Missouri Rep. McCarthy Plans to Retire

Rep. Karen McCarthy (D-Mo.) will retire after 10 years in Congress, her hometown newspaper reported Sunday.

McCarthy, 56, told The Kansas City Star she seeks tranquillity.

“I want to focus on balance in my life,” she said. “Too often, I’ve put my career and helping others ahead of my own needs. I made sacrifices willingly; it was what I did best.”

McCarthy did not return telephone calls to her home and cellphone.

McCarthy’s problems began last March with a drunken fall on a Capitol Hill escalator. She then faced allegations that she misused her staff and her campaign for personal gain, such as trips to the Grammy Awards.

Her exit foretells a lively primary race in Kansas City, Mo., an area likely to remain in Democratic hands. Local leaders are entreating former Mayor Emanuel Cleaver to run. Among those already running, newcomer Jamie Metzl has raised more than $310,000.

McCarthy maintained a low profile in the House for eight years until her very public fall on March 21, when she hurled her satchel at an aide, lost her balance and gashed her forehead on an escalator inside the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Because of her fall, McCarthy missed an important vote on the federal budget.

The incident called attention to a pattern of behavior that her low profile had obscured. McCarthy frequently missed votes at a rate higher than two-thirds of her colleagues. The turnover among her staff of about 14 people was so frequent that she lost more than one aide each month.

Then the Star reported that she had paid a management consultant out of campaign funds, which some congressional officials said violated House ethics.

Finally, McCarthy came under fire when former aides spoke out, saying she went to the Grammys in New York and stayed in the Waldorf-Astoria on the campaign dime, which violates House conduct rules and election rules. Aides also said she used them as personal chauffeurs to and from work and on personal errands, which is against federal law. Travel documents support the claims.