Ron Barber walks slowly to a podium as a room full of supporters cheers loudly. He smiles and extends his hand.
Instead of a handshake, Phillip Rotondi of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, has a surprise for Barber - a pair of red boxing gloves.
"To prepare you for Washington," says Rotondi, as the crowd laughs.
"Well, that's unexpected right there," says Barber, smiling and then pausing. "But, it is a fight. And we are going to do it in a way that we know how is best, and that is, stick to the issues and not make things up."
The moment is illustrative of how much the life path of Barber, 66, has changed since a gunman opened fire at Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' campaign event at a Safeway in northwest Tucson on Jan. 8, 2011.
Before that day - when six people were killed and 13 others wounded, including Giffords and Barber - Barber was entrenched as Giffords' district director, the latest chapter in a career of helping people behind the scenes and out of the public eye.
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Today, he's the man at the podium, the name on the campaign signs, the shooting survivor, and the target for the slings and arrows unleashed during a high stakes congressional campaign.
Just as he was finishing his battle back from nerve damage in his left leg, caused by being shot twice that day, Barber was asked in February to accept an equally daunting challenge: run to replace Giffords and keep the Congressional District 8 seat that she held for six years in Democratic hands.
When Giffords, who resigned in January to focus on her recovery from being shot in the head, asked him to run to fill her seat, he had to contemplate it with his family.
"The last thing on my mind was running for office," Barber said. "I just wanted Gabby to get back in office."
Barber, who had once promised his wife, Nancy, he would never run for office, reneged on that vow because he wanted to give back to a community that has been good to him his entire life, especially since the shooting.
"I've been in public service all of my adult life, and this is another opportunity to serve the community that I love so much," Barber said. "I know the people, I know the issues. Working with Gabby, I really know what's important to the people of Southern Arizona."
Ron Barber likes to say he's a semi-native of Tucson.
Born in England, Barber came to the Old Pueblo in 1959 as a teenager after his Irish mother married an American serviceman who was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
He met his Tucson-native wife, Nancy, soon after. They fell in love, and eventually married and had two daughters. Ron and Nancy Barber have the daughters and four grandchildren over every Sunday for dinner.
The couple owned a small business, Toy Traders/Stork's Nest, for 22 years. Barber worked 32 years at the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities, including as the state director. Then, in 2006, he went to work for Giffords, becoming her district director in 2007.
Those deep roots and knowledge of the community are why Barber understands so well what makes Southern Arizona tick and why he is a trusted leader, said Rodd McLeod, who is working on Barber's campaign and worked on Giffords' campaigns.
Jane Holbrook met Barber 30 years ago while he was working with Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities. Barber's guidance made a difficult period much easier for Holbrook, a mother of a disabled son.
"Ron is a kind and gentle man whose quiet resolve is a force to be reckoned with," said Holbrook, a Republican. "He's so ethical, and he's so honest."
GOP critics, however, say Barber will be nothing more than a "rubber stamp" for failed policies of President Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats. Critics also wonder if he's ready to make the jump from his career as a behind-the-scenes bureaucrat to congressman.
But Barber believes his 5 1/2 years as Giffords' district director and his lengthy experience prior to that in administrative posts prepared him.
"I am not going to have to start learning how to do this job on June 13," Barber said.
After entering the race in February, Barber quickly squashed the notion that he would be a caretaker of the seat, saying that's not his nature. He further trampled down that idea when, in mid-March, he announced he would also be running in the newly drawn Congressional District 2 in November.
Though he gushes about how much he learned from and admires Giffords, he wants to be judged on his own merits.
"I am running as Ron Barber for Congress not Gabrielle Giffords' guy Ron Barber," Barber said. "I really want people to vote for me or not vote for me depending on what they think I can do for them."
Barber's campaign has centered on fighting for the middle class and protecting Social Security and Medicare. He's also pledged to focus on medical and mental-health services for veterans; supporting military families and bases; creating more job opportunities in Southern Arizona; balancing the budget; and bolstering border security.
He's painted himself as a person who has proved he can work across party lines to find solutions to complex problems. Several well-known Republicans have crossed the aisle to endorse him, including former Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, former state legislator Pete Hershberger; City Councilman Steve Kozachik; and former TUSD board member Laura Almquist.
Barber says he's the only candidate voters can trust, and who truly understands the issues and people of the district.
"I will not be telling people one thing and then doing another or trying to change my position," said Barber.
Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com
