Columbia mayoral candidate Rickenmann makes his pitch to local Republicans

City of Columbia elections have long been nonpartisan affairs. But on Tuesday a Columbia mayoral candidate looked to bolster his support on one side of the aisle.

District 4 City Councilman Daniel Rickenmann, who is one of three people who have announced campaigns for mayor this year, spoke Tuesday to the First Tuesday Republican Club of the Midlands during the club’s regular lunch at Senate’s End. Rickenmann, 51, has served on the City Council for 12 years across several terms. He was first an at-large city councilman, elected citywide, from 2004-12. He then returned to council in 2017 as a representative in District 4.

Rickenmann, longtime Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, and Sam Johnson, a former top aide to current Mayor Steve Benjamin, are battling for the capital city’s top political spot. Benjamin, who is in his third term as mayor, said earlier this year he would not be seeking reelection.

Seats on City Council are nonpartisan, though members often make little secret of their political allegiances. Benjamin, for instance, has long been a player in Democratic politics, at the local and national levels, even offering an address at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Rickenmann, meanwhile, has long been the most conservative member of what is generally a left-leaning City Council.

While Tuesday’s meeting had all the trimmings of a GOP gathering — U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, the Lexington County congressman, offered a short talk, and attendees recited the Republican creed in unison before leaving — those in attendance peppered Rickenmann with queries about city issues that bridge any political spectrum. There were questions and concerns about gun violence, safety and economic development in Five Points, the long bandied-about upgrade to Finlay Park, street lighting, and even the increasing prevalence of robotics in blue collar jobs.

“We all have (things) in common,” Rickenmann told The State after the meeting. “You may hear me go to talk to another group in another part of town, and you are going to hear them say the same things. They are worried about crime, they are worried about safety measures, they want clean, affordable housing.”

The District 4 councilman and mayoral hopeful touched on a number of topics in his Tuesday address to the local GOP members, including a desire to improve the physical appearance of the city and placing an emphasis on prioritizing ways to allocate millions in federal COVID relief dollars designated to the city.

He also stressed the need for tax reform in Columbia, a common theme in the early months of his campaign. Rickenmann pushed for a $25,000 tax analysis the city commissioned in 2020. That study was authored by Rebecca Gunnlaugsson, principal at Acuitas Economics and former chief economist with the state Department of Commerce. It concluded that property taxes in the Columbia area — levied by numerous entities within Richland County — are the highest in the state among large metros and have stymied growth in the capital city in the last decade.

City Council has tapped three additional economists to advise on a committee that could help address some of the issues raised in the study.

Rickenmann also said there is a need to focus on bread-and-butter infrastructure issues.

“The other thing we’ve got to do is fix the potholes,” he told the GOP crowd. “We have to fix the water leaks. These are things I deal with on a day-to-day basis. But it’s fixable, and it’s a great opportunity for us to turn it into an economic engine.”

Columbia’s elections are set for Nov. 2, with runoffs on Nov. 16, if necessary. Aside from mayor, other seats up for election this year include District 1, District 4 and an at-large post.

This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 8:48 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.