Can Rickenmann build consensus after a rough-and-tumble Columbia mayoral race?
As he stood on stage Tuesday night at The Main Course restaurant in downtown Columbia, bathed in a blue and purplish light beaming from a rock band’s setup, Daniel Rickenmann struck a tone of hopefulness just moments after being elected Columbia’s 37th mayor.
“I want to tell everybody, look, this is about one Columbia,” Rickenmann said. “This is about us coming together, and this is about us moving forward, together. The only way this works is together. We are not divided, we are united. So let’s get out there, work together, and create a great opportunity for the future.”
But to build that cohesive vibe, the mayor-elect has his work cut out for him.
Rickenmann, who has been a city councilman for 12 years, defeated at-large Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine in a tight Nov. 16 runoff election. Rickenmann nabbed 52% of the votes, while Devine, a two-decade council veteran, got 48%.
The race between two longtime colleagues turned into a political knife fight in the closing weeks. While Columbia City Council seats are nonpartisan, the race became definitively partisan in the end. The state Republican Party filled mailboxes with fliers in support of Rickenmann’s efforts, while the local and national Democratic Party rallied to Devine’s cause. Former Democratic President Barack Obama even recorded a message urging city voters to go with Devine.
Ultimately, voters chose Rickenmann. After 30 years in which the city has been led by Democratic mayors Bob Coble and Steve Benjamin, a Republican is set to take the helm. Rickenmann, a businessman, also is the first non-lawyer to lead the capital city in at least 40 years.
In the aftermath of the runoff, top Republicans have lauded Rickenmann’s victory, including U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who on Wednesday afternoon tweeted, “Congrats to Councilman Rickenmann on winning a stunning victory in the Columbia Mayor’s race. I look forward to working with the Mayor-elect to better the Capital City.”
But with the election now in the rear view mirror, it remains to be seen how Rickenmann’s brand of politics will play as he transitions into governing the capital city.
‘Governing is bringing people together’
While party posturing swirled around the mayor’s race, in practice Rickenmann hasn’t had a particularly hyper-partisan reputation at City Hall during his two terms as an at-large councilman and one term as a councilman in District 4 in the northeast part of the city.
Certainly, he at times has strayed from his colleagues on the mostly Democratic council, like when he voted against the city’s initial stay-at-home and mask ordinances at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But he later voted in favor of extensions of the mask ordinances, and he supported the city’s vaccine mandate for employees.
Coble, who did not publicly endorse anyone in the mayor’s race, was Columbia’s mayor for 20 years, from 1990 to 2010. His time as mayor overlapped with Rickenmann’s time as an at-large council member. Coble described Rickenmann as a “ good listener,” and offered insight on how his former colleague could segue from a bare-knuckle brawl of a political race to leading the capital city’s governing body.
“I think you need to reach out and build consensus,” Coble said. “Most of the issues you deal with are not partisan. In fact, on City Council I don’t know that there are very many that are. Elections are tough, and it is a contact sport. But governing is bringing people together.
“I think the thing for him to do is to set an agenda and work toward achieving that and bringing as many people along, together. I think that’s something Daniel will do, and has done in the past.”
Coble recalled a key moment after he was first elected mayor in a tough race back in 1990. He said he visited Kirk Finlay, who had been Columbia’s mayor from 1978 to 1986, and talked with him about the transition to mayoral leadership.
“I went over to his office and sat down and got his perspective on things and asked for (Finlay’s) support,” Coble said. “I always viewed that as something that helped me. I reached out and did it in a very personal way. I always attributed that morning as a very important day.”
Rickenmann told The State he has upcoming meetings scheduled with Coble and Benjamin, as well as other community leaders. He also said he has already been on phone calls with City Manager Teresa Wilson, getting prepped for his new role. New council members and Rickenmann will be sworn-in Jan. 4.
Rickenmann also said he is putting together a community committee to help with the transition to his new role, and that Democratic state Sen. Darrell Jackson will be helping bring that group together.
“We are reaching out to folks in neighborhoods and getting people involved,” Rickenmann said. “We are going to pull everybody together. I’m serious about being one Columbia.”
At-large Columbia City Councilman Howard Duvall has spent a lifetime in city government. He is the former mayor of Cheraw, the former longtime executive director of the state Municipal Association, and is in his second term in a citywide council seat in Columbia.
Duvall and Rickenmann have not always seen eye-to-eye. In 2019, shortly before a hotly contested council election between Duvall and challenger Sara Middleton, Rickenmann endorsed Middleton. This year, Duvall strongly backed Devine in the mayoral race.
But Duvall also is a pragmatist, and said he sees the critical importance of building rapport among what will be a new look City Council. Three new members are joining the seven-member body: attorney Tina Herbert in District 1, businessman (and Rickenmann ally) Joe Taylor in District 4, and public health researcher Dr. Aditi Bussells in an at-large seat.
Duvall said Rickenmann’s long background at city hall will help him get a solid start in his new role.
“The first thing we have to do is get over the election,” Duvall said. “It will help that Daniel has more than a decade on council. He comes with background knowledge on most of the subjects we discuss at the council level. We’ve got to get the new people into the fold and get them up and running on what decisions the council had made in the last few years about the direction of the city, and see if we still have a majority of the council that wants to move in that direction.
“Or, do we want to move in a different direction?”
Rickenmann said, as his mayoral term nears, he wants to put together a strategic plan that council can execute, with objective milestones.
“We are not going into it open-ended,” Rickenmann said. “We want to do something where we can hold ourselves accountable and our partners accountable, and really show success.”
Navigating rough waters
It seems certain Rickenmann will bring a business-oriented bent to the mayoral position. He played that angle heavily in his campaign, and was endorsed by the Central Carolina Realtors Association, supported by various bar owners and had fundraisers at construction companies.
He also has pushed hard on the idea of reforming the local tax structure. A $25,000 study commissioned by the city in 2020 at the behest of Rickenmann showed that the Columbia area had the highest taxes in the state among large metros, and suggested taxes have stifled growth here.
If Rickenmann is to make headway on that issue, it will take considerable diplomacy, as he would likely need buy-in from state legislators, the largely Democratic Richland County Council and the local public school boards.
“That’s going to be an extremely big lift, but it’s a lift we need to start trying to accomplish,” Duvall said. “Daniel brings some expertise because he is sort of a financial expert. He was the one who wanted us to do the (tax) study, which we did, which points out where the problems are. Solving those problems won’t be easy, and I hope that he can come up with a fresh approach.”
Ed McDowell knows a few things about making his way through the political landscape. He has represented Columbia City Council’s largely African American District 2 for two terms, and he spent a career in a line of work that can sometimes require more delicate diplomacy than politics: He was a pastor in the Methodist church for 40 years.
McDowell endorsed Sam Johnson, a former Benjamin aide, in the run-up to the Nov. 2 mayoral election. He didn’t make an endorsement in the Nov. 16 runoff, though he said he voted for Devine. But he was quick to note that he’s had a good working relationship with Rickenmann during their time together on council, and that he thinks the mayor-elect could be effective at working his way through tough political spots.
“I think Daniel has the ability to do that,” McDowell said. “I think he is able to navigate his way through rough waters. ... Daniel, in his (Nov. 16) acceptance speech, spoke several times about being one Columbia. I think in order for us to achieve that idea, we need everybody at the table.”
Rickenmann said his city political ethos has often leaned toward trying to work out problems and make a deal.
“My style has always been sitting at the table, listening, understanding, then trying to make things work,” he said. “I’m a collaborator. I’m not one-sided, and I don’t see things only my way. I’ve made a lifetime of friendships and business relationships and, quite frankly, have served 12 years that way.”
The State reached out to Benjamin for comment on this story, but was unable to connect with him. But the third-term mayor issued a statement Wednesday congratulating Rickenmann and vowed to help with his transition into the mayor’s seat.
“Our citizens have gone to the polls and have spoken, and I want to assure Daniel that we look forward to working with him on ensuring a seamless transition into all of the responsibilities that go with shepherding our great city of Columbia,” Benjamin wrote. “I know he will be committed to building on our collective successes and achievements and the vision of OneColumbia.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
