CANDIDATE PROFILE: Barbara Wagner
Political newcomer seeks election to City Council
Barbara Wagner never envisioned herself as a politician.
Even as she was still deciding whether or not to run in the coming May 3 election—which she said came down to the day before filing at City Hall—Wagner found herself following the recommendations of her peers.
“Lots of people had asked me to run last year and again this year. It really wasn’t my idea,” she said. “But I’m not controlling about my own personal life. I’ve found that if you’re open to the opportunities that come to you, that’s really providing you an avenue to where you’re best suited to be. Sometimes my plans for myself are not as good as the world’s plans for me. The other places where I’m involved in the city came about because they came about.”
Wagner moved to Havre de Grace four-and-a-half years ago and married George Wagner, with whom she co-owns Bahoukas Antique Mall and Beer MuZeum, and another property along Union Avenue.
She grew up in Pennsylvania and raised her kids in Pennsylvania. She’s a dietitian by trade, and spent most of her career in the health and pharmaceutical industry. Now, though, Havre de Grace is it
“I love being full-time Havre de Grace. This is my life,” she said. “Everything I have is here in this building, in this city. My kids are in Pennsylvania, but this is really my family.”
She doesn’t own a car—even though she was offered her company car at a discounted rate along with a severance package before moving to Have de Grace.
Ultimately she would like Bahoukas to do well enough to hire help so she and her husband can spend more of their time and energy on the community.
As for what she'd bring to City Council, Wagner feels she's able and willing to work with anyone for the greater cause of the community. She has three criteria for any issue brought to council: financial impact, impact on the community, and impact on the environment.
She's become the face of Main Street's "Green Team," and has plans to improve sustainability citywide. She's also hoping to run as transparent a campaign as possible—offering the facts and figures behind her campaign contributions to anyone who'd like to see them.
She said her dedication is to the city's greatest resource—its citizens.
“As soon as I moved here, I knew I was home,” she said. “There are so many friends we have that are at the same stage in life that we are, and they’re my family. So I want to do everything I can for my family.”
