Career
He was also the owner of a local real estate firm. As of 2014, he was the last Republican to be elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in 1973. Barbagelata was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1970 on a campaign of fiscal responsibility and lower taxes.
Barbagelata ran for mayor in 1975 against progressive candidate George Moscone, promising low taxes, a crackdown on crime, and a fight against corruption and "irresponsible City spending".
He lost by less than 5,000 votes. He retired from politics in 1978, returning briefly in the late 1980s to promote a successful referendum creating term limits for City Supervisors.