2 candidates emerge to challenge Baddourah after his long Columbia council suspension

An online school principal and a construction firm owner are the first to announce their candidacy for this year’s Columbia City Council election.

John Loveday and Will Brennan plan to run for the District 3 seat held by two-term councilman Moe Baddourah, representing parts of downtown around the Five Points, Shandon and Rosewood communities and as far south as the borders of Lower Richland.

Those neighborhoods lost their direct representation on City Council for a year and a half when Baddourah was suspended by S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster for being charged with second-degree criminal domestic violence. Baddourah was reinstated to council last October when the charge was dropped.

Loveday is making his first run for public office. Brennan is following up a tight County Council race. Both are hoping to bring fresh perspective to city government.

“I think that myself along with a lot of folks in District 3 were pretty frustrated the last two years ... we didn’t have representation on City Council,” said Loveday, the 34-year-old principal of the S.C. Whitmore School.

A teacher for 10 years before transitioning to school administration, Loveday said he believes “there is almost a complete void of public educators serving in office at, really, the city, county and state level. And in a state that ranks dead last in education, I think that is a possible solution, not just to education, but to helping our community and our city move forward in the right direction.”

Three major issues for the city rest on the candidate’s mind as he tests the political waters: economic development, including finding creative ways to attract and retain businesses in the city; improving city infrastructure, especially by fixing potholes; and elevating safety across the city.

In addition to serving as principal of the public, statewide Whitmore School, the Melrose Heights resident serves on the Lexington/Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council.

In his second run for local office in the past year, 38-year-old Brennan hopes “to engage people to get involved with decision making and, even more important, get involved for our future decision making,” he said. “We’re at a pretty important time right now in planning for the city’s future.”

Just 232 votes kept the Hollywood-Rose Hill resident from winning a seat on Richland County Council in 2018. Starting his City Council campaign, Brennan has his eyes on improving “front porch services” such as water service and community safety, in addition to beginning to talk with residents to help shape his focus.

“The biggest takeaway from my County Council experience, knocking on doors, meeting all those folks, is that people want their voice heard,” Brennan said. “Everybody has different issues, and it’s important for a candidate, for a representative, to take it to the next level, to be the voice for them.”

He’s the owner of Brennan Works design and construction company, which boasts the renovation of the historic Curtiss-Wright Hangar at Jim Hamilton-L.B. Owens Airport into the second Hunter-Gatherer brewery. Brennan also serves on boards for the Animal Mission, Riverbanks Society for the zoo and the newly restarted Richland 1 Foundation.

Official candidate filing for City Council has not yet opened.

Three council seats are up for election on Nov. 5, 2019: Baddourah’s District 3 seat, Ed McDowell’s District 2 seat and Howard Duvall’s at-large seat.

City Council elections are non-partisan, meaning candidates do not run under any political party affiliation.

Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of votes that separated Will Brennan and his County Council election opponent. That number has been updated.

This story was originally published January 22, 2019 at 5:00 AM.