This week's column.
At 6-foot-7, 300-plus pounds, Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes cuts an imposing figure.
Pound for pound and inch for inch, he is the biggest elected official in Guilford County, in more ways than one.
He has a big voice, a deep baritone drenched in self-assurance.
He likes big bikes, muscular Harleys that ooze horsepower.
He has a big office ... big enough to run laps in if you take baby steps.
"The governor's office is not this big, I'm afraid," he says apologetically of the huge, oak-paneled room during an interview at the Sheriff's Office on West Washington Street. "But there's nothing else you can do with it."
And he is a big deal in county politics.
Some say Barnes is a kingmaker and kingbreaker among Guilford Republicans. Others say he has a big future. Citing Barnes' popularity, his 12-year incumbency and the inevitability of his re-election every four years, they see a possible run for Congress or the legislature.
Meanwhile, Barnes seems perpetually in the middle of big news stories, especially lately.
There was his bitter campaign against two-time challenger Berkley Blanks, a former Greensboro police officer.
There is the still-simmering debate over his insistence that sheriff's deputies stationed in public schools remain equipped with Tasers.
There is at least an indirect offshoot of that debate that could develop into another big story: the possible removal of law enforcement officers in some Guilford County schools, prompted at least in part by the Taser issue. The school board will consider at its Thursday meeting letting principals decide whether the officers will remain in their schools.
There is Barnes' push for a politically unpopular jail expansion to relieve dangerous overcrowding.
There is the ongoing arson investigation of the fire that destroyed Eastern Guilford High School on Nov. 1.
Where to begin?
First, Barnes won't back off one iota on the Taser issue. His only regret, he says, is that he didn't notify the school board that his school-based officers would be equipped with the stun guns, as are all deputies in the field.
"If I had thought there was going to be such a firestorm over this I would have notified the school board differently," he says. "To me it was just another piece of equipment, like a Crown Victoria."
But he makes it clear, this would have been informing the board, not asking its permission. As for the fact that High Point and Greensboro police officers don't carry Tasers in schools, Barnes says the Sheriff's Office doesn't necessarily do something because other agencies do it. Then, referring specifically to the current turmoil in Greensboro's police department, he adds: "GPD has got a firestorm of their own. We don't do that either."
Which brings up the subject of his latest challenger, Democrat Berkley Blanks, who hammered Barnes on the Taser issue in the 2006 campaign to little avail. Any notion that Barnes dislikes Blanks is just plain wrong, the sheriff says. "I don't not like anyone," he says. "I don't respect Berkley Blanks."
Having made that delicate distinction, Barnes insists that his stature in local politics is more myth than fact. "Gosh, I wish that was true," he says.
But he adds: "I don't try to play politics but I will use politics. It comes down to who takes your calls."
On the subject of the jail, Barnes says he has the votes among county commissioners to support the new facility in downtown Greensboro. But he doesn't see any agreement among the board on how to pay for it.
For his part, Barnes sees no point in a bond referendum to finance the new construction. "Bonds are gonna fail," he says. "I can tell you that right now."
Barnes personally prefers certificates of participation, which would incur a higher interest rate but which would not require voter approval. That said, he adds that he understands voters' distaste for paying for a new jail. "But this is just something that has to be done," he says. "Personally, I'd like to take the money and build more schools. You can pay for it now or pay for it later, but you're gonna pay for it."
Barnes also says he favors consolidation of some city and county law enforcement functions to maximize resources. For instance, he believes the Greensboro Police Department and the Sheriff's Office shouldn't have separate dive teams. Why not have the Sheriff's Office handle the dive teams and Greensboro continue to provide the bomb squad?
But if all law enforcement were consolidated in Guilford County, which Barnes says will never happen, the sheriff ought to be in charge, because he is answerable directly to the people.
On his political future, Barnes discounts right away any notion that his political ambitions extend beyond his sheriff's badge — not Howard Coble's seat in Congress, should Coble choose to step down. And not a bid for the General Assembly. "I hate this question because it makes it sound like I lack initiative," he says. "I have been asked to run for state office but I have no interest in that at this time. I want to make a difference. I want to be able to make those phone calls. But I'm happy doing it where I am now.
"I learned a long time ago never to say never, but I can honestly say I'm not planning to run for any other office. I have the office I want. I'm doing what I want to do."
Comments (8)
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Looks like even the sheriff has discovered when he enters GCS, all previous assumptions must be forgotten.
You've entered crazy town.
Where the lunatics run the asylum.
Where up, is down.
Where right is wrong, and wrong is right.
God Bless you, Sheriff Barnes.
God bless us all.
Posted on February 5, 2007 10:50 AM
Sheriff Barnes' mistake in the taser issue was in thinking the school board actually cares about student safety. They've proven that they don't - the school board's priorities are appeasing special interest groups and making sure the numbers look good on paper at the end of the year. If that means sacrificing school safety, then so be it.
Posted on February 5, 2007 12:27 PM
I dont like the use of tasers in the schools. Some kid died in Ohio becasue the resource officer used a taser on him. come to find out he had a heart condition. We dont need tasers, we need better train officers to handle the situations
Posted on February 6, 2007 8:27 AM
Allen, I must say that I've always been mystified at how you post on these various subjects and then, unlike most of the other blog-keepers, kind of disappear or when you do answer you answer in short, clipped responses as if there is an attorney whispering in your ear.
Is this simply a way of simply offering commentary, and with complete justification I might add, on the caliber of the people who frequent your blog or are you trying to avoid the dreaded "A" word, ("Articulate")?
I mean, why torture yourself? My God, man. Just tell Robinson et. al. "look, I don't want to do this". One just hates to see somebody suffer.
Posted on February 6, 2007 10:54 AM
Sorry. I've had a very busy beginning of the week. That happens sometimes, with editorials to write and a department to manage, etc. I didn't mean to seem aloof. Was there some specific question you needed me to answer?
Posted on February 6, 2007 1:55 PM
I'm still wating for a reply ...
Posted on February 6, 2007 2:12 PM
Very funny...
Gosh, there is a sense of humor in there. I knew it.
Posted on February 6, 2007 2:25 PM
Seriously, though, I haven't meant to neglect any of my comment threads.
After all, as JR mentioned in one of his recent posts, blogs are supposed to be conversations.
Fortunately, I should be able to pick up the pace for the rest of the week.
Next time I get bogged down in the office -- and there will be a next time -- I'll give you guys a heads-up.
By the way, it's nice to be missed.
Posted on February 6, 2007 2:39 PM