Columbia mayoral candidates trade barbs over possible health officer position
Two candidates for Columbia mayor traded barbs Monday about whether the city should create a chief health officer position, just a day before that item is set to be discussed by Columbia City Council.
At-large Columbia City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, one of four candidates seeking the mayoral seat, indicated in a campaign email Monday morning she wouldn’t be supporting the creation of the position.
“We cannot overextend our resources to hire a chief health officer when we already have the assets to fight the COVID-19 virus,” Devine wrote in the email, later adding, “As a solutions oriented leader, I believe being a thoughtful steward of public dollars is paramount and creating new unnecessary positions ... is wasteful.”
Devine noted she has been making regular radio appearances to answer questions about the pandemic, held town halls on the matter and partnered with health agencies on mobile vaccination units in the community.
Sam Johnson, former chief of staff for current Mayor Steve Benjamin, also is running for mayor. For months he has been calling for the city to create the position of a chief health officer. Such an officer would head up various health initiatives in the city, from dealing with pandemics to helping spearhead efforts against a number of diseases, such as AIDS, HIV or diabetes.
City Councilman Ed McDowell, who has endorsed Johnson’s campaign, has been advocating for the position to be created. It is listed as a discussion item on Tuesday’s city council agenda.
Johnson took aim at Devine’s campaign email in a Monday afternoon release.
“People are dying,” Johnson wrote, in reference to the pandemic. “Claiming that hiring a doctor is a waste of money isn’t just absurd. It’s irresponsible.” He added that not hiring a chief health officer would be like “saying we fight fires better without a fire chief.”
Mayoral candidate and current District 4 City Councilman Daniel Rickenmann has previously said he would not support a chief health officer position.
“The reality is we are having trouble fixing potholes and water leaks, how are we going to take on a health officer?” Rickenmann said in a previous story from The State. “That’s why we have health experts like DHEC, the hospital systems and medical universities. That is not our role in the community.”
Moe Baddourah, the former District 3 city councilman who also is running for mayor this year, said he doesn’t see why the city would need to hire a chief health officer.
“I’ve been watching the council meetings, and it looks like they are getting health updates from all the officials around them,” Baddourah said. “Are you telling me that the mayor wouldn’t be able to make a decision based on the information they get from all the health departments and experts around us? I just don’t understand why we need another position.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 2:30 PM.
