Kevin McManus represents the 36th District in the Missouri House of Representatives. The 36th District is home to over 36,000 residents and encompasses the southern portion of Kansas City, Missouri.
A Kansas City native, Kevin was born at St. Joseph Hospital, the third of five children of Jim and Julie McManus. His family has lived in the metro area for several generations. Kevin credits his parents for instilling in him the basic values of determination and hard work, faith and family, and community service. These values continue to motivate and guide him in his work in the legislature.
Kevin was elected to the Missouri House as a first-time candidate on November 2, 2010. His campaign was fueled by an outpouring of support from dedicated neighbors and volunteers. This grassroots effort enabled Kevin to obtain a solid 55% of the vote in a four-way Democratic primary and 63% of the vote in the general election. He was elected to a second term in 2012.
Kevin’s top priorities in the Missouri House are creating jobs, improving the quality of education, and making state government more transparent, efficient and accountable. Since joining the legislature, he has sought bipartisan solutions to improve our state and district for future generations. Kevin sits on the following five (5) legislative committees: Budget; Appropriations for Job Creation and Infrastructure; Workforce Development and Workplace Safety; Government Oversight and Accountability (Ranking Member) and Local Government (Ranking Member). He is the Democratic Chair of the Kansas City Bipartisan Legislative Caucus.
In addition to his legislative duties, Kevin is an attorney practicing in the area of commercial law and civil litigation in state and federal courts. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan, which provides health care coverage to over 108,000 state and public entity members, retirees and their dependents. Prior to his legal career, Kevin was a researcher at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C, where he researched and advocated for policies that benefited working families.
Kevin is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Missouri Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association. He is a graduate of the Ross T. Roberts Trial Advocacy Academy and is active in several local chambers of commerce. While still in his first term in the legislature, Kevin has received recognition and awards from several constituent groups and organizations for his work. Most recently, the Missouri Bar awarded him a legislative award for his work to improve the administration of justice in the state.
Kevin is a graduate of Rockhurst High School. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Government. After college, Kevin was selected to participate in Coro Kansas City, an internship program dedicated to developing leaders in public affairs. Kevin received his law degree from Saint Louis University. While there, he was an 1843 Scholar, served as an editor of the Law Journal and was a member of the Public Interest Law Group.
He resides in south Kansas City with his wife, Alex, and they are active in their church, St. Thomas More Catholic Parish. Kevin feels very fortunate to have the honor to serve his community as its State Representative in Jefferson City.