Former Greensboro City Councilmember and former Chair of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Mike Barber is not quite ready to commit to running for City Council in 2022.
But he’s almost there.
And in conversation with Barber at the Wyndham Championship last weekend it was obvious he had put a lot of thought into running. Barber was elected to the City Council in 2013, won reelection in 2015, and in 2017 he finished fourth in the at-large race – 102 votes behind City Councilmember Michelle Kennedy. In the at-large City Council race the top three win seats on the City Council. It’s a strange race where coming in third is winning.
Barber has been keeping his cards close to his vest on his participation in the upcoming election, but this week he said, “I’m considering a run for the City Council, most likely in the at-large race.”
Barber said, “My focus will be on doing things that I believe the city needs to get done.”
He said, “I believe we need the best and most well paid police force and fire department in the state. Let’s stop trying to be average. We want to be able to claim to be the safest mid-sized city in America.”
Barber said, “Right now we have the best road system of any mid-sized city in America. We want to be the cleanest, greenest, safest city in the country.”
He said that currently the city appears to celebrate when an industry chooses to locate in a nearby city or town. He said, “We don’t want jobs and industry in other cities close by. We need jobs and industry in our own city. We don’t want to become a bedroom community.”
Barber said, “Durham, Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville, they are all knocking the top out of it while we are trying to determine our opinion on social issues.”
He added, “If people want more talk on social issues, I’m not their guy.”
Barber noted that the average salary in Greensboro is $5,000 lower than Winston-Salem. He said that the key to solving the affordable housing issue was in attracting more better paying jobs to Greensboro, not building more affordable housing.
Barber is president of First Tee of Central Carolina, which promotes golf as a way for youth to learn life skills, and is also on Wyndham Championship Tournament Committee, which means he was a little busier than usual last week.
Barber said that after the Wyndham and after he’d had the opportunity to take his wife, Mitzi, out for a really nice dinner, he’d be making an announcement about his (their) decision on running for City Council.
The quality citizens of Greensboro needs YOU Mike Barber!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By quality citizens I assume you mean rich white people. The other 99% of the population could do much better without that overbloated, stuffed shirt, arrogant putz
We’ve had enough of Mike Barber. He should have gotten that message last time he ran . Politicians are about the lowest form of life on this planet. Kind of like a fairy tale but instead of starting out with “Once upon a time”, it starts out “if elected I promise to”. Get the picture?
Instead of him you got Michelle Kennedy. You good with that?
Because I’m not a white supremacist there is no possible way I can endorse Mike Barber. When Mike Barber talks about boosting the police department but he’s really talking about is targeting our poorest citizens for a campaign of terror by police
Oh “B”, you’re funny!
You should be a comedian.
You’re the one making an asinine joke about provable fact, data and statistic regarding Mike barbers previous train wreck of a city council term. Every time the police were accused of doing something, no matter how much proof was presented Mike Barber always sided with police.
Gosh, do you think it could be because the police were right?
I recall an an incident in which a naked deranged black man with a knife was running around Phillips Avenue. He was shot. Goldie Wells was outraged!
Was that white supremacism? Or just another violent black nutcase?
It was the police targeting a mentally ill black person. Of course there are people that will defend police actions no matter how indefensible they are.
Oh My God – you really are a nutcase.
You say that when the Greensboro cops had to shoot a mentally ill man who was rampaging around Phillips Avenue and brandishing a knife, and who was completely naked, who then came at them, and they shot him… this was the police “targeting” a black person.
YOU ARE AS MENTALLY ILL AS HE WAS.
Thank God. We need someone with common sense.
If you want someone with common sense then why in the hell are you endorsing Mike Barber. He’s an incompetent attorney who has to resort to running a phony golf charity to get by in life because of how bad of a lawyer he is.
What is your problem with Mike Barber?
Why are you so full of hate?
C’mon Mike, let’s have at least one white male on the council !
Because… you know… Diversity. Right?
Mike Barber has the right priorities. Greensboro needs his type leadership. Greatness is not built on mediocrity.
Lynn and Mike Haley
If you oppose mediocrity then why are you supporting Mike Barber? Mike Barber is so incompetent he aspires to be mediocre.
Oh dear. You need to find someone else to be the focus of your spite and vitriol.
You must be a very bitter woman.
Seek help.
Your snarky little comments are unrelated to Mike barbers holy incompetent and racist city council term. Once again every time police were accused of wrongdoing, no matter how much proof existed of the police misconduct Mike Barber always sided with them. My statements about Mike Barber are solely based on his absolutely pathetic job performance.
My “snarky little comments”….?
MY “SNARKY LITTLE COMMENTS”…???
Have you reviewed your own hate-filled venomous comments?
Look in the mirror, dear – if you can stand it.
You will not only see a despicable human being, you will see someone who is “…holy incompetent” (sic).
Buy a dictionary darling. Your solecisms demonstrate your intellect ( that’s a nice way of saying that you’re as thick as a brick).
B I bet you don’t like confederate statues either you are a really angry mean spirited person
Anyone who knows true American history and not the Fox News version of it and who isn’t a racist and cares about the opinion of black people would oppose Confederate statues but you just put yourself out there as saying that you don’t care what black people think you’re going to use your symbol of white supremacy no matter what. That’s why it is up to heroic patriotic antifascists to deal with this white supremacy