Columbia election notes: Mayor’s race ramps up with a little more than a month left
There is just more than a month to go before the city of Columbia’s municipal elections, and the four candidates for mayor are ramping up their campaigns and bolstering their support.
Former District 3 City Councilman Moe Baddourah; at-large City Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine; Sam Johnson, former chief of staff to Mayor Steve Benjamin; and District 4 City Councilman Daniel Rickenmann are battling for the capital city’s top political spot. Benjamin is not seeking re-election after serving three terms.
The election is Nov. 2, with runoffs on Nov. 16, if necessary.
Devine picked up endorsements this week from 18 Columbia neighborhood association presidents, she announced on Twitter. Among the group or endorsers were Historic Waverly’s Frank Houston, Earlewood’s Emily Burn, Ellen Cooper from the Coalition of Downtown Neighborhoods and Regina Williams from Booker Washington Heights. Devine announced the endorsements on Sept. 28, which was National Good Neighbor Day.
Johnson has formally gotten the backing of the Columbia Firefighters Association, a group that represents 200 of Columbia’s firefighters. The same group endorsed Benjamin back in 2010 during his first run for mayor. “I think he’d be willing to try different things to make things better for us,” association president Victor Kemper said. “And ‘better for us’ means staffing on the trucks, that means expanding service if we need to, that means working with the county, because the fire service is consolidated with the county.” Read The State’s coverage of that endorsement here.
Rickenmann is continuing to push for reform to Columbia’s tax structure after a 2020 study showed the capital city area had the highest property taxes in South Carolina among large metros, which has stifled growth. In a campaign Facebook post, Rickenmann noted a Columbia City Council committee recently heard from three economists who analyzed the study. “All three economists agreed how important collaboration with (Richland) County and the (Richland County) school districts would be in enacting a solution,” Rickenmann wrote, also insisting that solving the tax issue is “absolutely necessary if we are to put Columbia back on a path for the sustained economic growth of the region and all its citizens for the future.”
Baddourah has released his first campaign video for the 2021 race, which highlights the gas leak deaths of two men at the Allen Benedict Court public housing complex in 2019. Baddourah noted that he called for the resignation of Columbia Housing Authority officials following the incident at the now-shuttered complex.
Want to hear what the candidates have to say about various topics? There are a host of candidate forums on the horizon.
The Columbia Urban League Young Professionals will have a virtual forum forum for the at-large Columbia City Council race at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30. Candidates in that tilt include attorney Tyler Bailey, IT professional Heather Bauer, public health researcher Dr. Aditi Bussells, attorney John Crangle, environmental lobbyist Deitra Stover Matthews, photographer Aaron Smalls and activist John Tyler. The forum will be streamed on the Columbia Urban League Young Professionals Facebook page.
The Midlands chapter of the Sierra Club of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina Sierra Club Coalition will host virtual forums for the mayoral, at-large, District 1 and District 4 Columbia races. The key topics will be the environment, justice and equity. Per a Facebook post for the virtual events, the mayoral forum is at 6 p.m. Oct. 3, the at-large forum is at 6 p.m. Oct. 5, and the District 1 and District 4 forum is at 6 p.m. Oct. 10.
The Columbia Chamber will host an issues forum with the candidates for the at-large seat and the District 1 seat at 8 a.m. Oct. 5 at the Richland County Library. The candidates for the District 1 seat are attorney Tina Herbert and state Department of Corrections employee Christa Williams. To register to attend the Chamber forum in-person, click here. And to register to watch virtually, click here.
And The State will host a virtual forum for the mayoral candidates at 7 p.m. Oct. 6. The event will be moderated by The State’s Opinion Editor, Trudi Gilfillian. Candidates will answer questions in several categories, including public safety, economic development and equal opportunity. The event can be viewed several places, including on Facebook or YouTube.
