Tamika Myers was a dark horse for Richland 1, yet she won with 23,000 votes. Who is she?

Tamika Myers isn’t really a politician. She isn’t a high-profile public figure. She has very little social media presence.

Yet Myers, who considers herself “a concerned parent,” managed to wrangle roughly 23,000 votes Nov. 3 in the Richland 1 school board election, ousting incumbent Jonathan Milling, who is popular in some parts of the district. Myers finished second in the race for two at-large seats.

After The State initially published this article Monday, Myers has filed her statement of economic interest and her campaign finance forms, according to the S.C. State Ethics Commission website. Filing a statement of economic interest, which lists a person’s employment, businesses interests and all gifts he or she receives while in office.

Myers’ profession as listed as “recreation director” for “The Palmetto.” She raised $675 between August and mid-October, according to the filing. She donated $285 to her own campaign, making her her own largest campaign donor. Six other people donated to her campaign who listed their employment as administrative assistants, electrician, “laborer” and two others were retired.

All of her $675 campaign funds were spent at Velvetex, a printing company located on Shop Road, documents show.

She is the owner of Perfect Choice Promotions LLC, which has involved with allegations of overcharging in the Pinewood Lake Park controversy, something originally reported by FITSNews.

Myers is originally from Sumter County and graduated Crestwood High School, said Merrell Johnson, who said he was friends with her when they attended high school together. Johnson is the treasurer of the American Advertising Foundation of the Midlands, and sits on the board of directors for Communities In Schools of the Midlands.

“She didn’t have a flamboyant campaign. She definitely had a grassroots campaign — a lot of face-to-face interaction,” Johnson said.

Myers’ children attend the district and she coaches 4th graders for Palmetto Pressure Girls Basketball, according to Myers’ previous public comments and the basketball league’s website.

While many candidates are eager to respond to interview requests or questionnaires, Myers didn’t respond to The State’s questionnaire of school board candidates, and The State was unable to reach Myers despite attempts, including voicemails, a text message and a Facebook message. When a reporter from The State drove to the address listed on her candidate registration and knocked on the door, nobody answered.

It’s not just The State. When WLTX published its questionnaire for school board candidates, Myers’ section included no quotes, simply saying that Myers had worked for Richland County Parks and Recreation. When a blog posted a story about her, she did not return comment either.

She did, however, participate in the Columbia Urban League Young Professionals forum on Oct. 20. There, she advocated for students to have an option to return to return to in-person classes, holding off on building upgrades to pay for potential budget shortfalls caused by COVID-19, partnering with local organizations and colleges to provide mental health care to students, boosting community support for young children in lower-performing school districts and more.

Like many parents during the coronavirus pandemic, Myers has tried to home school her children, but feels her kids are missing out on having a professional teacher in the room.

“My child is actually about to be a whole year left behind. I’m a concerned parent and I don’t know what to do next (now) that she’s so far behind. So there’s other things that we have to look at other than COVID-19.”

The panel discussion was one of Myers’ few public appearances, and it’s something Johnson said paid off for her.

“She told me after the (election) that she credits her victory to the panel discussion,” Johnson said.

Outsider

Despite garnering 22,930 votes, Myers is all but unknown among the district’s school board members.

School board members Beatrice King, Lila Anna Sauls, and outgoing member Jonathan Milling said they knew almost nothing about Myers, other than tidbits from interactions at a candidate forum.

“She’s a total unknown to me,” King told The State.

Angela Clyburn, who finished first in the Nov. 3 Richland One at-large election, also said she did not know much about Myers.

Even Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a Columbia stalwart and one of the most powerful elected officials in the area, has never heard of her, he told The State.

For some, the lack of conventional political exposure struck them as odd.

“It’s very puzzling to me,” said John Adams, who ran for a Richland 1 at-large seat. “Nobody saw much of her other than the zoom panels she attended.”

“My interaction with her is that she’s a parent who is concerned. She’s very heartfelt,” Adams said. “I think she’s a good person, It’s just odd, her ability to get 23,000 votes.”

The campaign and the voters

In nearly every area where Angela Clyburn received the majority of votes, Myers was a close second (voters could select two candidates).

Myers was elected by consistently racking up the second-most votes in the same areas as Clyburn. Those areas varied geographically from Harbison to Hopkins to the Garners Ferry Road area and Monticello Road, according to SCVotes.org.

Myers had the most votes in only one of the district’s 96 precincts. That was Ward 8, which has Benedict College at the center, where she beat Clyburn by one vote.

Outside the areas where Clyburn won, Myers finished, at best, as a distant third. Those precincts, which include Satchel Ford, Meadowfield, Pennington and the Shandon neighborhood, voted overwhelmingly for Milling.

When a reporter from The State drove through the Garner’s Ferry/Lower Richland area Monday, he didn’t see any campaign signs for Myers. However, a picture published by FITSNews shows a green campaign sign supporting Myers.

This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 4:01 PM.