Columbia councilman Baddourah unchallenged; District 2, citywide races draw multiple contenders

Columbia’s District 3 representative, Moe Baddourah, will have no opposition in this fall’s otherwise crowded city election field.

When filing for the Nov. 3 races for three seats on City Council closed at noon Friday, Councilman Cameron Runyan found himself in the most contested race. Five candidates are seeking to unseat the first-term, citywide representative.

The contenders for Runyan’s at-large seat on the seven-member council are:

▪  John Adams, a Realtor and son of former Mayor Patton Adams.

▪  Joe Azar, a businessman and perennial City Council candidate.

▪  Howard Duvall, the retired director of the Municipal Association of South Carolina.

▪  Nammu Muhammad, an activist and former council candidate.

▪  Andy Smith, director of Main Street’s Nickelodeon theater and a political newcomer.

Five people have filed to fill the open District 2 seat being vacated by Councilman Brian DeQuincey Newman. They are:

▪  Aaron Bishop, a Richland 1 school board member whose home was annexed into the district just before he announced his candidacy.

▪  Katie Fletcher Bolden, a member of the Midlands Technical College board for 14 years, and a resident of the Belvedere neighborhood.

▪  Doretha Bull, a retired social worker and former Richland 1 board and state superintendent of education candidate.

▪  Alexena Furgess, a neighborhood activist who ran for the same seat in 2010.

▪  Edward McDowell Jr., a pastor with ties to former councilman E.W. Cromartie, who left the seat he held for years when he was convicted of tax evasion, opening the seat for Newman’s election in 2010.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 2:15 PM.