[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                             JOHN E. KELLEY

                                 ______


                            HON. ALAN WHEAT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

  Mr. WHEAT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life and 
career of a remarkable individual from the Kansas City area, John E. 
Kelley.
  A political reformer and powerful advocate of good government, John 
Kelley became a driving force behind the reform movement in the 1960's 
that forever changed Jackson County politics. The task he undertook--to 
dismantle the corrupt county political machine and the bribery, 
exploitation, and rampant patronage that engulfed it--was an uphill 
battle.
  But Kelley, blessed not only with a brilliant mind but a courageous 
will, persevered. Eventually, Kelley and fellow reformers led the 
successful effort to adopt a home-rule charter for Jackson County. It 
was a historic and vital change for Jackson County, a change that would 
improve our community and the lives of the people who live and work in 
it for years to come. And it is only one of John Kelley's many 
legacies.
  Anyone who knew John Kelley, if only briefly, could not help but be 
touched by his kindness and his humanity. His concern for the welfare 
of the less fortunate was genuine, his advice and counsel was honest, 
his friendship sincere. A devoted husband and father, John Kelley put 
his considerable talents to work to improve the lives of others, and 
for that many are grateful today. At a time when cynicism and 
skepticism often color our view of government and politicians, we need 
only look to John Kelley to remind ourselves of the true meaning of 
public service, and of the positive change we can make in our lives 
when good people come together in common cause.
  The dedication John Kelley showed to both his community and 
profession should serve as an inspiration to all public servants. Mr. 
Speaker, with John Kelley's recent passing, I would like to share with 
my colleagues a tribute to his life that appeared in the Kansas City 
Star:

                             John E. Kelley

       John Edgar Kelley was the mortal enemy of spoils system 
     politicians. And, as much as any other individual, he was 
     responsible for knocking them out of the Jackson County 
     Courthouse in the middle 1960s. That led to reform of the 
     county government, capped by adoption of a home-rule charter.
       Defeat of the hard-line factions was an extremely difficult 
     mission. The corrupt Pendergast machine had been swept out of 
     City Hall in the early 1940s. But hard-core factionalism 
     remained undisturbed across the street at the courthouse--
     with its raw exploitation of employees, its favoritism for 
     insiders, greed and payoffs.
       The factions were a powerful force because the county 
     workers' first commitment was to register their people and 
     get them to the polls on election days. Public service was 
     incidental.
       This entrenched outfit seemed invincible until Charles E. 
     Curry, a savings and loan company executive, stepped onto the 
     scene. Curry was elected to the old three-member county 
     administrative court without being tainted by the factions. 
     No one among his innermost advisers was closer to him than 
     Kelley, a young lawyer.
       When it became apparent that the other two faction-
     controlled court members would not follow Curry's reform 
     efforts, the attack was launched: an all-out political war 
     against the discredited county machine.
       The reformers knocked out most faction candidates in the 
     1966 Democratic primary. They mopped up in 1968, putting 
     county government in the hands of the ``white hats.'' Kelley 
     then moved on to other public service assignments.
       A friendly, open individual, Kelley remained a fountainhead 
     of information and insight into politics and trends, both for 
     politicians and the public, mainly through broadcast outlets.
       John Kelley, who has died at the age of 62, was not only a 
     staunch foe of patronage politics. He had the way and the 
     will to lead this community to watershed change--for the 
     better.

                          ____________________