Columbia election notes: Filing, forums, fundraising and Rickenmann goes rafting

This year’s city of Columbia election races essentially began on Feb. 4

That’s when Steve Benjamin, Columbia’s third-term mayor and first ever African American mayor, announced he would not be seeking re-election. Benjamin’s announcement set off a domino effect, with candidates rushing to announce campaigns for mayor, as well as other seats up for election this year, including District 1, District 4 and an at-large seat. The various campaign announcements came months in advance of candidates even being able to file to seek election.

But now the formal aspects of filing have come into focus.

At its June 15 meeting, Columbia City Council formally voted to authorize this year ‘s city election. It will be Nov. 2, with runoffs on Nov. 16 if necessary. Filing for the elections will open at noon Aug. 2 at City Hall, and will close at noon on Aug. 13. The filing fee to run for mayor is $1,000 and the fee to run for city council is $530.

Three candidates have announced campaigns for mayor: District 4 Councilman Daniel Rickenmann, at-large Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine and Sam Johnson, a former top aide to Benjamin.

Only one person has yet announced a run for council in District 4: Businessman and former state commerce secretary Joe Taylor.

In District 1, attorney Tina Herbert and nonprofit leader Christa Williams have announced campaigns.

And the field is already crowded in the at-large race, where five hopefuls have formally announced runs: attorney Tyler Bailey, business owner Heather Bauer, public health researcher Dr. Aditi Bussells, environmental lobbyist Deitra Matthews and activist John Tyler.

•The South Carolina Democratic Women’s Council will host a forum on Monday night, June 28, that is set to feature the women who are running for various city offices — Devine in the mayor’s race, Herbert and Williams in the District 1 race and Bauer, Bussells and Matthews in the at-large race. The virtual forum begins at 7 p.m. and you can register to watch here. Journalist Carolyn Sawyer is set to moderate.

•With the June 30 quarterly campaign fundraising deadline fast approaching, candidates have been hosting events to get cash into their election coffers. Just a few of those include Bailey’s event at Alpha One fitness on Main Street on June 24, a fundraiser for Bauer at Hickory Tavern on June 22 and an event for Bussells at Bourbon on June 15. Several Columbia residents are set to host a fundraising reception for Devine on Tuesday night. Candidates are required to report their second quarter fundraising through the state Ethics Commission website by July 10.

•Rickenmann is set to take his mayoral campaign on the water. He is hosting a “Rafting with Rickenmann” event Monday afternoon, June 28, where residents can raft with him down the Saluda River. The councilman’s campaign Facebook page indicates there will be more rafting dates later this summer.

•Endorsements continue to trickle in for various candidates. Johnson’s mayoral bid picked up endorsements last week from Perry Bradley and Melvin Whittenburg, from the group Building Better Communities. Meanwhile, Bussells picked up support from Rosewood community member Jared Johnson, who is in the midst of organizing a Black Lives Matter mural in Columbia.

This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 11:14 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.