“Life Revolves Around Main Street”

October 3, 2006: Larry Tarleton introduced Robert Barber, South Carolina’s Democratic candidate for Lt Governor, as a Charleston native who earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Wofford College, his Doctor of Divinity from Duke University, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas…”a Preacher and Lawyer, now that’s hard to comprehend.” Larry also touched on the fact that for over 15 years, Robert has run his world-famous family restaurant on Bowen’s Island and received a special award in New York with “shrimp sauce on the front of his dinner jacket.” On the serious side, Robert Barber was elected three times to the State House of Representative from a strongly Republican district and served three terms on the Charleston County School Board where he was elected Chairman for two years.

Mr. Barber related to our Rotarians that he remembers leaving Folly Beach as a 10 year old sitting in the “back seat of a ’58 Chevy” not wanting to move away from his home in Charleston. He moved to the Columbia area where he met his wife LaNelle in the 5th grade, “although she’s 18 months older,” and they remain married today with two children and two grandchildren. He then emphasized his campaign themes: “one year and two weeks ago, to the day, I kicked off my campaign based on Main Street Values.” “To me that means hard work, spirituality, fiscal grounding, and common sense.” He smiled firmly and added: “there seems to be a shortage of that in Columbia and I will change that.”

Education is an additional challenge on Mr. Barber’s docket. Although not specifically in the Lt Governor’s job description, he strongly feels it’s a challenge we all must embrace: “we must make our public schools successful.” How do we make good schools? Hire good teachers.
Mr. Barber’s wife is a school teacher who “gets up at 10 minutes after 5 every day…I get up about an hour and a half later.” He was passionate in stating his personal opinion that “our teachers should earn as much as doctors and lawyers.” He observed there are children in China and India getting prepared for jobs in South Carolina that “we want our children and grandchildren to have.”

Mr. Barber moved to a different challenge and received a hearty Charleston Rotary Club laugh when he stated “we have an aging population; I can see that in this room!” He wants to keep seniors independent in their homes. To do that we must commit the funding at the State level to:
– Provide home-delivered meals
– Allow home-based health care
– Ensure medical transportation

In summarizing additional areas he feels are important, Mr. Barber stated his desire to go to Columbia with a small business background. His theme in this venue is to represent the low country where he lightheartedly mentioned he “even put indoor restroom in his Bowen Island restaurant 10 years ago.” On a more serious note he emphasized he’s met the responsibility of signing the front side of a paycheck every week and he still rolls up his sleeves to work in the kitchen. Those experiences have provided him with an element of good judgment and maturity.

With a smile on his face, Mr. Barber concluded his remarks that in this campaign “word of mouth is everything” and he would appreciate if we “would talk to friends and let them know Robert Barber is a decent guy who will do a good job.”

Submitted by Bill Crowe, Keyway Committee