Candidate for mayor of Maplewood says experience is the difference

Candidate for mayor of Maplewood, Barry Greenberg, sent this statement to 40 South News on Monday. The election is on Tuesday, April 4.

Based on the fact that my opponent and I are both architects living on the same street, I have been asked what are the differences that distinguish us from each other. The main difference is experience.

In my 14 years as a city councilman, I have established relationships with elected officials and staff of surrounding communities that will benefit the City of Maplewood as we continue to look at opportunities to combine efforts resulting in less redundancy and more efficient use of taxpayers’ dollars.

Also during my 14 years on Council, I have attended classes, workshops, seminars and conferences that have addressed numerous issues facing city governments. I have used these opportunities to not only learn, but also to network with officials from other cities and benefit from their experiences.

In my experience as a business owner, I have successfully operated an architectural and engineering firm for 36 years. Supervising up to three dozen employees is a much more challenging experience than being a single practitioner and requires a much higher level of business acumen. I was also the Maplewood Chamber Businessperson of the Year in 1999.

I believe my charity experience also separates me from my opponent. I have performed pro bono architectural services for Sherwood Forest Camp, Living Well Village, storm resistant shipping container homes in Dominica in the Caribbean, and a soup kitchen. I have served on the College of Architecture Planning and Design Dean’s Advisory Council at Kansas State University and am currently an emeritus member. I have taught classes at K-State and Meramec Community College.

I have twice been president of the Maplewood Kiwanis and we established a Key Club for community service at the MRH high school, we have given out from one to three scholarships each year and our pancake breakfasts have benefited different MRH programs every year.

I have gone through volunteer training to assess the structural stability of buildings after natural disasters, volunteer training to assess risk of seismic failure potential of school buildings and I am LEED Accredited Professional. I am licensed in 48 states including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, many of them requiring additional testing.

The 2017 election cycle will see three new members out of the seven on City Council. The Mayor’s office requires the most experience of those seven seats and my opponent has never held public office. During the last fourteen years, Maplewood has made great strides and I would like to continue that progress as the mayor of the City of Maplewood.