Heather Bauer will seek an at-large seat on Columbia City Council
.jpg "Columbia City Council candidate Heather Bauer.")
It didn’t take Heather Bauer long to jump back into the political fray.
Bauer, an information technology professional and owner of Columbia’s Workhorse Fitness, told The State she will run for an at-large seat on Columbia City Council. Unlike district seats, at-large posts on council are elected citywide.
The at-large seat at play this year currently is held by fifth-term Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine. However, after Mayor Steve Benjamin said he wouldn’t seek re-election, Devine announced she is going to run for mayor in 2021, meaning her council seat is coming open for the first time in almost 20 years.
Bauer ran for the District 75 seat in the state House of Representatives in 2020. She fell in a hard-fought Democratic primary to Rhodes Bailey. Republican state Rep. Kirkman Finlay ultimately was re-elected to that seat.
She said she’s prepared to bounce back from that race, pointing to the resilience she gained from a working class upbringing in which her family was on public assistance for much of her childhood. She also said she gained valuable experience and made political inroads in last year’s House race.
“It kind of made natural sense to transition into working on local issues,” Bauer said. “In that last race, we put together a strong and broad coalition of folks, so it made sense. I look forward to a position like city council, spending time connecting with the community on issues they face everyday.”
Bauer, who played college volleyball at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and got a masters in media arts from the University of South Carolina, recognizes the citywide nature of an at-large seat, and said she would work to be a consensus builder.
She has a number of initiatives she plans to focus on, including helping address hunger and food deserts (she’s a member of the city’s food policy committee), exploring water quality issues, and addressing concerns of traffic and speeding in neighborhoods, among other things. She also says she’d work to protect historic neighborhoods.
“I’ve have been working with communities across the city for over a decade,” Bauer said. “I’m a project manager by trade, and I see things ‘big picture.’ I love the diversity or our city and I think we all need to have a voice at the table.”
With Devine turning her attention to a mayoral race, the at-large seat is likely to attract a number of candidates. Aside from Bauer, Dr. Aditi Bussells, the director of research at the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, has signaled interest in running for the seat, and could announce her candidacy as soon this week.
Filing for this year’s municipal races likely will open in August, and the election is on Nov. 2.
Change is coming to city council. Benjamin is not seeking re-election, nor is District 1 Councilman Sam Davis, a 23-year member of the body. Councilman Daniel Rickenmann also is mounting a run for mayor, meaning his District 4 seat in the northeast part of the city is up for grabs. And, of course, Devine’s at-large seat is at-play since she’s running for mayor.
Bauer said she wants to be a part of the new-look council.
“I think this is like the new Columbia,” she said. “That’s how I envision my campaign. It’s a new outlook for the future of Columbia. I’m just excited to put my expertise, my background and my resources to use to make Columbia even better. We have to look to the future.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
