Columbia election notes: Battiste backs Devine; candidates ramp up campaign efforts

A Columbia mayoral candidate is getting a boost from a former member of the Columbia City Council.

At-large City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who is running for mayor this year, is touting the endorsement of Columbia attorney Luther Battiste, who was elected to Columbia City Council in 1983 and served until 1998. Battiste, a founding member of the Johnson, Toal and Battiste law firm, was one of the first Black council members elected in Columbia since the Reconstruction era.

“(Devine) is a person who is a thinker, a listener and she’s a doer,” Battiste said in a July 1 video posted to Devine’s campaign Twitter account. “She’s competent and she’s experienced. I believe, at this point and time in the city of Columbia, we need somebody who is experienced to do the job. Tameika has paid her dues and she’s labored in the vineyard.”

Devine’s campaign said in a July 6 email that she has, thus far, been endorsed by more than 200 community members, including state Sen. Mia McLeod, a Richland County Democrat, and former state Democratic Chairwoman Carol Fowler.

•Businessman and developer Joe Taylor continues to rake in campaign cash for his run for the city council seat in District 4. On Tuesday, several days ahead of the July 10 state Ethics Commission deadline, Taylor released his fundraising numbers for the second quarter.

Taylor, the former state Secretary of Commerce, raised $66,535 in the April-through-June frame, bringing his total raised for the election cycle to $157,620, per Ethics Commission records. Taylor is thus far the only candidate to announce a run in District 4, which is in the northeast part of the city.

Some of Taylor’s second quarter donors included businessman and former USC quarterback (and longtime USC football radio color commentator) Tommy Suggs, state Building Industry Association chief Earl McLeod, and the Vista’s Blue Marlin restaurant.

•Mayoral candidate Sam Johnson has been hosting community discussions, including one on June 29 at Aloft Hotel in the Vista, in which he has been talking about various initiatives in his campaign. Johnson also has begun rolling out #StandWithSam endorsements from residents in Columbia neighborhoods.

“I think Sam is going to be a great leader in this city,” Josh Shelton, a data analyst from Melrose Heights, said in a July 5 video on Johnson’s social media channels. “He brings young, progressive ideals to this city. I think he is what is right for Columbia’s next step.”

•District 4 City Councilman and mayoral candidate Daniel Rickenmann continues to focus his attention on the business community, and had a campaign event recently at Hood Construction, where he met with contractors and developers, per a post on his mayoral campaign Facebook page.

Rickenmann also hosted a “Rafting with Rickenmann” event June 29 in which he invited residents to go rafting with him down the Saluda River. He has set dates for two more of the rafting events: July 18 and Aug. 9.

•Activist John Tyler, one of five candidates who has announced a campaign for an at-large seat on City Council, is set to speak at the Our Voices Matter Women’s Engagement Luncheon on July 24 at VFW Post 641 on S. Beltline Boulevard. Tyler, who works for a cosmetology school and at a local restaurant, is a part of the One Common Cause Community Control Initiative social and racial justice organization.

• As the Aug. 2 opening of filing approaches for Columbia’s elections, three candidates have announced campaigns for mayor: Rickenmann, Devine and Johnson.

In District 4, only Taylor has announced a campaign, so far.

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

And the field stands at five for the at-large seat. The announced candidates so far are attorney Tyler Bailey, business owner Heather Bauer, public health researcher Dr. Aditi Bussells, environmental lobbyist Deitra Matthews and the aforementioned Tyler.

The city’s elections will be Nov. 2, with runoffs on Nov. 16, if necessary.

This story was originally published July 7, 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.