Bailey wins tight fundraising battle for Columbia council race. See how much came in

Chris Trainor
·2 min read

Attorney Tyler Bailey finished atop a tight campaign fundraising battle in the third quarter as the election for a seat on Columbia City Council is just a week away.

Bailey is one of seven hopefuls vying for an at-large seat on council. The seat is held by Tameika Isaac Devine, who is running for mayor this year. The city election is Nov. 2, with runoffs on Nov. 16, if necessary.

According to records from the South Carolina Ethics Commission, Bailey raised $47,493 for the most recent filing period, and $103,903 for the election cycle. He had about $61,000 in campaign cash on hand.

Some of Bailey’s donors were Democratic state Sen. Darrell Jackson, of Hopkins, former Columbia Mayor Bob Coble and attorney Bakari Sellers.

Deitra Matthews, an environmental lobbyist, brought in $42,845 in the most recent period, and has raised $75,079 for the election cycle. Ethics records showed her with $54,548 in cash on hand.

Donors on Matthews’ list included Democratic state Sen. Mike Fanning, of Great Falls, former Richland County Councilwoman Kit Smith, and 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Marguerite Willis.

Dr. Aditi Bussells, a public health researcher, raised $36,046 in the recent filing period, per the ethics commission. She has raised $99,858 for the election cycle, and has $59,464 in cash on hand.

Among Bussells’ donors were Columbia nonprofit mainstay Anita Floyd, developer Tom Prioreschi, and the downtown Aloft Hotel.

Heather Bauer, an IT professional and a 2020 Democratic state House candidate in District 75, raised $11,990 in the most recent period, and has brought in $37,201 for the election cycle. She has $9,402 in campaign funds on hand.

Donors listed on Bauer’s file for the recent quarter include former Columbia City Councilwoman Anne Sinclair, Columbia City Councilman Howard Duvall, and Richland County Councilwoman Allison Terracio.

Ethics filings show that photographer Aaron Smalls raised $9,143 for the election cycle, which included about $7,200 in personal loans to his campaign. Among his donors is Hamilton Grant, who was a Richland County Council candidate in District 8 in 2020.

Attorney and professor John Crangle has reported $5,530 in campaign dollars to the ethics commission, as of Oct. 25. All of that was a personal loan to his own campaign.

And John Tyler, an activist and cashier, does not list any campaign donations or expenditures on his state ethics filing.