Emily Weber was born in South Korean and grew up with white, middle-class parents in a rural Kansas town that mostly leaned conservative. In fact, her father, to this day, is a Republican. But from a young age, she questioned everything — which led her to activism and eventually the Democratic Party.
Now, the Kansas City resident is looking to take her passion and skills to the Missouri General Assembly. Weber is making a bid to replace fellow Democrat Rep. Judy Morgan, who is term-limited, in representing HD 24.
“We need to make some changes,” Weber told The Missouri Times. “I’ve been an activist for most of my life and I feel that it is time to take that to Jefferson City.”
The cornerstones to her proposed legislative agenda include protecting reproductive health care, supporting public education, and improving access to affordable health care, according to Weber.
“I’m running to represent the 24th District because now, more than ever, Missouri needs strong women serving our state,” Weber said. “Our district’s priorities … need a determined voice in [Jefferson] City.”
A graphic designer and marketing professional by trade, she has been active in her community since moving to Kansas City more than a decade ago.
Weber is a board member for the Women in Politics Foundation and the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus. She spent years fundraising for the Missouri Pitbull Rescue and volunteering for Planned Parenthood. She is a member of the Metro Kansas City Climate Action Coalition and noted serving her “neighbors in Jefferson City is the best way to make true change” for her community.
Weber said her community involvement gives her a unique understanding of the issues facing downtown and midtown Kansas City.
It was growing up in a rural Kansas town where she “learned the value of hard work from [her] family.” Her father ran a business — Weber Surge Dairy Equipment — which took him to the dairy farmers around the area and she would occasionally tag along.
“The most important lesson I learned as a child is one that still drives me today: Our communities make us stronger, and I owe it to my community to give back,” Weber said on her campaign website.
She currently resides in Hyde Park with her husband, Warner, and their two rescue dogs, Mac and Eleanor. Weber attended Butler Community College before the Kansas City Art Institute, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in graphic design.
An official kick-off event will be held on Aug. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Hamburger Mary’s on Broadway in Kansas City.