Columbia election notes: Businesswoman, former candidate endorses in at-large race
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Columbia City Council Elections 2021
Before you cast your ballot in Columbia City Council elections this fall, be sure to check out the candidates running to represent you.
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A Columbia businesswoman who nearly won a seat on city council two years ago has made an endorsement in this year’s at-large Council race.
Sara Middleton, an attorney whose family owns several restaurants and businesses in Columbia’s revitalized 1600 block of Main Street, said she is endorsing public health researcher Dr. Aditi Bussells in the at-large race for city council.
“As a local business owner, I know firsthand the need for qualified and responsive leaders on the city council,” Middleton said in a Twitter post from the Bussells campaign. “We need leaders who produce results, not excuses, to benefit all corners of our community.”
Among the businesses operated by the Middleton family in Columbia are The Grand on Main and The Main Course. The family also is planning a $34 million brewery on north Main Street and a barbecue and oyster restaurant in the 1600 block of Main.
Middleton put up a serious challenge to incumbent at-large Councilman Howard Duvall in the 2019 city elections. She pushed the race to a runoff, where Duvall ended up winning by less than 150 votes.
Seven candidates are filed to run in the at-large race, including attorney Tyler Bailey, IT professional Heather Bauer, Bussells, attorney John Crangle, environmental lobbyist Deitra Stover Matthews, photographer Aaron Smalls and activist John Tyler.
The Columbia Coalition of Downtown Neighborhoods on Tuesday hosted a candidate forum for the hopefuls running for mayor. Four people — former District 3 Councilman Moe Baddourah, at-large City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, consultant Sam Johnson and District 4 Councilman Daniel Rickenmann — are seeking the city’s top political spot. Current third-term Mayor Steve Benjamin is not seeking re-election this year. To read about the coalition’s mayoral discussion, click here.
Several nonprofit organizations, including Food Share SC, the Food Chain Workers Alliance and others, have been hosting city candidate forums this week on issues dealing with food insecurity and access in Columbia. On Tuesday night, there was a forum with candidates in the at-large race, as well as businessman Joe Taylor, the lone candidate in the District 4 race. You can view that forum, which was moderated by WIS anchorwoman Judi Gatson, on FoodShare SC’s Facebook page.
At 6 p.m. Thursday, the food organizations will host another forum, this one for the mayoral candidates, as well as the candidates in the District 1 race. Attorney Tina Herbert and state Department of Corrections officer Christa Williams are running in District 1. The Thursday forum will be at the Gable Oaks Apartments at 901 Colleton St., and can be viewed on FoodShare’s Facebook page.
Though he is the only candidate in the District 4 race, Taylor has vowed to keep campaigning through the fall. And he has continued to fire off ideas on his campaign’s social media accounts. On Aug. 19, Taylor, the former state Secretary of Commerce, suggested the two largest school districts in Richland County should be combined in an effort to save money and streamline services.
“It is time to begin the discussion on merging (Richland School) Districts 1 and 2 with the goal to get to a single district like Greenville and Charleston,” Taylor wrote. “We must end the duplication of services which, in return, will put more money in the classroom and begin to lower property taxes for renters and attract new opportunities for our students.”
The Columbia municipal elections will be Nov. 2. Runoffs will be on Nov. 16, if necessary.
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 3:42 PM.
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