Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Kay Barnes paid a visit to the East Hills Sertoma Club Tuesday afternoon.

Democratic congressional candidate Kay Barnes said Tuesday that her campaign aims to change the policies of the last eight years in Washington, failures embodied by her opponent, Rep. Sam Graves.

The Republican incumbent, she told a St. Joseph audience, has safeguarded the interests of pharmaceutical and oil companies while ignoring the interests of 6th District constituents.

“He should have been watching out for our 401(k)s and pensions, but instead he supported tax-funded giveaways for the big oil companies,” Ms. Barnes said to members of the local Sertoma organization.

Ms. Barnes, a St. Joseph native and former Kansas City mayor, wants to unseat Mr. Graves, who is seeking a fifth term in the U.S. House. Dave Browning, a Libertarian candidate from Oak Grove, Mo., is also in the race.

Before the civic group, she hammered home a theme of change and pointed toward the economic downturn seen in the nation since President Bush and Mr. Graves took office in January 2001. She said the Republicans turned budget surpluses into deficits, cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and left working families’ incomes to stagnate.

The Democrat said she would work in Congress to repair the health-care system, trim wasteful spending and make the nation more self-reliant for energy.

“Sam Graves has been hiding from his record and role in the failed policies of the last eight years,” she said, then referring to the recent economic crisis. “Did we need any more evidence that Washington is broken?”

The Graves campaign responded with claims that Ms. Barnes’ membership on a Fannie Mae advisory board ill-served district constituents. Last month, federal officials placed the troubled housing finance agency in conservatorship.

“Kay Barnes wasn’t concerned about people’s pensions and savings when she was serving on Fannie Mae’s advisory board and pushing the risky loans that have damaged our economy,” said Ryan Steusloff, communications director of Graves for Congress.

Ms. Barnes said Tuesday that her involvement on the advisory board amounted to “three or four half-day meetings in Washington over a two-year period.”

During the question period, Ms. Barnes said she would have voted against the recent financial bailout package approved by Congress, saying she disliked the pork-barrel add-ons to the legislation. She also said “a very high majority of (6th District) citizens were opposed to it.”

Ken Newton can be reached

at kenn@npgco.com.