John Adams: Columbia needs … leaders we can trust

I am running for the Columbia City Council at-large seat because I love Columbia. I was born and raised here. I enjoy visiting other South Carolina cities, but I love living in Columbia. Columbia is a family town with great people who help our neighbors when they’re down. Columbia is not and never will be Greenville, Charlotte, Charleston or Atlanta. Columbia can be better. We must cultivate and grow our city together and stop worrying about what other cities are doing.

I am running to continue the tireless and selfless work my father, T. Patton Adams, did as a councilman and mayor for 14 years. As a child to an adult, I watched my father work hard for something bigger them himself. I can’t think of a better role model to emulate.

I am running for City Council to bring back trust in our leadership. The current administration has made decisions that will affect us negatively for years, ignored the will of the citizens and arrogantly spent our money on pet projects in astronomical amounts our city has never seen before, all as our police force and fire department struggle to keep officers, recruit new good officers and stay up to date on proper equipment. We have a failing water and sewer system that was tested to the brink during the historic rainfall at the beginning of October. Our leaders failed us by taking funds meant to serve our citizens with clean water.

A strong infrastructure is vital to Columbia and is the foundation on which our neighborhoods and businesses, retail and commercial, will grow and expand. Without a reliable infrastructure, which city leadership must assure to it’s citizens, we will be destined for mediocrity. That is unacceptable.

I envision Columbia as a great city with unlimited dynamic potential and wonderful citizens who deserve a city that will respect them, take care of their needs, and be good stewards of their funds. We do not have that right now. I want to give my children and yours a Columbia that is better, more efficient, more innovative, more business friendly, cleaner, richer, vibrant, artistic, and safer, so that future leaders can put their own stamp on Columbia instead of cleaning up the mess of past administrations like we must do.

If I am elected on Tuesday, I will be a guy who thinks on his own, who is not a puppet for the mayor or any special interest group, like my opponents. I will be a critical leader who is not scared to have difficult conversations and speak out against bad policy, yet who is energetic and positive about Columbia’s future and the needs of all Columbians. I will be a common-sense council member who will seek the professionals for advice but will vote for the good of all Columbia. I do not expect everyone to agree with me all the time, but I will never be a typical fake, self-serving, sell-out politician.

I humbly ask for your vote on Tuesday.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 4:46 PM.