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At the forum, the ten candidates for Columbia City Council had many disagreements, but they all agreed on one thing- public safety is one of Columbia\u2019s biggest issues.<\/p>\n
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Nine of ten candidates who are seeking to win a four-year term on Columbia City Council debated issues of public safety, economic development, and public services at a forum Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The debate at the Richland County Public Library on Assembly Street, was sponsored by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and took place a little more than a month before voters will cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 general municipal election.<\/p>\n
The No. 1 problem facing the city right now is public safety, said Howard Duvall, an incumbent council member who currently holds the at-large seat.<\/p>\n
“I think all of the ten candidates agree that public safety is the number one issue facing us. We have a police department that is down 80 slots,” he said said.<\/p>\n
Duvall, who was first elected to city council in 2015, faces a trio of young competitors in his bid for re-election, including Dylan Gunnels, age 26, Sara Middleton, 27 and Amadeo Geere, 31. The at-large seat is a citywide vote.<\/p>\n
Three of five council positions will be determined on the November ballot, including the at-large seat, District 2 seat, and District 3 seat.<\/p>\n
Ed McDowell Jr., a former pastor, is seeking re-election in District 2, which is defined by historic African-American neighborhoods in the northern and central areas of the city. McDowell faces two challengers, including Catherine Fleming Bruce, a media consultant, activist, and author, and Anna Fonseca, a resident of the Governor’s Hill neighborhood in Columbia.<\/p>\n
In District 3, incumbent Moe Baddourah will be challenged by John Loveday, the 34-year old principal of S.C Whitmore School, an online charter school, and 38-year old Will Brennan, who is the owner of Brennan Works design and construction company. Baddourah was the only candidate who was not present.<\/p>\n
In the debate’s opening remarks, Mark James, the chair of the Columbia Chamber Public Policy Committee, expressed Baddourah’s regrets for not being able to attend.<\/p>\n
All three candidates challenging Duvall for the at-large seat are running for office for the first time, and each agreed that change was needed for Columbia to increase economic development.<\/p>\n
“We need to start supporting small businesses rather than putting red tape on them,” Geere said.<\/p>\n
The problem starts with taxes, according to Middleton. “Until we fix that problem, economic development and investors won’t come into the city,” she said.<\/p>\n
Bruce said that her biggest motivation for running for office was the Allen-Benedict Court public housing crisis which left two dead and 411 residents displaced after a dangerous gas leak in January.<\/p>\n
Housing is one of the many public services that is lagging in Columbia, which falls under a broader category of ‘equal access’ services. Equal access is a general term to describe public transportation, infrastructure, food insecurity, and safe and affordable housing. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The candidates want to speed up the response time for city services, such as water and trash and recycling. Loveday referred to a recent story where the city failed to replace his broken trash can for three months.<\/p>\n
“It’s no wonder why we struggle with different areas that are more complex. We have to get our services right,” he said.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ custom_padding__hover=”|||” custom_padding=”|||”][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” align_tablet=”center” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/CouncilP3w_LW.jpg”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
Mark James, the chair of the Columbia Chamber Public Policy Committee, was the moderator of the issues forum.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” align_tablet=”center” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/CouncilP4w_LW.jpg”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
Ed McDowell Jr., right, was a preacher before first being elected to city council in 2016. McDowell lives in the Historic Waverly neighborhood, which is located in Columbia\u2019s District 2.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.29.1″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” align_tablet=”center” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/CouncilP2w_LW.jpg”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”3.29.1″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n
Anna Fonseca, a resident of the Governer\u2019s Hill neighborhood in Columbia, is running against incumbent Ed McDowell Jr. and activist Catherine Fleming Bruce for the second district city council seat.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.29.3″ src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Council_G1_LW.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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