Herbert wins in Columbia City Council District 1. At-large race headed to runoff
Columbia’s most contested city council race will be headed for a runoff, while two other seats have been decided.
Aditi Bussells finished first in the seven-candidate pack for a Columbia City Council at-large seat with 5,841 votes (32%), followed by Tyler Bailey, who has 4,689 votes (25.7%). Because neither received more than 50% of the vote, the two will face off in a runoff election on Nov. 16.
“Voters in all corners of Columbia have made it clear that they want safe neighborhoods, family-supporting job opportunities, better infrastructure and total accountability in government,” Bussells said in a statement that was posted to social media Tuesday.
Bailey said he felt good about being in the runoff.
”I’m humbled to have received the support that I received across the city, from Greenview all the way to Kilbourne,” Bailey said. “Anybody who voted for me, we are humbled and honored to have their vote. I feel like we are in a really good position heading into the runoff and I look forward to garnering more support and winning it on Nov. 16.”
In the District 1 election, Tina Herbert started off with an early lead and remained ahead with 1,864 votes (53.9%)
Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine has held the at-large seat for nearly two decades, but she ran for mayor this year. The candidates vying to fill the seat were Bailey, an attorney; Bauer, an IT professional; Bussells, a health researcher; attorney John Crangle; environmental lobbyist Deitra Matthews, photographer Aaron Smalls and activist John Tyler.
In District 1, Sam Davis has been the council representative for 23 years. But with his coming retirement, two hopefuls were seeking the seat: Herbert, an attorney who once led the city’s Office of Business Opportunities, and Christa Williams, an officer with the South Carolina Department of Corrections and member of the South Carolina Army National Guard.
The last time there was an at-large election for Columbia City Council, in 2019, voters cast 10,741 ballots, according to archived election results.
And in District 4, in the northeast part of the city, businessman and former state Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor was the only candidate on the ballot, and was cruising to victory on Tuesday night with 4,867 votes. Election officials reported 153 write-in votes in District 4.
The election is set to be certified at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Here are the final, unofficial poll results.
At-large
Tyler Bailey: 4,689 (25.65%)
Heather Bauer 3,559 (19.47%)
Aditi Bussells 5,841 (31.95%)
John Crangle 766 (4.19%)
Deitra Matthews 2,047 (11.2%)
Aaron Smalls 497 (2.72%)
John Tyler 772 (4.22%)
Write-in: 111 (.61%)
District 1
Tina Herbert: 1,864 (53.89%)
Christa Williams: 1,571 (45.42%)
Write-in: 24 (.69%)
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 7:43 PM.
