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Remembered for his positive and cheerful attitude and willingness to pitch in wherever needed, retired Bond Buyer reporter and municipal market fixture Harold “Chip” Walter George Barnett, Jr. died on Monday.
He was 67.
Barnett suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, “a disease related to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on 9/11, which took place near where he was working on the time,” in keeping with the obituary he penned prior to his passing, which was shared by his sister Maryalice.
“We’re deeply saddened by the passing of Chip Barnett, a beloved colleague, and a cornerstone of The Bond Buyer newsroom over multiple many years,” said Mike Scarchilli, editor in chief of the Bond Buyer.
Chip Barnett (left) and John Hallacy, a financial consultant and former Bond Buyer colleague, within the office. The black trench coats and fedoras had people calling them ‘The Blues Brothers,’ said Hallacy, referencing the Eighties movie.
The Bond Buyer
Barnett’s nearly half century profession as a financial journalist included two stints at The Bond Buyer, first early in his profession and however from 2014 to 2024. He retired on April 30 and relocated to Florida.
“Chip was a generous colleague, and a friend, who was all the time willing to assist,” Scarchilli said. “His dedication to his craft, wealth of data, and real kindness made him a respected journalist and a cherished member of our team. He can be sorely missed.”
His interest in writing stretched back to grade school when he penned mystery novels along with his sister.
He took college courses in business and law at Iona College in Recent Rochelle while he was a senior at Salesian High School, which likely sparked his long journalism profession.
He studied film and communications at Fordham University, after which went on to the College of White Plains, now Pace University, where he studied journalism and was a deejay at Pleasantville radio station WRPW.
He later took business and securities law classes on the Recent York Institute of Finance, journalism classes at Columbia University and Russian language classes on the Recent School. He also attended quite a few seminars given by the Recent York Stock Exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank of Recent York and the Real Estate Board of Recent York.
He was a long-time resident of Pelham Manor, lived within the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan from 1987 to 1997, after which moved to Florida after retiring.
“Chip was a loyal friend and journalist who touched many lives,” said Gary Siegel, a Bond Buyer managing editor, who has known Barnett since they worked together at Munifacts greater than 30 years ago.
“Talented, outgoing and sort, he was all the time giving of himself to assist a colleague or mentor young reporters,” Siegel said.
“And as amazing as he was on the job he loved, his personality surpassed that,” Siegel said. “He cared about people and it showed. Everyone used a word synonymous with amazing to explain him and his impact on their lives.”
Siegel’s LinkedIn post Wednesday about Barnett’s death resulted in shock at his sudden passing, just months after he retired, and sort words from muni industry individuals who had known him.
“Chip has all the time been a consummate skilled and a canny observer of our marketplace. He can be missed by lots of us within the muni community,” Triet Nguyen, vice chairman/strategic data operations for DPC Data, said of Barnett in an emailed response.
“He was the type of reporter you mostly desired to refer to,” said Suzanne Shank, CEO of Siebert Williams Shank & Co. “He was really humble in his approach and all the time stood aside to let his subjects tell the story.”
Ben Watkins, Florida’s director of bond finance, wrote in his response to Siegel’s post that he was “sorry to learn of Chip’s premature passing,” calling him a “true pro,” adding he enjoyed Barnett’s friendship and professionalism.”
He made “an amazing contribution to the muni business,” Watkins wrote.
“I all the time valued talking with Chip after I was on the NYC Comptroller’s office,” Carol Kostik, a trustee on the Residents Budget Commission and former deputy comptroller of Recent York City, wrote in response to the LinkedIn post. “He was fair, knowledgeable and [had] a humorousness he had to maintain out of his reporting.”
Barnett worked closely with former Bond Buyer colleagues Paul Burton and John Hallacy to create The Bond Buyer’s signature sort of podcasts.
Hallacy, who had known Barnett since he worked for Merrill Lynch as a banker back within the Nineteen Nineties, said, “the large thing about Chip is he was all the time inquisitive and knew the new topics.
“He all the time had good questions,” Hallacy said. “He was pushy, but in gentle ways. He got what he needed for a story and moved on, he wasn’t out to attain points, but to ascertain longtime relationships with sources.”
Hallacy and Barnett also shared a love of nice wines.
“We talked about doing a special report (on a podcast) in regards to the wine regions within the U.S. and their bond rankings,” Hallacy said. “We never got to that one, but he all the time had a reasonably refined wine palate.”
“He was a great guy and all the time fun to work with,” Hallacy said.
His podcast style evoked the sleek baritones redolent of a bygone era. He gave the podcasts a certain gravitas and professionalism.
“Chip was a knowledgeable and hardworking colleague and have become an exquisite resource for me as our master of podcasts and each time I needed advice about covering Recent York. It’s hard to think that he’s gone,” Bond Buyer Executive Editor Kyle Glazier said.
He also produced the Muni Minute and other multimedia productions for The Bond Buyer.
In an industry driven by deadlines, it is easy to develop into impatient and sharp, but Barnett never was.
“Chip was a hard-working and talented journalist who left his mark on The Bond Buyer and this industry,” said Lynne Funk, Bond Buyer executive editor. “He was also a real, kind-hearted soul who I had the nice fortune to call my colleague and friend. He most definitely is gone too soon.”
Though he covered business real estate for a couple of years before heading the markets team as a senior reporter after rejoining The Bond Buyer in 2014, the vast majority of his profession was spent within the muni industry.
He retired as a senior reporter covering the northeast and southeast for The Bond Buyer.
Barnett’s profession, which stretched almost 50 years, began at Gannett Newspapers in Westchester County, Recent York, where he “worked his way up from back-shop compositor to senior news editor,” in keeping with his Bond Buyer profile.
“After all I actually got here to The Bond Buyer in 1987, working at State Street when the newspaper had its own News Wire and was owned by Thomson Reuters (no web at nighttime ages), stayed with Thomson Reuters after they sold off the BB (in 2004) and I even have been causing muni market mayhem ever since (except after I was causing problems in Miami with The Real Deal),” Barnett wrote in a farewell email to colleagues his last week with the publication.
He later worked for Thomson Reuters in Manhattan, covering state and native government finance as a reporter and as executive editor for TM3.com and as editor-in-charge of municipal finance for Reuters News.
He also worked for Debtwire/Municipals and wrote about business real estate in South Florida and the Midwest for each The Real Deal and Globe Street.
“Munifacts was a non-public newswire communication service for municipal bonds which provided information on latest municipal bond issues in the first market and secondary market. In 1996, it was renamed Thomson Municipal News, then later folded into The Municipal Market Monitor (TM3), a subscription service available from Refinitiv,” in keeping with Investopedia.
Barnett asked in his final requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to his alma mater Salesian High School, 148 Foremost Street, Recent Rochelle, Recent York 10801. His sister also said that, if people prefer, donations may very well be made to the charities of 1’s selection.