What are some top issues for Columbia City Council District 1 candidates?

For nearly a quarter century, the Columbia City Council District 1 seat in mostly African American north Columbia has been held by one person.

That’s about to change.

Two hopefuls — attorney Tina Herbert and state Department of Corrections officer Christa Williams — are set to square off in the Nov. 2 city election for the District 1 seat. That post has been held for 23 years by Sam Davis, who announced earlier this year he would not run for re-election.

When stacked up against a four-candidate race for Columbia mayor and a seven-candidate race for a citywide at-large seat, the District 1 race has been the quietest of the city contests. But it’s an important race, coming at a time when there are divergent factors at play in the district. On one hand, there are swaths of the district that have have struggled with poverty and food insecurity issues. On the other, there are areas just north of Elmwood Avenue that have been revitalized with new restaurants, bars, coffee shops and streetscape work.

Williams, a captain at the state Department of Corrections and a member of the South Carolina Army National Guard, is running for elected office for the first time. According to her latest fundraising filings with the South Carolina Ethics Commission, she’s raised $8,655 for the election cycle, and that includes a $2,104 personal loan to the campaign.

As she’s canvassed north Columbia in recent months, she said an issue that has come to the forefront for her is the appearance of the district and the need for beautification. Part of addressing that, she said, is hiring more people to fill vacancies in the city’s sanitation and forestry divisions.

“Within my first 100 days in office I want to take laptops into the community and get District 1 residents who need jobs, ex-offenders who need employment, who may not even know the city offers employment to them, to fill those vacancies,” she told The State. “Hopefully we can get people who really need the jobs and will stay in the jobs.”

Herbert, an attorney with the firm Mickle & Bass and the former head of the city’s Office of Business Opportunities, is also seeking elected office for the first time. Davis has endorsed her campaign. Ethics Commission records show she has raked in $68,000 in campaign contributions through the whole election cycle. District 2 Columbia City Councilman Ed McDowell was among her recent donors.

Herbert said economic development has emerged as a key issue for her as she has met with district residents through the summer and fall. And she stressed that, while jobs are critical, they aren’t the only part of the equation that is needed to improve the district. She said she would be hyper-focused on bringing attention and dollars to north Columbia.

“Livable wages, infrastructure, activities for youth, they are all a form of investment that we need to have to bring the district to a different level,” Herbert said. “The city has to give it the necessary attention that it needs.

“The city can’t solve all of the community’s issues. I think going forward it should be a combination of the city addressing infrastructure issues in a more timely fashion and a more comprehensive fashion, as well as community groups and neighborhoods working together culturally to deal with issues.”

Herbert and Williams each recently answered questionnaires from The State. To check them out, click here.