NC Sen. Tamara Barringer’s role has expanded from tax law to foster care

In her first two terms as a state senator, Tamara Barringer established a reputation for two things: her willingness to dive into complex economic issues, and her ability to explain them – at length.

As a freshman, the Cary Republican received the Senate’s joke “Oxmeter Award” for loquaciousness after she rose on the Senate floor to elaborate on amendments to the Business Corporation Act. As a lawyer and UNC-Chapel Hill business school professor, she parlayed those skills into broader assignments during her second term, including steering an overhaul of the state’s business courts.

While firmly in step with her party’s conservative positions, she has also carved out another role that appeals to Democrats and Republicans, as an advocate for foster children and people with disabilities or mental illness. A therapeutic foster parent for 11 years, Barringer teamed with three other female legislators to push successfully for more spending on programs for children in a time of budget cutbacks.

She has also broken with party ranks to join the bipartisan Triangle delegation for votes on such local issues as environmental protection for Jordan Lake and urban counties’ share of sales taxes.

Barringer served on several key committees and was chairwoman of two of them, dealing with foster care and business courts, and crafted compromises that helped save other bills. She can be expected to resume a visible and increasingly responsible role in her third term.

Staff writer Craig Jarvis

This story was originally published January 10, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "NC Sen. Tamara Barringer’s role has expanded from tax law to foster care."