Politicians from across Missouri joined Columbia residents in supporting Mayor Barbara Buffaloe for re-election in April
Additional information surrounding the April 8 Municipal and School Election can be found here. Polling locations can be found here.
Columbia’s incumbent mayor, Barbara Buffaloe, will run against candidates Tanya Heath and Blair Murphy during Columbia’s municipal election on April 8. Buffaloe launched her reelection campaign on Jan. 28 at Shakespeare’s Pizza South.
At the event, Buffaloe said she plans to invest in city infrastructure, plan for long-term investments for the future generation and communicate directly with Columbia residents if reelected.
“We need to bring our values here, and local is more important than ever in the universe we’re in right now,” Buffaloe said at the event.
The responsibilities of a mayor vary depending on the system of local governance. The city of Columbia is a charter city, meaning it has a governing document, a charter, that gives it the power to make laws and policies. Under this charter, the city follows a council-manager form of government. The city manager and the staff run day-to-day operations, and the Columbia City Council — where the mayor is one of seven members — meets twice a month.
“Making sure that they have routine updates to us on their window is an urgent matter, and if they need resources to address it,” Buffaloe said in regards to the City Council.
Buffaloe also said she wants to continue projects like the Office of Violence Prevention, which will organize and lead programs relating to violence prevention in Columbia, in her second mayoral term.
“[Buffaloe] is somebody who, every day, goes around this state, this community and if necessary, this country, to make sure that we’re finding solutions that can make Columbia stronger, safer and more prosperous for the future,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said during the event.
The event drew politicians from across the state, including Kathy Steinhoff, who represents District 45 in the Missouri House of Representatives, and Mary Anne McCollum, Columbia’s first female mayor.
Buffaloe has long resided in Columbia. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental design and a master’s degree in environment and behavior.
“Finding opportunities for adding additional renewable energies into our portfolio, as well as increasing energy efficiency opportunities, active transportation, as well as a better bus transit,” Buffaloe said. “These are all things I want to happen for sure.”
Some of Buffaloe’s Columbia-based supporters also attended the event to express their desires for her to serve a second term.
“For me, it’s her continuing in a lot of work that she’s already done, just in terms of sustainability, fair housing, even the work that she’s done internationally,” said Columbia resident Kathy Schmidtke Felts. “She’s just had a really good impact for our city and our country.”
Buffaloe continues to communicate with the public about her work through her instagram account with weekly updates. She said she is working with the community to receive the help of volunteers and donations to plan future campaigning events as the election date comes up on April 8.
Edited by Maya Dawson | mdawson@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com
Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com