislator, President of NCSL and Member of Congress

by Karl Kurtz

Former Rep. Karen McCarthy, president of NCSL July-December 1994, died Tuesday after suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Rep. McCarthy's served as president of NCSL, July-December 1994, while she was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives. Her term as president was cut short when she was elected to Congress in November 1994.

The Kansas City Star yesterday re-published a remarkable profile, "McCarthy's trailblazing career was no bed of roses," that first ran on its front page in July 2009. The article by Steve Kraske, a reporter who covered Rep. McCarthy throughout her career, is a sympathetic but honest reminiscence:

We’re retracing a nearly 30-year career in elected office that saw McCarthy become an early trailblazer for women in a state Capitol dominated by men. A woman who became president of the National Conference of State Legislatures. A Democrat who easily defeated an 11-candidate field to cruise into Congress.

Her work on the environment, tax policy and bistate issues touched thousands of Kansas Citians. Harper’s Bazaar magazine once listed her as a logical candidate -- along with Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice -- to become the first woman president.

Her rise in public office was as dramatic as her fall, like a Fourth of July firework that shoots skyward, then fades.

In Washington, McCarthy confronted alarming staff turnovers, ethics violations and, by her fifth term, the specter of challengers from within her own party. And, finally, an admission of alcoholism.

As president of NCSL, Rep. McCarthy was charming and assertive. But her campaign for Congress was in full swing during her term and occupied large portions of her time.

She was the first president of NCSL to resign in midterm. Ohio Rep. Jane Campbell was chosen to replace Rep. McCarthy and serve out the remainder of her term.