Robert A. Barber Jr. of Charleston was the 2006 Democratic Party's Nominee for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. In November 2006, Barber faced off against incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer, who sought a second term in office, defeating Barber in the General Election.

Early life and career

Robert Barber was born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

on July 29, 1949. Having spent his earliest years on Folly Beach and nearby Bowen's Island, Barber moved to Columbia with his parents at the age of 10. After graduating from Columbia High School in 1967, he attended

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

and graduated in 1971. Barber later received a

Masters of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1976. He then returned to his native state and served as a minister in two Laurens County churches before entering law school. Receiving his J.D. degree in 1982 from the

South Texas College of Law South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL or South Texas) is a private law school in Houston, Texas. It was founded in 1923 when the YMCA made the decision to establish a law school with a focus on offering night classes for working professi ...

, Barber engaged in a general practice of law in Charleston before being elected to the Charleston County School Board in 1984.

S.C. House of Representatives

Barber served for four years on the Charleston County School Board and from 1986 to 1988 served as its chairman. In 1988, he was elected into the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

. Serving in the House from 1989 to 1994, Barber spent time on the Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Operations and Management Committees. In 1993 and 1994, he chaired the Joint Legislative Committee on Energy. In 1994, rather than run for re-election, Barber ran for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

as the Democratic candidate for the First Congressional District, but lost to a political newcomer named

Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and from 2013 to 2019, and as the 115th govern ...

Later career

After leaving the SC House, Barber split his time between running Bowen's Island Seafood Restaurant, which his grandparents founded in the 1940s, and serving as a consultant for a range of predominantly not-for-profit public interest groups. A conservationist, health care advisor, and advocate for the state's elderly population, Barber has attempted to improve the lives of many South Carolinians through his work for organizations such as the South Carolina Wildlife Federation,

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate Heart, cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability ...

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

, the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

, the Palmetto Conservation Foundation, the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

and the Association of Council on Aging Directors. In 2010, Barber ran for

Comptroller General of South Carolina The comptroller general of South Carolina is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of South Carolina. Forty individuals have held the office of comptroller general since 1800. The office has been held by Brian J. Ga ...

. He lost to

Richard Eckstrom Richard A. Eckstrom (born June 23, 1948) is an American politician from the state of South Carolina. A Republican, he served as the comptroller general of South Carolina from 2003 until his resignation in 2023. From 1995 to 1999, he served one ...

, the incumbent.

The Barber Family

Barber met LaNelle Dominick in the 5th grade in Columbia. They dated throughout their high school years at Columbia High, as well as through college. They later married after Barber's graduation from Wofford. LaNelle, a graduate of Queens College, in Charlotte is now a public school teacher in Charleston, at Buist Academy. Robert and LaNelle have two children, Hope and Matt. Hope and her husband, Bill McIntosh, live in Summerville with their two daughters, Mary Lesesne and Frances. Matt and his wife Danielle, live in Summerville with their daughter, Madelyn. Barber's father, Bob Barber, worked for 35 years with the C&S National Bank in Charleston and Columbia. His mother, Cile, was a career homemaker who, with Bob's help, raised six children. After the children were grown, Cile opened antique shops in Columbia and

Newberry Newberry is a surname, a variant of Newbury. Notable people with the surname include: * Booker Newberry III (1956–2023), American singer and keyboardist * Brennan Newberry (born, 1990), American professional stock car racing driver * Brian Ne ...

. His parents have resided in Newberry since 1987. Robert has four brothers and a sister who live and work in Charleston, Columbia and Irmo.

References

External links