Exclusive: Paul Barich, ‘Man in the White Jacket,’ to run for Redlands council

Aug. 04--The "Man in the White Jacket," Paul Barich, is running for Redlands City Council.

He says keeping this town going in the right direction is his priority. That means bringing in tourism dollars and continuing the work of the Redlands Conservancy.

"I think the city's been going in the right direction with the new infrastructure and the Emerald Necklace," he said. "I'd like to join that team, because anything that improves Redlands improves business."

Barich was born at Norton Air Force Base and has lived in Redlands all his life. He is a 1972 Redlands High School graduate.

He started working as a teacher, but in August of 1979 started an insurance brokerage firm, which he still runs as owner and president.

Supporting others to start businesses is part of his platform.

"The city needs to encourage business," he said. "Without tax dollars we can't continue the good work that has been started. I really want to see if we can improve tourism. I'm not talking about just for the day, we have quite a history here. We should encourage people to have conventions here and stay a few days."

He stressed that the city should have a written plan, an aggressive plan, to get people to come to Redlands and spend their dollars here.

"We have to be aggressive to get big corporations to locate their businesses here," he said. "We should be friendly to anyone who would be able to generate sales tax. For tourism, we should approach out-of-town associations: have your events here.

"And we need to continue with the conservancy to preserve our beauty."

As to whether Redlands is currently business-friendly enough, "We're better than we used to be. I think our fees are too high."

Barich has been a member of the Redlands Chamber of Commerce for 34 years and has been president twice. In fact he has served as president longer than anyone in history, 30 months total, with the next closest past president having totalled 12 months in two terms.

He has been a member of the Redlands Optimist Club for 31 years, is a past president and past Optimist of the Year.

He is a Roy Coble Award winner for service to the community's youth.

Known to many as the "Man in the White Jacket," Barich has been the host at the Redlands Bowl for 13 years, and has served on the Redlands Community Music Association Board of Directors for 23 years.

As host, he officially recognizes people in the Bowl audience who come from different states and countries.

"We want to make sure people feel at home in our beautiful hometown," he said. "Then I bring the kids up and have them lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' "

Barich said his motivation for running is keeping a good thing good.

"This town's been very, very good to me, and I want to lead it in the right direction so we can continue to be proud of this place we live in. I certainly am. Anybody knows me, I brag about this town all the time."

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