South Carolina’s capital city, Columbia, has a new mayor … and he’s black! The city, along with the state overall, has been dogged by accusations of systemic racism down through the years, but it now has the chance to spruce up its image.
On Tuesday, the Richland County Election Commission confirmed lawyer and lobbyist, Steve Benjamin, as the first black mayor, winning a runoff election with 10,784 votes, or 56 percent. He defeated City Councilman Kirkman Finlay III. A second African American, Army Lt. Col. Gary Myers, Jr., was also in the running during the general election.
Benjamin is a 40-year-old father of two whose political experience includes leading the state’s Department of Probation, Pardon and Parole for three years. He will replace Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, who decided last year to step aside after 20 years in office.
The election didn’t go off without a hitch, though. Early on in the contest, racists defaced City Hall in Columbia by spray painting racist graffiti on the side of the building. The slur said “No ‘N-words’ for mayor … die!”
Other black — or white — eyes for the state include, back in June, Columbia resident and prominent GOP activist Rusty DePass comparing Michelle Obama to an escaped gorilla; Congressman Joe Wilson rudely interrupting President Obama addressing the nation on health care, which some considered racially motivated; the I-95 incident in which a white state trooper used excessive force in arresting a black Florida woman for speeding; and the state’s refusal to remove a Confederate battle flag that adorned the state capital, offending blacks.
Things are a-changing .. .maybe. –gerald radford
