By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist

As I was reminded once again today, Mayor Kay Barnes had the chance to lead on a key health issue five years ago. But she failed, which slowed progress on smoke-free initiatives for several years in the area's largest city.

Back in 2004, Barnes and a City Council majority kowtowed to the restaurant and bar industries when it came time to consider new smoking rules.

Remember the ridiculous 85 percent measure?

The council passed an ordinance that banned smoking in bars and restaurants -- but only after 85 percent of the metropolitan area's population lived in cities with similar bans.

It was an unattainable goal, especially given the fact that neither Kansas nor Missouri has approved any kind of smoke-free bill yet (another major disappointment). So that meant city after city after city had to pass basically the exact same language as KC had to make the KC law go into effect.

Fortunately, petitioners in Kansas City eventually succeeded in putting a truly tough ban on the ballot, and voters approved it in 2008.

By then, however, KC had fallen behind Overland Park, Olathe, Independence, Lee's Summit and other cities that had passed strict laws since 2004 -- although not enough to reach the 85 percent level.

This week I have been working on an editorial pointing out that Raytown is now the largest area city without a smoke-free law. Today, a supporter of the anti-smoking movement reminded me of all the problems caused by KC's lack of leadership on this issue earlier in the decade.

True, and that lack of leadership remains a black mark on the Barnes administration.