Parks, police and development: Columbia mayoral hopefuls stump at downtown forum
Columbia city politics went downtown on Tuesday night.
The candidates for Columbia mayor gathered at NoMa Warehouse on Sumter Street for a candidate forum hosted by the Coalition of Downtown Neighborhoods. Four hopefuls — former District 3 Councilman Moe Baddourah, at-large City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, consultant Sam Johnson and District 4 Councilman Daniel Rickenmann — are vying for the city’s top political spot. Current third-term Mayor Steve Benjamin is not seeking re-election this year.
The coalition event was one of the first in-person mayoral forums since the field was formally set earlier this month. The hopefuls discussed a number of topics specific to downtown, including public safety, development of the Main Street corridor north of Elmwood Avenue, homelessness, transit and more.
Johnson, who is a former chief of staff to Benjamin, talked about strategies to reduce crime and gun violence, saying he would work to help fill the nearly 90 vacancies currently at the Columbia Police Department, push for more community policing and support take home cars for officers.
He also said he would focus on retention by introducing 10-year contracts for police officers, which would have intervals for pay increases if officers hit certification and performance benchmarks.
“We have to have a strategy that allows for us to have safety up and down this (downtown) corridor if we want to grow,” Johnson said. “We have fresh ideas like a retention policy that allows us to make sure we have a 10-year contract for our police officers, and we are investing in them. That 10-year contract allows for us to have three-, five- and eight-year benchmarks where we are able to invest in our city.”
Devine, a 19-year member of city council, noted the continued development of the Main Street corridor north of Elmwood, pointing out the investments that have been made there in recent years with new businesses, restaurants and infrastructure.
She said she envisions more development continuing in north Columbia, including retail, green space and expanded farmers markets, but said it will be critical to consider the needs and desires of the neighbors there.
“We have to have a commitment, not just for vision and resources, but also the ... will to get things done,” Devine said. “You have to balance the development with the needs of the neighborhood. You have to understand that, as growth comes, certainly we have to move forward. So, how do we deal with businesses as they come through the Main Street corridor and make sure they are businesses that support our communities and are businesses our community needs?
“We need to make sure the community is a part of that.”
Rickenmann, who has served 12 years on council across two separate stints, said it is imperative to improve the aesthetics of Columbia, especially heavily traveled corridors of the capital city.
“So, beautification is a big problem all the way across the city,” Rickenmann said. “We’ve got grass in the medians, we’ve got unpainted markings, we have trash. We have to change. We have to bring ourselves back into putting pride everywhere. Specifically around here, when we talk about the Elmwood corridor, Elmwood needs to be included (in beautification efforts).”
Rickenmann proposed a public-private partnership to expand the popular “yellow shirt” clean-and-safe team, which currently operates in the Main Street district, to other parts of the downtown area.
Baddourah, who served two terms on city council from 2012 to 2019, said he’d push to get the long talked-about revitalization of Finlay Park completed. Once considered the cornerstone in the city’s park system, Finlay has faded badly in recent years. The city has been circling an $18 million upgrade for two years.
“Let’s fix Finlay Park how it’s supposed to be,” Baddourah said. “It was the jewel of the city at one time, now it’s the nightmare of the city currently. We’ve done a lot of maintenance to that park when I was on council. It’s not helping. We need to renovate the whole thing.”
The city’s elections will be Nov. 2. Other seats up this year include District 1, District 4 and an at-large post.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 1:34 PM.
