LAKEPORT >> Since he moved to Lakeport as a young adult, Tim Barnes claims the city has he has given him the American dream.
He’s owned two businesses — most notably his pizza parlor, earning him the name “Cheese” — and started a family with wife, Laura.
After the sale of Cheese’s Main Stree Pizza last month, his days of being a local entrepreneur are behind him (he is now employed by Amerigas) but his desire to serve the community remains. That’s why he’s running for one of the three city council seats up for grabs this November — to serve the community that has given him so much.
“Lake County was the place I was able to start my life over,” Barnes said. “It’s given me a life worth living and I want to be able give some of that back.”
His campaign will be his first experience in elected politics, but he believes his affinity for the city is his best qualification. There’s also his business experience, which he noted has developed his skills of listening to people and working as a team.
“I’m very passionate about where I live; I truly love the place,” the reigning Mr. Lake County said, adding that he served eight years on the Lake County Theater Company’s board of directors. “I want the people who live here to be happy.”
To do that, he promises to listen to them and vote for policy they feel mostly strongly about.
“If I have all of my constituency telling me they feel a certain way — even if don’t necessarily agree with it — that’s the way I’m going to vote,” he said.
The issues
Following along in what seems to be the common issue in Lake County’s current election cycle, the main focal point in Barnes’s campaign is fixing the city’s roads.
“If you’re driving down Main Street, I hope you’re driving a four-by-four truck,” he joked.
He’s optimistic about the passage of Lakeport’s Measure Z in the fall, which is estimated to bring $1.5 million annually for roads and public safety, but he is also looking for other revenue sources.
One way is to push for more family-centered events. Not only would they bring in more money for the city, but he argued it would also improve the city’s image to outsiders and give residents an idea of that “Mayberry” feel.
“When you think about it, [that’s] what we are selling in Lake County and Lakeport in particular,” he said. “We are a downhome, small, tightknit community that just has this feel you’re not going to get in big cities … People know you by name. I’d like to enhance that for us.”
The events are also part of improving Lakeport businesses and raising money for the local arts scene — something in which he has a large stake.
Yet, he admitted to his inexperience in politics, saying he is still trying to fill himself in on Lakeport’s important issues like the long-time battle between the city and the county government over the annexation of the Soda Bay Road Corridor.
Right now, he believes the best way to handle it to is to change the mindset of those at the negotiation table, moving towards an attitude of finding solution where everyone can win.
“That changes the vibe; it changes the feeling,” he added. “We need to figure out how to move forward to where everybody rises up out of this issue.”
Although he doesn’t know what kind of middle ground can be reached on the issue, he plans to work on finding that out by reaching out to business owners in the greater Lakeport area.
“It’s a lot to catch up on,” he said.
