Columbia attorney Tina Herbert will run for City Council in District 1

After a couple months during which she considered the possibility, Tina Herbert has now made it official: She will run for Columbia City Council in District 1.

The attorney confirmed to The State that she will seek the seat. For 23 years, District 1 has been represented by Councilman Sam Davis. However, Davis announced earlier this year that he wouldn’t be seeking reelection. Herbert will announce her intentions at a Monday morning news conference.

Columbia’s municipal elections will be on Nov. 2, with runoffs on Nov. 16, if necessary. Aside from District 1, posts up for election this year include mayor, an at-large seat, and District 4.

Herbert is currently an attorney with the Mickle & Bass firm. She previously worked for a number of years as the director of the Office of Business Opportunities at the city, where she worked to reduce barriers for small, minority and women-owned businesses.

Herbert, 46, told The State she has a desire to make Columbia a better place.

“Over the last 21 years, I’ve been doing a lot of different things here,” Herbert said. “I really enjoyed my time at the city and seeing how impactful certain programs and initiatives and projects could really be for the city. I had never really thought about being in politics. I’ve always been a worker bee. But when I realized Mr. Davis was not going to run, I figured this would be the next step as a part of the commitment I made to myself to make a better Columbia.”

District 1 is a majority African American district in the northern part of the capital city. It has seen increased redevelopment in recent years, especially along the North Main Street corridor above Elmwood Avenue, where trendy bars, restaurants, breweries and coffee shops have proliferated. There also has been ongoing road construction and streetscaping improvements happening further up North Main.

Herbert said she wants to be able to help guide future development in the district in a way that’s responsive to the needs and desires of its residents.

“People want development, and we’re getting it, but people want to have responsible development,” Herbert said. “One of the things I’ve heard the most from folks is just about knowing what’s coming, or having a say in what’s coming. I do want to make sure we are as transparent as possible in letting citizens of the district know what’s going on, what type of development it is, and that it’s responsible.”

Herbert, a former public defender, added public safety will be important in the district, and said she would like to explore proactive ways for neighborhoods to be safer.

“We want to see how communities can work better together to take care of themselves,” she said. “People know when people care about their communities. The more people care, the more they are active and vocal amongst themselves. ... There are (neighborhood safety) programs throughout the country. It’s time to start more aggressively implementing those where we can, in neighborhoods who are willing to do so.”

Filing for Columbia’s elections will likely open in August.

This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 5:00 AM.

Chris Trainor

The State

Chris Trainor is a retail reporter for The State and has been working for newspapers in South Carolina for more than 21 years, including previous stops at the (Greenwood) Index-Journal and the (Columbia) Free Times. He is the winner of a host of South Carolina Press Association awards, including honors in column writing, government beat reporting, profile writing, food writing, business beat reporting, election coverage, social media and more.