Councilman Crispin Rea represents Kansas City’s 4th District-at-Large and is a member of the City Council’s Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee.

Crispin’s service to the community has included volunteerism and board membership with the Mattie Rhodes Center, Police Athletic League, Mothers in Charge, and the UMKC Law Foundation. He was previously elected to the Jackson County Democratic Committee representing the Historic Northeast’s 13th Ward. Crispin is a proud dues paying union member of IAFF Local 42.

Crispin was born in Kansas City and grew up the youngest of three children on Kansas City’s Eastside. Crispin’s mother enjoyed working at the Local Investment Commission (LINC) where she provided after-school programming and social services for other low-income families. His father was a forklift driver at the United States Postal Service for 36 years and was a proud member of the Postal Mail Handlers Union.

He was awarded an athletic scholarship to Park University and was a first-generation college graduate earning his bachelor's degree in political science and public Administration. While finishing college, he began work in a staff position in the Mayor’s Office of Kansas City.

In 2010, he was elected to the Kansas City Public Schools Board as the youngest member ever elected to serve on the board and the only Hispanic board member during his term. He went on to serve as Vice President and was a leader of the reform movement that brought much needed stability to the school district.

After obtaining a master's degree in public administration from UMKC’s Bloch School of Management and a Juris Doctorate from UMKC’s School of Law, Crispin began his career as a prosecuting attorney. He served eight years in the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, spending most of his time in the Special Victims Unit prosecuting those who sexually and physically abused women and children.

Before becoming a prosecutor, Crispin was a case worker with the Kansas City No Violence Alliance. His work aimed at keeping high-risk individuals from becoming victims or perpetrators of violent crime by offering resources and programs to build a new life free of violent crime.

He and his wife Emma are active members of the Valentine Neighborhood Association and enjoy spending time with their rescue pit bulls, Indie and Lucy, and their newborn son.