'It's basically doing your homework, being straightforward, and telling people what you want to do and doing it,' Joe said. The father-son pair said they think they have similar leadership styles and Joe said he believes it more each time he watches a county commissioner meeting.

He has maintained that same integrity I had.' 'When you do something like this you've got to keep it clean and gain that respect level.

It was pretty much the talk of the town,' Joe said. He was elected to the county board in 2008 for his first term and was re-elected in 2012. Jonathan followed in his footsteps a little over a decade later. When he actually won the seat it was just icing on the cake.' 'We had a mock election at my junior high and my dad won that,' the younger Barfield said. He was in junior high school the first time Joe ran. 'Having that influence of my father is why I ran for county commissioner.' 'I think being involved in a political family exposed me to a lot that many others wouldn't have been exposed to,' said the younger Barfield. If it weren't for his father's influence, Jonathan said it is unlikely he would have ever gotten into politics. 'That's why I talk about him all the time.' 'For me, he's a role model,' Jonathan said. He ran three successful campaigns for county commissioner, serving from 1980 to 1992, becoming the first African American on the New Hanover County board since post-war reconstruction in 1898. People just want somebody to care,' responded Jonathan Barfield Sr., who goes by Joe. He says he has been trying to put in an appearance in the rural areas of the counties represented in 7th Congressional District about once a week. is recounting the last two weeks for his father – a hectic time balancing his commissioner duties, his daughter's graduation, and campaign stops for his new U.S. New Hanover Commissioner Jonathan Barfield Jr.

Live For Today by Joe Barfield