Barbara Buffaloe
Barbara Buffaloe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Columbia, Missouri | |
| Assumed office April 18, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Brian Treece |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 2, 1980 |
| Spouse | Luke Buffaloe[1] |
| Residence | Columbia, Missouri |
| Education | University of Missouri[2] |
| Website | www.como.gov (government) buffaloeformayor |
Barbara Buffaloe (born November 2, 1980) is an American politician. She is serving her first term as the Mayor of Columbia, Missouri and chair of the Columbia City Council.[3] Her second term as mayor is expected to begin April 2025.[4]
Career
[edit]Buffaloe won the 2022 Columbia, Missouri mayoral election with 43 percent of the vote. Before becoming Mayor she served as the city sustainability manager for eleven years.[5] She is the second female Mayor, and with her election women outnumber men on the city council for the first time in history.[6]
Buffaloe and former mayor Mary Anne McCollum shared the stage at the Missouri Theatre in the inaugural That's What She Said Columbia event held on April 15, 2023.[7] She is currently the chair of the Environment Committee of the United States Conference of Mayors.[8]
Mayor Buffaloe approved pay increases for the Columbia Police Department after first taking office.[9] She also named D'Markus Thomas-Brown as the city's first administrator of the Office of Violence Prevention in March 2025 in the hopes of decreasing crime rates in Columbia.[10]
In 2025, Buffaloe ran for re-election during the 2025 Columbia, Missouri mayoral election, wherein she faced two ballot-qualifying challengers and a write-in candidate. Buffaloe's challengers were paint store owner Blair "Murph" Murphy and Missouri School of Journalism professor Tanya Heath. She won re-election to a second term in the mayor's office with 55 percent of the vote, expanding her margin of victory from just three years prior.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Originally from Springfield, Illinois, Buffaloe has resided in the Columbia, Missouri area for over two decades. She is married to MU Health Care physician Dr. Lucas "Luke" Buffaloe. Together, the couple have two children.[11] She is an active member of her local Rotary Club.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Como staff (December 30, 2022). "Barbara Buffaloe: Candidate for Mayor of Columbia". CoMo magazine. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ "Barbara Buffaloe: Urban Sustainability Directors Network; City of Columbia". Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ Muckerman, Brooke (April 16, 2022). "New mayor, council member to be sworn in Monday". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ a b "City of Columbia - Official Government Website". www.como.gov. Archived from the original on February 3, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Moscovitch, Jacob (April 28, 2021). "Buffaloe leaving role as city sustainability manager". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ Tronstad, Lauren (April 11, 2022). "With Barbara Buffaloe as mayor, women outnumber men on Columbia City Council for first time". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "She Said Project – The She Said Project Mothership". Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ Burns, David W. (November 23, 2016). "Committees and Task Forces". United States Conference of Mayors. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ a b Burnett, Story by Annie Goldman, Zoe Naylor and Amber Roldan; Photos by Michael Baniewicz, Kyle Button and Sara Kate (April 8, 2025). "Barbara Buffaloe wins second term as Columbia mayor". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Martirez, Alec (March 18, 2025). "D'Markus Thomas-Brown tapped to lead Columbia's Office of Violence Prevention". Columbia Missourian. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ Staff, COMO (December 30, 2021). "Barbara Buffaloe". COMO Magazine. Retrieved April 10, 2025.