Category Archives: Steve Benjamin

Haley’s backing of strong-mayor shows laudable consistency

Still catching up with news from over the long weekend. I was fighting a cold, and did not leave the house from Wednesday afternoon until this morning. Nor did I blog (did ya notice?) or even read news, which might have tempted me to blog, which I did not feel up to (or, as the pedants would have it, up to which I did not feel).

So I’m only now reacting to this:

Gov. Nikki Haley has come out in support of Columbia’s strong mayor referendum, which will be decided on Tuesday, after discussing the issue with Mayor Steve Benjamin.

A mailer explaining her position was sent to residents late this week.

“After talking to Mayor Benjamin, Governor Haley was happy to lend her support,” said Rob Godfrey, a spokesman for Haley, in a statement. “The governor has long believed in restructuring government to produce accountability and efficiency for the people it serves — not just in state government, but at every level of government.”…

Good for her. As you may know, government restructuring is one of those subjects on which our present governor and I agree, since I have advocated the commonsense notion of actually putting the elected chief executive in charge of the executive branch since she was in school.

And I’ve favored a strong-mayor system for Columbia just about as long. The idea arises from the same principle: putting the day-to-day government in the hands of someone chosen by the voters, rather than in the hands of a hired manager who answers neither to the people nor to any single, accountable individual.

So I’m glad Mayor Benjamin reached out to Gov. Haley, and I’m glad she responded so positively and sensibly.

TV ad probably not best medium for strong-mayor pitch

Not that there’s anything in particular wrong with it. It’s just that the medium forces oversimplification.

It does hit the accountability issue, which is key. But helping people understand how a strong mayor is more accountable takes explanation.

Absurdly, opponents of reform have tried to claim that a city manager is more accountable. Their argument is that the manager can be fired any time, rather than having to wait until re-election time.

That is rendered absurd by experience. No one who has seven equal bosses can be said to have a boss at all. Anyone recall how long it took city council even to do an evaluation of Charles Austin? I’m sort of asking, because I don’t recall the exact length of time myself. But it was outrageously long, reflecting how difficult it is for a body of seven people to agree on what direction and feedback a manager should receive.

And anyone who thinks an elected mayor is accountable only at election time hasn’t paid attention to the way elected officials actually behave, which is to look over their shoulders constantly to make sure the voters are happy with the job they’re doing.

Anyway, for what it’s worth, I pass on the advert.

Police association endorses strong mayor

I’m not entirely sure what I make of this release from Adam Fogle:

Police Officers endorse Strong Mayor

COLUMBIA, SC – Police officers from the local Columbia Chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolence Association (PBA) on Monday joined Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin to announce their support for the Strong Mayor form of government and encourage residents to “Vote YES” in the upcoming December 3 referendum.

“We fully support this change not only for police officers but for the safety of the people we have sworn to protect, the people of Columbia,” said PBA President Joseph Czeladko. “This change would hold Mayor Benjamin accountable and not having that accountability has led to stagnation at the very foundation of this city – public safety.”

This morning’s announcement was held in front of The Library Bar which has become a symbol of recent violence in the popular Five Points entertainment district as well as gang activity in Columbia as a whole after Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott identified it as a central hangout for gang members in the area and conducted a gang and narcotics operation in the area earlier this month.

Sheriff Lott said he did not coordinate the operation with Columbia Police because Interim Police Chief Ruben Santiago did not have authority to participate without first getting permission from his multiple bosses.

“When the Sheriff has to come down to Five Points to close down a known gang hangout, the system is broken,” said Mayor Benjamin. “When the Chief of Police can’t do his job without going through multiple levels of approval, the system is broken. When the Chief can’t even hire his own command staff unless the Assistant City Manager and City Manager sign off, the system is broken”

“The system is broken here in Five Points. It’s broken in North Columbia and the Colony, It’s broken all across this city and it’s about time we did something about it.”

Voters will have that opportunity by voting “YES” for a stronger, safer city on December 3.

Here are some of the questions I have about this endorsement:

  • When your argument is that law enforcement is messed up, are the cops somebody you want endorsing your argument?
  • Is the mayor taking a position against present management in the police department (the questions he raises seem to cut both ways), and is this organization endorsing that position?
  • OK, so a significant chunk of city employees — whom you might be expected to lean toward status quo — endorse the change. But… do we want city employees, especially cops, taking such a political position?

Re-elected Mayor Benjamin pumped up, feeling his oats

famously cover

Last night at the annual meeting of the City Center Partnership in the Tapp’s Arts Center, Columbia’s just-re-elected mayor got up to speak, and urged those present to address him henceforth as Steve “Landslide” Benjamin.

Yes, it was a joke. Everybody laughed. (Although when it was mentioned at another meeting I attended today over lunch, mayoral aide Sam Johnson said yeah, he was trying to discourage “Landslide” from calling himself that. Also joking. I think.)

Over at ADCO, we were particularly pleased to see the above cover on last week’s Free Times. On account of, you know, we came up with “Famously Hot.” I really enjoy the fun that Free Times has with the brand, such as on this cover last year.

famously strong

Sypolt drops out, backs Benjamin

Lest you forget, Sypolt was the “Larry” in the “Larry, Moe and Steve” contest for mayor of Columbia.

Here’s the news:

Former deputy Larry Sypolt withdrew from Columbia’s mayoral campaign Monday and threw his support to Mayor Steve Benjamin.

“I think it’s a disservice to the community for Steve and I to run against each other,” Sypolt said in front of police headquarters in downtown Columbia, with Benjamin at his side.

Sypolt dropped out after acknowledging that he has come to agree with Benjamin on public safety and other issues….

Benjamin’s main rival all along has been Moe Baddorah, of course. I was talking to Moe today at Rotary, less than an hour before I saw this news. So I missed a good chance to get his reaction.

I asked how he thought the race was going. “Well,” he said. He asked how I thought it was going, and I said I had no idea. These municipal elections, with their tiny turnout, are so hard to predict. All you have to go on is yard signs (and Moe has plenty of those) and endorsements. And those can be unreliable. All those endorsements didn’t do Daniel Coble all that much good. Moe grinned at that.

Mr. Baddourah, having learned a tough lesson from his defeat at the hands of Seth Rose for county council several years back, is big on door-to-door. He says he’s visited every neighborhood in the city.

And he thinks turnout might be greater than usual, because of the pull of the Richland Library referendum — from both sides of the issue.

But he said “no” when I asked whether that was something he was hearing about as he rang doorbells. Nor, he said, are people talking about strong mayor. So what is he hearing about? “Public safety, infrastructure, water bills, and not trusting the government.”

I also spoke, somewhat more briefly, with Steve Benjamin late Friday afternoon, at a campaign event at City Roots.

He, too, is confident, and he says he has objective reason to feel that way — he got some good numbers from a poll early last week. (I haven’t seen the numbers; but that’s what he said.)

Since I spoke with the mayor, The State has endorsed him. Here’s the link.

How do y’all think it’s going? If you force me to say, I say Benjamin wins fairly handily. But then, you don’t ever count Moe Baddourah out, as Daniel Coble can tell you.

Y’all guesses are at least as good as mine, and probably better. What do you think?

Moe, Larry and Steve to debate on WIS Tuesday

Moe Baddourah at the Midlands Reality Check on Tuesday.

Moe Baddourah at the Midlands Reality Check on Tuesday.

As a member of the Greater Columbia Community Relations Council, I’m happy to report that the organization is co-sponsoring a mayoral debate next Tuesday evening:

On this coming Tuesday, WIS TV and CRC will co-host  a debate among the three candidates for mayor of Columbia;  Moe Baddourah, Steve Benjamin, and Larry Sypolt.   The event will be televised live from WIS studios….
Listed below are the specifics of the event:
Moderators:  WIS TV news anchors Judi Gatson and Ben Hoover.
Location:    WIS-TV Studio, 1111 Bull Street

Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Time:  7 p.m.-8 p.m.

Note that I had nothing to do with setting this up. This is actually the first I’ve heard of it. But I thought I should disclose the connection.

The council has been working lately to become a sort of convener of civil conversations in the community. We had that forum last year about the penny sales tax referendum, then another this year about strong-mayor (which I missed because of a conflict). The council is scrupulously careful to make these programs as neutral and as informative as possible. Watch and see how you think we’re doing.

Steve Benjamin at Midlands Reality Check on Tuesday.

Steve Benjamin at Midlands Reality Check on Tuesday.

That’s not a ‘photo.’ It just isn’t…

This is a very, very small thing to let bother me, but it’s Monday morning, so here goes…

It really bugs me that Rally, that web application that lots of political consultants use for their clients these days, is always sending emails that are headlined, “A new photo from (insert name of candidate),” when what it’s calling your attention to isn’t a photograph at all.

Sometimes the main message is text. Other times, it’s some sort of graphic element that may or may not contain a photo, but still is not, strictly speaking, something you would describe as a “photo.”

For instance, today I received a Rally message that said, in the body, “Steve Benjamin posted a new photo about Mayor Steve Benjamin.” And below it, I found the following:

SteveBenjaminHarvestFestRallyv03

Below that was the following text:

Join me for Harvest Fest at City Roots, one of our last campaign events before the November 5th Election. This Friday at 4PM. Free food a…

Not a photo in sight, except for a tiny thumbnail at the top, which was not “new.”

Does this bother anyone else?

Benjamin calls ‘Urgent Community Meeting on Crime Control’

This just in from Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin:

Urgent Community Meeting on Crime Control

Dear ,

I’m sure you know an innocent young woman was shot early Sunday morning while waiting for a taxi in the Five Points area — the victim of a stray bullet fired by a career criminal.
As the father of two girls, I was heartbroken and outraged by this senseless act of violence. Our prayers are with the young victim and her family. And our minds must now be focused on what more we can do to make the Five Points area and our entire City safer.
Fortunately, the new video cameras we recently installed in the Five Points area helped our City police quickly identify the suspect. But even more aggressive prevention is needed.
We’ve endured far too many of these tragedies in Columbia. A precious 4-year-old girl injured in a gang shooting while watching television in her living room. A hard-working mother of four killed while providing for her family at a local bakery. These are painful reminders of the battle we are fighting in every corner of our city to get repeat violent offenders off our streets.
For that reason, I am inviting you and all our neighbors to attend a special community meeting this Wednesday, October 16, at 5:30pm at the Columbia Police Department’s PACE Team Headquarters (Food Lion Parking Lot), 1001 Harden Street, to talk about new ideas and solutions to make our City safer and more secure.
We are making progress in crime control. We now have a fully funded police department, we’ve restored first responder budget cuts and we’ve cut overall crime rates including violent crimes. To brief you, here is a list of several reforms I’ve been working on as Mayor. For example, we’ve called for…
  • A citywide crackdown on gang violence with new resources for our Anti-Gang Task Force.
  • A campaign to get illegal guns off of the streets.
  • Aggressive prosecution of violent crimes to the full extent of the law, while ending the revolving door that puts thugs back on our streets to strike again.
  • A new policy to keep politicians away from crime scenes, keep politics out of law enforcement and ensure public trust in our police department.
Clearly, we need to do more. That’s why we need to hear your ideas, comments and suggestions for ways to do better. Most of all, we all need to stand together and work together as one city–to make Columbia safer for all of our families to live, work and play.
Please join us Wednesday at five-thirty in the afternoon at the CPD PACE Team HQ at 1001 Harden St. I look forward to seeing you.
In service,
Mayor, City of Columbia
P.S. — If you can’t make the meeting on Wednesday and have something you would like to share, please email me at SKBenjamin@ColumbiaSC.net.

‘Power Failure’ problems still plague South Carolina

Yesterday, at Jack Van Loan‘s gathering for Steve Benjamin, the mayor at one point — in talking about the strong-mayor system — invoked “Power Failure.”

He does that frequently when I’m around, which causes me to think he does it to flatter me. But he always does it relevantly. For those who don’t know what “Power Failure” was, a brief description that I put together recently:

South Carolina is different. It took me about three years of close observation to understand how it was different. I realized it toward the end of the incredible summer of 1990, when one-tenth of the Legislature was indicted, the head of the highway patrol resigned under pressure after helping the head of the local FBI office (which was investigating the Legislature) with a DUI, the president of the University of South Carolina resigned after a series of scandals, and… well, there were two or three other major stories of malfunction and corruption in state government, all at the same time. Under my direction, The State’s political reporters stayed ahead of all the competition that summer, and broke at least one story that even the feds didn’t know about. All this fed into my determination to explain just why our state government was so fouled up. There were reasons, and they were reasons that were peculiar to South Carolina, but they were invisible to most citizens.

I proposed to The State’s senior management that they let me undertake a special project that would let the voters in on the secret. They agreed, and turned the resources of the newsroom over to me to use as I needed them for the “Power Failure” project. Over the course of a year, 17 multi-page installments and more than 100 stories, we explained why ours was the state government that answered to no one. And we set out a blueprint for fixing it.

That helped lead, the following year, to a major government restructuring, creating a cabinet system and giving the governor actual control over a significant portion of the executive branch. It didn’t go nearly far enough. Only about a third of the government, measured by share of the budget, answers to the elected chief executive. But it was a start…

As it happens, I had occasion today to look back at a reprint of the series, and I continue to be struck by how relevant it remains.

The series was about much more than the fact that the state’s executive branch was governed by a bewildering array of boards and commissions that answered to no one. It was about more than making the governor accountable. It went into problems with local government, the judiciary, and other aspects of government at all levels.

The sad thing is that while that reprint is old and yellowed, being 21 years old, so much of what it described remains unchanged.

I was reminded of that in this morning’s paper. We see that a Nikki Haley ally is planning to run against Glenn McConnell for lieutenant governor next year. This is portrayed as a sort of dress-rehearsal for 2018, when the governor and lieutenant governor will run together on a single ticket. That is a tiny, tiny movement toward the “Power Failure” recommendation that we stop electing all these constitutional officers separately from the governor.

Meanwhile, the bill to replace the Budget and Control Board with a Department of Administration answering to the governor hovers out there, and maybe, maybe it will actually be enacted in the next legislative session. Nikki Haley has been pushing hard for that since entering office. Rival Vincent Sheheen has been pushing for it longer than that, and he still is doing so. From a Sheheen op-ed last week:

Government restructuring is Job No. 1

BY VINCENT SHEHEEN 

Posted: Thursday, October 3, 2013 12:01 a.m.

Post & Courier·

  • It’s time to take another giant step in reforming South Carolina’s state government to improve accountability for the hardworking people of our state.

Over the last few years, South Carolina has gone backwards in so many areas — we’re now one of the toughest places in the nation to earn a living and achieve the American dream, while our government has failed on its most basic functions. But one of the places where we are moving forward is in modernizing our state government in an effort to improve accountability.

Last year, I introduced S. 22, a restructuring bill to overhaul and reform South Carolina’s legislative and executive branches. I worked across the aisle to ensure the bill speedily passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Then it was altered and passed late in the session by the House of Representatives.

A conference committee has been appointed to hammer out the differences in anticipation of the upcoming session. So now we have an exciting opportunity to reconcile the two versions and make history for our state….

Actually, you should probably go read the whole thing, at the Post and Courier.

The reprint is old and yellowed, but we’re still struggling along with the same problems. Still, let’s celebrate what we can. I for one am thankful that both Haley and Sheheen back reform, and that maybe this one change is about to happen. Beyond that, there’s a lot more work to do.

Steve Benjamin on ecodevo, strong mayor, tax base, etc.

Delaney's

I thought about calling this “Ivy Day in the Committee Room Redux,” but I’d used that gimmick before. You can see how I’m tempted when I attend a small political gathering in the back room of an Irish-themed pub.

Anyway, I went to another of Jack Van Loan’s Kaffeeklatsches with Mayor Steve Benjamin, and he talked with the folks there (a group invited by Jack, who is a Benjamin supporter) about a number of issues.Benjamin Jack

When I entered the room, he was talking about economic development, and saying, “Cities grow from the inside out.” Which is kinda why those of us who look (admittedly, from the outside, Kathryn) upon Columbia as a whole, instead of through the lens of this or that neighborhood, tend to like such things as the strong-mayor initiative.

He went on to say later why development is so important in the Vista and Five Points and Main Street and other commercial corridors, and why it was so important to get Bull Street going — the fact that one of Columbia’s “skyscrapers” (he used the word somewhat ironically), such as the Capitol Center (SC’s tallest building, where the Cap City Club is) or the new one next door with EDENS and McNair Law Firm, or Nelson Mullins’ Meridian Building, brings in more tax revenue than a 600-home residential development.

Hence his emphasis on “vertical development.”

Look south from the Capital City Club, he said, and if you see five buildings taller than four stories that are on the tax rolls, “you’ve done something special.” The view in the other three directions are similar.

Not that he would give up such key drivers of the local economy as USC, Fort Jackson and state government, but if you’re going to keep the city going, it needs more tax base.

Then he talked about strong-mayor. Most there were for it. One man said he’s for it, but friends he was going to see tonight were not, and he wanted to know what to tell them when they say, “What about cronyism?”

Benjamin answered diplomatically, possibly because I was there (and Charlie Nutt, the new publisher of Free Times, as well). He said something vague about how cronyism could occur under other systems as well. What I would have said, of course, is that you’ve got cronyism now; it’s just harder to see. If everyone, from voters to media, has a strong executive to focus on, you know where to look for cronyism. This or that person is connected to the mayor. Much, much easier to spot than with a little-known city manager who reports to seven bosses.

The mayor said one thing about strong-mayor that surprised me. Maybe he’s said it before, and I missed it.

He said that he would NOT hire a professional administrator to oversee the rest of city government and report to him. He said that all of the department heads — with special emphasis on the police chief — would report directly to him.

This sounds good — “buck stops here,” and all that. And indeed, when he said it, Jack muttered, “Damn right.”

But I questioned it. I said, couldn’t you have the best of both worlds? Wouldn’t it answer the concerns of the Howard Duvalls of the world, who say that the current system is better because you have a professional manager in charge, while you can’t guarantee an elected mayor would have any administrative skills.

Benjamin conceded the point, and emphasized that he hasn’t really fully thought out all the details of administration should he be re-elected and strong-mayor passes. First he’s working on he re-election, and after that will “focus like a laser beam” on the strong-mayor issue.

But he defended his statement about no administrator by expressing his concern that such a position could dilute the accountability that is the best feature of strong-mayor.

And, he added sort of jokingly, hiring a manager wouldn’t really satisfy Howard Duvall. He had a point there…

Benjamin says Randolph charges shouldn’t be dropped, and Wilson shouldn’t have run to the scene

The mayor, (rightly) injecting some politics into policing in Five Points, back in September 2012.

The mayor, (rightly) injecting some politics into policing in Five Points, back in September 2012.

I thought this was an interesting thing for a major running for re-election to do. He sent out a release weighing in on a controversial recent arrest by the city’s police department:

Keep Politics Out of Policing

July 24, 2013, Columbia, SC

Dear friends,

As you know, public safety has and continues to be my top priority in the City of Columbia and, while we’ve made real progress over the past several years, a number of recent high-profile incidents have further demonstrated the need for continued focus and action.

It is for that reason and because we must ensure the public’s trust in our police department, that last week I called for a SLED investigation into claims made against the Columbia Police Department and I firmly believe that we must allow that investigation to proceed without any political interference. Our state’s law enforcement officers are very capable of conducting a thorough investigation. I am confident that they will perform their duties objectively and comprehensively and provide us with a full report to act upon. Furthermore I will make absolutely certain that whatever SLED reports will be transparent and fully disclosed to the public.

Let me be clear: I have no tolerance for corruption of any kind and if there is any wrongdoing found as a result of SLED’s investigation, I will push for any wrongdoers to be immediately fired and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

It is extremely important that we remove politics from this equation. We must let the cops do their jobs without interference. That is a key concern of mine with this investigation as well as with the issue of Dr. Lonnie Randolph’s arrest in Five Points.

Out of concern for Dr. Randolph and out of concern for our criminal justice system, I am strongly recommending Dr. Randolph’s charges not be dropped before the case reaches the courtroom.

Dr. Randolph appears to have a medical condition that influences his behavior beyond his control and, if so, he has my deepest concerns and sympathies. But we must let the legal process unfold like it does for any other citizen. It is up to a judge or a jury, with the victims’ input, to decide the end result, not politicians, police chiefs or administrators.

Dr. Randolph’s arrest demonstrated why we should not have administrators or elected officials showing up at crime scenes unless specifically requested by law enforcement. However well intentioned, it can send the wrong message and can create an appearance of impropriety and it needs to stop now. People must know that the criminal justice system works the same for all of us and does so without political interference and without special treatment for anyone. Justice for all requires special favors for none.

That’s why I’ve asked city legal counsel to draft a policy which I will present at our next City Council meeting clearly stating that, in accordance with our ethics policy, an active crime scene is no place for politicians or administrators.

At that same meeting, I will also push for us to move forward with a comprehensive, nationwide search for a permanent Police Chief. It’s time to bring stability to CPD’s leadership.

I believe a lot of these issues would be easy to resolve if, in fact, the Mayor had the authority to resolve them.

As Mayor, I have used the bully pulpit provided this office to push for much needed change and often been successful in doing so. That’s how we passed our local preference policy and kept tens of millions of dollars in city contracts with local businesses, that’s how we got the Bull Street deal done and that’s how we’ve achieved the rebirth of downtown securing roughly $300 million in new capital investment over the past two years alone.

But it’s important to understand that I have very little administrative authority under our current form of government. Here in Columbia, the Mayor does not supervise city staff, the City Manager or the Police Chief. And when we are faced with challenges like these which require swift and decisive action, all I have is one of seven votes on City Council and the long slow process that goes with it. That is the simple fact of our system, a fact that we need to change.

That being said, I will continue to use those tools afforded me to keep pushing for a safer and more secure Columbia. That is my priority, it is the people’s priority and nothing is more important.

As always, thank you for keeping informed, getting involved and making a difference in our city.
Yours in service,


Steve Benjamin
Mayor
City of Columbia, South Carolina

This may seem kind of weird to those who don’t understand the city’s council/manager system of government.

In a more logical and politically accountable system of government, the mayor wouldn’t be a helpless witness to the actions of the city’s administrators. He wouldn’t have to propose policy changes to be voted upon by the whole council; he could just tell his manager (or chief of staff, or whatever his senior appointed subordinate was called) not to do that anymore.

Contrary to the mayor’s headline, I think we need more politics in policing, in the sense that the department should report to an official elected by the people of the city, rather than to an unelected person who, since she has seven bosses, really answers to no one.

Anyway, I thought it interesting that the mayor chose to speak out in this manner.

Video of Benjamin campaign announcement

The Steve Benjamin campaign sent out this video of his announcement yesterday. I haven’t had time to watch it all myself — quite busy today — but I thought I’d make it available to you.

One thing that struck me in the minute or so that I did listen to — Benjamin wasn’t speaking as smoothly as he usually does. I guess he’s better speaking extemporaneously than he is reading a speech…

Happy 225th Birthday, Columbia!

Some events just lend themselves to a picture gallery, as I did with St. Paddy’s Day. Here’s what I saw at noon today, at the 1300 block of Main, as Columbia celebrated its 225th birthday.

And here are the descriptions — captions, cutlines, whatever — that Kathryn is clamoring for:

  1. The cake — courtesy of Piggly Wiggly, I think the mayor said.
  2. Invited to sign the big card, I wrote, “Hail the Great Compromise!” Which is why Columbia is here. No, that’s not what my handwriting usually looks like. The best space left was practically on the ground, and I was almost standing on my head writing it. Awkward. You’ll notice the penmanship around it isn’t so hot, either.
  3. Kids from the school at my church, St. Peter’s Catholic. They led us in “Happy Birthday.”
  4. Hanging out before the ceremony — Hizzoner the mayor, Sen. Darrell Jackson and Rep. James Smith.
  5. You just can’t get those YPs to put the device down and pay attention. This is Sam Johnson, who works for the mayor.
  6. It was very sunny, very warm — I could really feel it where I got sunburned Saturday. Good turnout. Look! There in the crowd is Jeffrey Day, formerly of The State. And… a bunch of other people.
  7. WIS was double-teaming it.
  8. Boyd Summers, of the Richland County Democratic Party, and Jim Manning, of the county council.
  9. Adam Beam of The State was watching very intently (here’s his account of the founding of the city). That’s Mike Wukela of the mayor’s office next to him.

Good luck with that, Mayor Steve

When you make yourself available, you never know who's gonna show up. Like, check out the geek with the bow tie. You know HE'S trouble.../2010 photo by Bob Ford

Just read this in Steve Benjamin’s monthly newsletter:

Mondays with the Mayor

Ensuring the City of Columbia is open and accountable to all of the people has been a priority of mine from day one because, for me, government transparency is about living up to that most fundamental commitment: the people deserve the truth.

From moving council to evening meetings, working to limit executive session, and streaming every city council meeting live online; we are working live up to that responsibility and today I am pleased to announce a new initiative to further that cause: “Mondays with the Mayor.”

Kicking off on March 7th, “Mondays with the Mayor” is a monthly open session where citizens can schedule a 5 minute meeting here at City Hall to discuss the issues they care about with me personally.

WHAT: Mondays with the Mayor
WHEN: Monday, March 7, 2011
5:00pm to 7:00pm
WHERE: City Hall
1737 Main Street

To schedule a meeting, please call 803.545.3073 or emailAppointments@columbiasc.net on Friday, March 4th between 9:00am and 11:00am. The message should include your name, address, phone number, and issue to be discussed.

I believe that, by working together as One Columbia, we can raise the standard for citizen driven good government not just in South Carolina, but across the nation.

I believe we can make a difference.

First, hats off to the mayor for his commitment to openness and transparency. He’s acted quickly on several front to demonstrated that commitment, and praise is due to the council for its part in implementing such steps.

As for this one-at-a-time levee he plans — I hope it is everything a true lower-case-d democrat could wish for. But I also cringe a bit.

Admittedly, this may be partly because I just watched “Taxi Driver” all the way through last night for the first time, and that scene in which Travis Bickle has presidential candidate Charles Palantine in his cab. The candidate oozes transparently bogus mutterings about how he loves to hear the wisdom of cabbies like Travis, to which Travis responds with a skin-crawling diatribe on how the city is nothing but filth, and the next president should “flush” it all away — making the candidate very eager to get the heck outta that cab.

I’m sure it won’t be like that. And I’m sure it will be far better managed than the time that Andy Jackson threw open the doors of the White House for an inaugural backwoods kegger.

But… if you’ve spent as many hundreds of ours of your life in public meetings as I have, you know that there are certain people, who are not representative of the people overall, who love to show up and monopolize such affairs. Perhaps the 5-minute limit will take care of that.

But still… Again, I’m proud of the mayor for this fine gesture of openness. Lord knows we need more of that in South Carolina. And at the same time, I’m glad it’s him and not me spending two hours a month in the political equivalent of speed-dating.

Benjamin’s successful State of the City address

Well, I was going to do a full-blown post on Steve Benjamin’s first State of the City address, but right when I got home, my daughter called and he car had conked out — in a bad location, where Huger runs into I-126 — and I had to run out and deal with that. Quite an adventure. A Columbia police officer came to park his car, blue light flashing, to protect us until the tow truck driver got there. And I was able to tell him he had a new boss.

That was one of several pieces of news the mayor broke during his speech — he rather dramatically turned to interim Chief Randy Scott, told him the council had decided they wanted him to have the job permanently, and offered it to him on the spot. It was a good effect, as Twain’s Hank Morgan would have said.

The mayor, speaking to a huge, supportive crowd at the convention center, broke other news as well. For instance, noting that this speech was streaming live on the Web, he said all city councils would be as well, starting next week.

Other than that, he cited a number of accomplishments, but said he wasn’t satisfied and didn’t think anyone else should be either. But on the whole, I think what he was trying to do tonight is paint a picture of a city that was moving forward, a place where there was a lot going on. And he succeeded.

I’d go into more detail, but I haven’t had dinner, thanks to our automotive emergency. So, compliments of Mike Wukela, here’s the text of the full speech:

State of the City Address

As Delivered by Mayor Steve Benjamin

Coble Ballroom

Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

Columbia, SC

January 18, 2011

(WELCOME AND THANK YOU)

IF EVERY CITY OF COLUMBIA EMPLOYEE WHO IS HERE WOULD PLEASE STAND BRIEFLY, I WOULD LIKE TO BEGIN MY REMARKS BY TAKING A MOMENT TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO YOU.

TOO OFTEN IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ONLY EVER HEAR FROM US WHEN SOMETHING IS WRONG. IF THE WATER ISN’T WORKING OR THE TRASH NEEDS TO BE PICKED UP, IF THE POT-HOLE ISN’T FILLED OR THE WORK CREW FILLING IT INCONVENIENCES THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC.

TOO OFTEN IT SEEMS YOU ONLY EVER CATCH OUR CRITICISMS AND NOT OFTEN ENOUGH OUR CONGRATULATIONS.

LET ME FIX THAT RIGHT NOW. NOT ONE OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HEAR TONIGHT WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOUR HARD WORK, YOUR ENTERPRISING SPIRIT, AND YOUR TIRELESS DEVOTION TO SERVING THIS FINE CITY AND ALL OF HER CITIZENS.

WHILE OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY STRUGGLED TO DIG THEMSELVES OUT OF THE SNOW LAST WEEK, YOU HAD OUR STREETS CLEAR AND COLUMBIA READY TO HOST AN HISTORIC GUBERNATORIAL INAUGURATION.

THE STATE OF OUR CITY IS STRONG BECAUSE YOU ARE THE GREAT CITY OF COLUMBIA, THE CAPITAL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND I AM SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MAYOR.

THANK YOU.

I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE MAYOR’S FELLOWS FOR PARTICIPATING IN TONIGHT’S PROGRAM SERVING AS OUR USHERS. I WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW HAPPY WE ARE TO HAVE YOU HERE AND HOW PROUD WE ARE TO HAVE YOU ENGAGED.

YESTERDAY SPEAKING AT THE URBAN LEAGUE’S MARTIN LUTHER KING BREAKFAST, I TALKED ABOUT THE NEED TO GET INVOLVED IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE’S LIVES AND PROVIDE LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE THE SAME WAY MOSES DID FOR JOSHUA.

BUT WHILE IT IS OUR JOB TO TEACH YOU, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO MUST TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. KNOW THAT THIS IS YOUR CITY TOO, AND IT FALLS TO ALL OF US TO MAKE IT THE BEST CITY IT CAN BE.

WHETHER YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL OR GAMEDAY FOOTBALL, PRESERVING THE CAROLIGHTING OR MISS SOUTH CAROLINA, 25 YEARS OF TRUSTUS THEATRE, 50 YEARS OF COLUMBIA CITY BALLET, OR THE RENOVATED TOWNSHIP; WHETHER IT’S THE COLUMBIA URBAN LEAGUE RECEIVING THE WHITNEY YOUNG AWARD OR THIS COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN CONVENTION CENTER RECEIVING ITS ONE MILLIONTH VISITOR  ONE THING IS CLEAR TO SEE AS I LOOK BACK OVER THE PAST YEAR: OUR CITY HAS A LOT TO CELEBRATE.

I SEE COLUMBIA CAPITALIZING ON OUR UNIQUE CULTURE, HISTORY, AND A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT SECOND TO NONE AND I SEE EXCITING NEW INITIATIVES HELPING US PROTECT THOSE RESOURCES.

I SEE THE SOUTHERN FRIED FUEL INITIATIVE RECYCLING NEARLY 400 GALLONS OF USED COOKING OIL AND THE E-WASTE RECYCLING PROGRAM KEEPING OVER 13 TONS OF ELECTRONICS OUT OF OUR LANDFILLS.

I SEE ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTS ILLUMINATING OUR CITY BUILDINGS, INCLUDING CITY HALLAND 20 NEW ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING PODS TURNING OUR PARKING GARAGES FROM GRAY TO GREEN.

I SEE A NEW DEDICATION TO PROTECTING OUR WATERWAYS AND KEEPING OUR DRINKING WATER CLEAN WITH OVER $110 MILLION IN IMPROVEMENTS TO AND REHABILITATION OF OUR WATER, SEWER, AND STORMWATER SYSTEMS.

I SEE REASON TO CELEBRATE.

I SEE A CITY OF BEAUTY AND PRIDE THAT PROTECTS ITS NEIGHBORHOODS AS WELL AS ITS RIVERS.

I SEE 35 NEW POLICE CARS PATROLLING THE STREETS OF OUR NORTH, SOUTH, METRO, WEST, AND NEW EAST REGION WITH FUEL EFFICIENT ENGINES AND AUTOMATIC VEHICLE LOCATOR SYSTEMS.

I SEE AN ENFORCEABLE OPEN CONTAINER LAW, A BACK-UP WEAPON POLICY THAT MAKES SENSE AND OVER $2 MILLION IN FEDERAL GRANTS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT, TRAINING, AND PERSONNEL.

I SEE FULL INTEGRATION OF THE NEW COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM AND I SEE FIRE ENGINE COMPANIES 8 AND 9 BACK UP AND RUNNING.

I SEE REASON TO CELEBRATE.

I SEE A NEW ERA OF REGIONAL COOPERATION WITH MAYORS FROM LEXINGTON, CAYCE, WEST COLUMBIA AND BLYTHEWOOD, FOREST ACRES, ARCADIA LAKES, IRMO AND CHAPIN, SUMTER, SPRINGDALE AND CAMDEN ALL COMING TO THE TABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH THE CHAIRMEN OF LEXINGTON AND RICHLAND’S COUNTY COUNCILS.

I SEE US TEARING DOWN THE WALLS THAT HAVE KEPT US ISOLATED FOR TOO LONG SO WE CAN FINALLY MEET CHALLENGES LIKE AIR QUALITY, TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND CRIME TOGETHER AS A REGION UNIFIED AND A PEOPLE UNITED.

I SEE REASON TO CELEBRATE

I SEE US TAKING ACTION LIKE NEVER BEFORE ON ISSUES THAT HAVE HUNG IN THE AIR UNDECIDED FOR YEARS.

I SEE US MOVING FORWARD SO LOWER RICHLAND RECEIVES THE WATER AND SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE IT NEEDS TO GROW.

I SEE US FINALLY ADOPTING A LOCAL PREFERENCE POLICY SO MORE OF OUR COLUMBIA’S DOLLARS STAY WITH OUR BUSINESSES IN COLUMBIA.

AND I SEE AN HONEST CONVERSATION STIRRING BETWEEN THIS CITY AND RICHLAND COUNTY ABOUT THE POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVING SERVICE AND REDUCING TAXPAYER BURDEN THROUGH COLLABORATION, COOPERATION, AND CONSOLIDATION; AND I’M PROUD TO BE A PART OF THAT.

I SEE REASON TO CELEBRATE.

I SEE A CITY LIVING UP TO ITS RESPONSIBILITY TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS BY GETTING INVOLVED IN THEIR LIVES SO THAT EVERY STUDENT, EVERY CHILD IN THIS CITY – REGARDLESS OF RACE, REGARDLESS OF CLASS, REGARDLESS OF HERITAGE OR PARENTAGE – EVERY CHILD CAN LIVE UP TO HIS OR HER GOD-GIVEN POTENTIAL.

I SEE THE EAU CLAIRE PROMISE ZONE, CITY YEAR AND DIPLOMAS NOW, DRILLS AND SKILLS, PRIME-TIME IN THE PARK, THE TALENTED TENTH, THE MAYOR’S FELLOWS, AND THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL INITIATIVE WHICH GAVE EVERY CITY EMPLOYEE TIME OFF TO TAKE THEIR SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO SCHOOL SO THOSE STUDENTS KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THEIR EDUCATION IS TO MOM AND DAD. AND SO MOM AND DAD KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE TO THE CITY OF COLUMBIA.

I SEE US MAKING EDUCATION A PRIORITY AND I’M PROUD TO BE A PART OF THAT.

I SEE REASON TO CELEBRATE AND, AFTER A LONG PERIOD OF ECONOMIC HARDSHIP, I SEE PEOPLE GOING BACK TO WORK.

I SEE CICI’S PIZZA, HOUSTON’S LOWCOUNTRY GRILL. NATURAL ESCAPES DAY SPA, AND FIRST CHOICE REHABILITATION CENTER FILLING THE STOREFRONTS OF NORTH MAIN PLAZA AND I SEE 14 BRAND NEW COMPANIES ENTERING THE USC TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR.

I SEE THE SCRA INNOVATIONS CENTER INVESTING OVER $6.7 MILLION AND TRANSFORMING AN EMPTY WAREHOUSE INTO A CENTER FOR GROWING TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES. I SEE THE MAIN AND GERVAIS TOWER FULLY OCCUPIED AND THE NICKELODEON BREAKING GROUND. AND WHILE BUSINESSES FALTER AND FAIL ALL ACROSS THE WORLD, HERE, IN COLUMBIA, I SEE THEM GROWING.

I SEE IMMEDION AND DENTAQUEST, DOVE TAIL INSURANCE AND REI, VERIZON AND AFLAC.

I SEE A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY FUTURE THRIVING AT MIDLANDS TECH’S ENTERPRISE CAMPUS AND A $3.6 MILLION DARPA GRANT FOR INNOVISTA.

I SEE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION IN THE CONSORTIUM FOR ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT, FUEL CELL DEVELOPMENT IN TRULITE AND THE FUTURE OF SOLAR PANEL MANUFACTURING ON IT IS WAY WITH 1,000 HIGH PAYING JOBS FROM AQT SOLAR.

I SEE A REBIRTH BEGINNING ON MAIN STREET WITH MAST GENERAL AND NEARLY 20 YEARS OF FRUSTRATION ENDING ON BULL AS THE LARGEST PIECE OF DOWNTOWN PROPERTY EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI IS FINALLY SOLD.

I SEE REASON TO CELEBRATE.

WE HAVE CHANGED CITY COUNCIL’S STRUCTURE WITH A MORE EFFECTIVE COMMITTEE SYSTEM AND AN EVENING MEETING TIME THAT ALLOWS MORE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION

WE HAVE LIMITED EXECUTIVE SESSIONS AND ENJOYED MORE PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF THE PEOPLE’S ISSUES.

WE HAVE LED BY EXAMPLE GIVING UP HALF OF MY SALARY TO CREATE NEW INCENTIVES FOR EFFICIENCY,

WE HAVE HELD THE LINE ON FUNDING PRIORITIES, REMOVED OVER 100 UNNECESSARY VACANCIES, AND ELIMINATED FURLOUGHS FOR ALL CITY EMPLOYEES AND WE HAVE DONE IT WHILE LIVING UP TO OUR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

AND I AM PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE CITY OF COLUMBIA ENDED THE 2010 CALENDAR YEAR $5 MILLION UNDER BUDGET.

WE ARE IN THE BLACK AND THAT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE!

YOUR CITY HAS BEEN HARD AT WORK FOR YOU AND, WHEN YOU LOOK AT ALL THE PAST YEAR’S HIGHLIGHTS LIKE THIS, PILED ONE ON TOP OF ANOTHER, IT’S PRETTY HARD TO IGNORE.

NOW, DID EVERYBODY GET A GOOD LOOK?

GOOD, NOW PUT IT ASIDE.

WIPE IT AWAY BECAUSE THAT’S NOT WHAT TONIGHT IS ABOUT.

I DIDN’T COME HERE JUST TO WRITE UP EVERY ACCOMPLISHMENT WE COULD THINK OF AND LIST THEM END TO END TO SEE HOW LONG IT STRETCHED.

I DIDN’T COME HERE TO SMILE AND WAVE AND TELL YOU “EVERYTHING’S GREAT!” THEN TAKE A BOW.

I CAN’T DO THAT.

I WOULD LIKE TO STAND UP HERE AND ANNOUNCE THAT WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED ALL OF OUR GOALS, THAT OUR CITY IS PERFECT. BUT WE HAVE NOT AND IT IS NOT.

THAT IS THE SIMPLE TRUTH IS THAT IF THERE’S ONE THING YOU SHOULD EXPECT FROM YOUR GOVERNMENT IT’S THE TRUTH.

THE TRUTH IS EVERYTHING’S NOT GREAT.

THE TRUTH IS WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.

THE TRUTH IS I’m NOT SATISFIED.

I’M NOT SATISFIED AND YOU SHOULDN’T BE EITHER.

ACCORDING TO THE FBI’S PRELIMINARY UNIFORM CRIME REPORT, THERE WERE 708 VIOLENT CRIMES COMMITTED IN COLUMBIA BETWEEN JANUARY AND JUNE OF 2010 COMPARED WITH 611 ONE YEAR EARLIER.

THAT’S NEARLY 100 MORE VIOLENT OFFENSES. 100 MORE VICTIMS AND FAMILIES.

HOW CAN I BE SATISFIED WITH THAT?

HOW CAN I BE SATISFIED WHEN I KNOW MANY OF OUR VETERAN FIREFIGHTERS COME OFF A 24 HOUR SHIFT OF SAVING LIVES AND GO HOME TO TAKE A QUICK SHOWER BEFORE IT’S OFF TO THEIR SECOND JOBS BECAUSE THEY HAVEN’T GOTTEN A RAISE IN 3 YEARS.

WE’RE LOSING OUR HEROES TO DEPARTMENTS WITH BETTER PAY AND BETTER EQUIPMENT AND WE’RE TRAINING NEW RECRUITS IN A BURN HOUSE HELD TOGETHER WITH PATCHWORK AND PLYWOOD. HOW CAN I BE SATISFIED WITH THAT?

HOW CAN I BE SATISFIED WHEN I KNOW THAT EVERYTHING WE DO – EVERYTHING – BEGINS AND ENDS WITH PUBLIC SAFETY?

NEW INDUSTRIES AREN’T GOING TO COME TO COLUMBIA IF THEY DON’T THINK THEIR EMPLOYEES ARE GOING TO BE SAFE. LOCAL BUSINESSES CAN’T GROW IF THEIR PROFITS ARE EATEN UP BY RISING INSURANCE RATES. OUR CHILDREN CAN’T LEARN IF THEIR HOMEWORK IS INTERRUPTED BY GUNFIRE. WE CAN’T FOCUS ON ALL THE OTHER THINGS WE WANT TO DO IF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AREN’T SAFE.

DURING MY CAMPAIGN I PROMISED TO MAKE PUBLIC SAFETY OUR CITY’S TOP PRIORITY AND I INTEND TO SEE THAT PROMISE KEPT!

I SEE US STARTING BY GIVING OUR FIRST RESPONDERS THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO DO THEIR JOBS.

I SEE MORE PATROL CARS AND CUTTING EDGE EQUIPMENT. I SEE CONTINUOUS TRAINING AND RECERTIFICATION. AND I SEE NEW FACILITIES BECAUSE YOU CAN’T BE A FIRST-RATE SERVICE IF YOU TRAIN IN CUT-RATE CONDITIONS.

SO, FOR YOU FIREFIGHTERS OUT THERE, I SEE A NEW STATE OF THE ART BURN HOUSE DESIGNED FOR THE JOB AND BUILT FOR THE LONG HAUL.

BUT WHEN YOU’RE RISKING YOUR LIFE EVERY DAY, IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT BEING ABLE TO COUNT ON YOUR EQUIPMENT, FACILITIES, AND TRAINING.

IT’S ALSO ABOUT HAVING RELIABLE LEADERSHIP.

AFTER SIX POLICE CHIEFS IN FIVE YEARS, IT’S TIME TO BRING SOME STABILITY TO THE COLUMBIA POLICE DEPARTMENT.

IT IS TIME TO STOP THE REVOLVING DOOR AT NUMBER ONE JUSTICE SQUARE.

SINCE TAKING THE JOB AS INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE THREE MONTHS AGO RANDY SCOTT HAS PUT 35 NEW POLICE CARS ON THE STREET, OPENED A BRAND NEW PATROL REGION, FORGED NEW PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, SLED, AND OUR NEIGHBORING JURISDICTIONS, AND BROUGHT IN A NEW CLASS OF RECRUITS THAT THIS MONTH RECEIVED EVERY SINGLE AWARD THE ACADEMY HAD TO OFFER.

I THINK THAT DESERVES SOME RECOGNITION. IN FACT, THE CITY MANAGER, MY FELLOW MEMBERS OF COUNCIL AND I HAVE DISCUSSED IT, AND WE THINK IT DESERVES A PROMOTION.

SO, CHIEF, I’D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS INTERIM CHIEF AND OFFER YOU A NEW JOB AS THE CITY OF COLUMBIA’S PERMANENT CHIEF OF POLICE, IF YOU’LL ACCEPT IT.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CHIEF RANDY SCOTT.

WHEN I LOOK AT MEN LIKE CHIEF SCOTT, FIRE CHIEF AUBREY JENKINS, OR ANY OF OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM, I SEE THE SAME THING ALL OF US DO.

WE SEE WORDS LIKE SELFLESSNESS, RESPECT, HONOR, AND SACRIFICE. WE SEE TRUE AMERICAN HEROES EVEN THOUGH, MOST OF THE TIME, WE DON’T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS.

BUT ON SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH, WE WERE ALL REMINDED WHEN A ROUTINE CALL TO A BRUSH FIRE OFF I-20 EASTBOUND MILE MARKER 81 TURNED TO TRAGEDY LEAVING ONE FIREFIGHTER, 30 YEAR OLD LARRY KEWON IRVIN, CRITICALLY INJURED AND CLINGING TO LIFE AND ANOTHER LOST TO US FOREVER.

THE GREAT AMERICAN AUTHOR HENRY MILLER FAMOUSLY WROTE: “THE ORDINARY MAN IS INVOLVED IN ACTION, BUT THE HERO ACTS. AND THERE IS AN IMMENSE DIFFERENCE.”

23 YEAR OLD CHANCE HYATT ZOBEL IS A HERO NOT BECAUSE HE WAS WITHOUT FEAR BUT BECAUSE HE CHOSE TO ACT IN SPITE OF IT.

HE IS A HERO BECAUSE WHEN OTHERS HESITATED, HE RESPONDED WITHOUT THOUGHT FOR HIMSELF OR EXPECTATION OF REWARD, GIVING WHAT LINCOLN CALLED THE LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION TO US.

CHANCE CHOSE TO ACT. LET US FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE.

FIVE YEARS AGO, THE CITY OF COLUMBIA OPTED OUT OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEM’S ACCIDENTAL DEATH INSURANCE PLAN FOR FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS COSTING CHANCE ZOBEL’S FAMILY POTENTIALLY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN LIFETIME BENEFITS.

I INTEND TO RECTIFY THAT MISTAKE. I INTEND TO SHOW OUR FIRST RESPONDERS THAT THIS CITY, YOUR CITY, STANDS WITH YOU, WE SUPPORT YOU, AND WE WILL STAND WITH YOUR FAMILY IF ANYTHING SHOULD HAPPEN TO YOU.

NOW, I KNOW BURN HOUSES DON’T COME CHEAP AND THE BEST EQUIPMENT IS OFTEN THE MOST EXPENSIVE. BUT I WATCHED AS THIS CITY PUT TOGETHER A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL PARADE IN TWO DAYS THAT DIDN’T COST THE TAXPAYER A DIME. I’VE SEEN WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN WE PUT OUR MINDS TO IT. I’VE SEEN WHAT IS POSSIBLE.

TWO YEARS AGO, THE SMART MONEY SAID THAT THE CITY OF COLUMBIA COULDN’T GET ITS ACT TOGETHER.

THE ECONOMY WAS TANKING AND OUR RESERVES WERE GONE PROMPTING ACROSS THE BOARD CUTS AND EMPLOYEE FURLOUGHS. BUT HERE WE ARE, JUST TWO YEARS LATER, WE’VE ELIMINATED THE FURLOUGHS ALONG WITH OVER $1 MILLION IN NON-ESSENTIAL, VACANT POSITIONS. EVERY DEPARTMENT IS OPERATING IN THE BLACK AND THE GENERAL FUND IS $5 MILLION UNDER BUDGET.

AND WE’RE NOT DONE. NOW, AS A RULE, EVERY TIME A NON-PUBLIC SAFETY VACANCY OPENS UP, OUR CITY MANAGER EXAMINES THE POSITION, EVALUATES ITS VALUE, AND DECIDES WHETHER IT’S NECESSARY OR NOT.

IF IT’S NECESSARY, HE POSTS THE JOB AND FILLS THE POSITION. IF IT ISN’T NECESSARY, HE DOESN’T JUST LET IT STAY VACANT … HE ELIMINATES IT ENTIRELY FREEING UP ROOM IN THE BUDGET FOR PRIORITIES LIKE PUBLIC SAFETY.

DECISIONS LIKE THOSE THAT HAVE HELPED COLUMBIA GET BACK ON ITS FEET. BUT WE NEED THIS CITY TO BE IN FIGHTING SHAPE AND I SEE A RENEWED SPIRIT OF REGIONALISM AS THE KEY.

I SEE THE FUTURE OF THIS CITY, THIS COUNTY, THIS ENTIRE REGION UNIFIED THROUGH SHARED RESPONSIBILITY. I SEE CONSOLIDATED SERVICES STREAMLINING AND AMPLIFYING OUR ABILITIES TO RECRUIT INDUSTRY AND PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT. I SEE COLUMBIA PROVING ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT WE CAN DO MORE FOR LESS BY DOING IT TOGETHER.

I SEE THIS CITY TAKING THE LEAD AND, WITH NEW VIGOR AND FISCAL VITALITY, REBUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION OF PUBLIC TRUST.

TIME AND TIME AGAIN, IT ALWAYS COMES BACK TO TRUST.

NOT THE BLIND FAITH OF CHILDREN. NOT TRUST UNCONDITIONAL YIELDED WITHOUT QUESTION OR QUALIFICATION, BUT TRUST EARNED AND PROVEN. THE PUBLIC TRUST BASED IN MUTUAL RESPECT AND OPENNESS, VERIFIED AND TRANSPARENT.

WE HAVE ALREADY SET A SERIES OF GOOD GOVERNMENT REFORMS IN ACTION THAT INCLUDE MOVING COUNCIL TO EVENING MEETING AND LIMITING EXECUTIVE SESSION SO MORE OF THE PUBLIC’S BUSINESS IS DONE IN PUBLIC. BUT WE’RE NOT DONE. IN FACT, WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED.

THE WHOLE WORLD CAN SEE TONIGHT’S EVENT BECAUSE IT’S STREAMING LIVE VIA THE INTERNET AND, STARTING NEXT WEEK, EVERY CITY COUNCIL MEETING WILL BE AS WELL SO EVEN THOSE WHO CAN’T MAKE THE MEETINGS CAN STILL STAY UP TO DATE WITH EVERY MOTION AND EVERY VOTE WITHOUT EVER HAVING TO LEAVE HOME.

BUT THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING.

I SEE THIS CITY ESTABLISHING AN INDEPENDENT ETHICS COMMISSION, THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN SOUTH CAROLINA. I SEE OUR CITY PRODUCING A LAYMAN’S BUDGET SO YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHERE YOUR TAX DOLLARS GO AND ESTABLISHING NEW GUIDELINES FOR CONFLICTSOF INTERESTS THAT REMOVE EVEN THE APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY. I SEE COLUMBIA RAISING THE STANDARD FOR CITIZEN DRIVEN GOOD GOVERNMENT NOT JUST IN SOUTH CAROLINA, BUT ACROSS THE NATION.

I SEE US ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITY ON A GRASSROOTS LEVEL ABOUT THE ISSUES IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US SO THAT WE CAN BE THE BEST, BRIGHTEST, AND HEALTHIEST CITY WE CAN BE.

JUST AS OUR STREETS MUST BE SAFE; OUR NEIGHBORHOODS CLEAN; AND OUR SCHOOLS FULL OF ENERGETIC AND TALENTED STUDENTS AND TEACHERS–OUR CITIZENS MUST BE HEALTHY.  TO THAT END, MY WIFE, DEANDREA, AND I HAVE ADOPTED A SIGNATURE PROJECT, ALONG WITH COLUMBIA CITY COUNCIL, TO ENSURE ALL OF OUR FAMILIES HAVE ACCESS TO THE RIGHT RESOURCES TO ENCOURAGE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES.

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA AND HER TEAM HAVE PROVIDED A BLUEPRINT FOR US AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE NATION TO FOLLOW IN AN EFFORT TO ERADICATE CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN OUR CITY AND OUR NATION — THE LET’S MOVE INITIATIVE.

OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, WE WILL DEVELOP OUR OWN MOVEMENT IN COLUMBIA — ONE IN WHICH WE WORK WITH OUR INTERNAL TEAM OF STAFF AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO DEVELOP A LONG-TERM, SUSTAINABLE AND HOLISTIC APPROACH TO FIGHTING CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN OUR COMMUNITY AND SUPPORT HEALTHY LIVING THROUGH GRASSROOTS PROJECTS LIKE URBAN FARMING AND COMMUNITY GARDENS WHICH PROVIDE HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES FOR OUR FAMILIES.

THIS HOLISTIC APPROACH WILL ENCOMPASS INITIATIVES UNDER ALL FOUR PILLARS OF THE LET’S MOVE MODEL: HELPING PARENTS MAKE HEALTHY FAMILY CHOICES; IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF SCHOOLS; INCREASING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES; AND MAKING HEALTHY FOOD AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE.

I SEE A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER, AND MORE PROSPEROUS FUTURE FOR OUR CITY AS, FROM PUBLIC SAFETY TO FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, ETHICS REFORM TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; COLUMBIA LIVES UP TO ITS MANTLE AS A TRUE 21ST CENTURY CAPITAL CITY.

YES, I SEE COLUMBIA READY TO LEAD.

LOOK OUTSIDE THIS DOOR AND YOU’LL SEE IT TOO – THE SIGNS OF A $1 BILLION A YEAR TOURISM INDUSTRY THAT EMPLOYS ROUGHLY 65,000 PEOPLE RIGHT HERE IN THE METRO COLUMBIA AREA.

BUT THOSE SIGNS ARE ABOUT MORE THAN JUST DOLLARS AND CENTS, MORE THAN HOSPITALITY DISTRICTS AND TAX REVENUES. THEY’RE ABOUT OPEN SOURCE PROGRAMMING, SMALL MODULAR NUCLEAR REACTORS, HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS AND CYBER SECURITY. THEY’RE ABOUT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, KNOWLEDGE ECONOMIES, AND A NEW GENERATION OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY INDUSTRIES.

THEY’RE ABOUT POSITIONING COLUMBIA ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND SECURING HIGH-PAYING JOBS FOR THIS REGION, NOT JUST FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS – BUT THE NEXT 40.

I’M PROUD OF THE WORK WE’VE DONE TOGETHERB

I’M PROUD OF A NEW MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND MIDLANDS TECH TO FOSTER KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND CREATE A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED ENERGY RESEARCH HUB RIGHT HERE IN COLUMBIA.

I’M PROUD OF THE NEW PARTNERSHIP THE CITY HAS FORMED WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS IN THEIR NON-PAID WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM. THIS IMPORTANT INITIATIVE HELPS VETERANS GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE WORKING FOR THE CITY OF COLUMBIA FOR SIX MONTHS PROVIDING CRITICAL CITY SERVICES AT NO COST TO THE TAXPAYER.

I’M PROUD OF WORKING WITH RICHLAND COUNTY, THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, AND THE CENTRAL SOUTH CAROLINA ALLIANCE TO BRING A SOLAR POWER LEADER LIKE AQT AND 1,000 HIGH PAYING JOBS TO THE MIDLANDS.

I’M PROUD, BUT I’M NOT SATISFIED.

I’M PROUD BECAUSE UNEMPLOYMENT IN RICHLAND COUNTY HAS DROPPED FROM 10.3% TO 9.3% IN THE PAST YEAR. BUT UNSATISFIED BECAUSE THAT’S STILL 16,772 PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE JOBS, 16,772 PEOPLE WHO CAN’T PAY THEIR MORTGAGES, 16,772 PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING LEFT OUT OF ALL THE GREAT THINGS OUR CITY HAS TO OFFER.

WE MUST DO BETTER.

I SEE COLUMBIA STEPPING UP WITH A REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION TO HELP US BECOME TRULY BUSINESS FRIENDLY BY CUTTING RED TAPE, LEVERAGING OUR INDIVIDUAL RESOURCES AND COORDINATING OUR INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS.

I SEE US FORMALIZING THE ALREADY EXCEPTIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUR CITY, THE STATE CAPITAL, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, THE STATE’S FLAGSHIP UNIVERSITY BY JOINING THE INTERNATIONAL TOWN GOWN ASSOCIATION.

I SEE US INVESTING IN CREATIVITY TO JUMPSTART THE DOWNTOWN ARTISTIC COMMUNITY AND SECURING THE ONE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL WE DON’T HAVE BY BUILDING A NEW INDUSTRIAL PARK.

I SEE US CONNECTING MAIN STREET, USC, FIVE POINTS, AND THE VISTA TOGETHER AS ONE POWERHOUSE BUSINESS AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT AND WORKING TOGETHER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LARGEST PARCEL OF UNDEVELOPED DOWNTOWN PROPERTY EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN A WAY THAT TRANSFORMS THE BULL STREET PROPERTY INTO A THOROUGHLY MODERN LANDSCAPE WHILE PRESERVING ITS UNIQUE HISTORY AND STRUCTURES.

I SEE US FINALLY UNLOCKING OUR RIVERFRONT’S POTENTIAL AND COMPLETING THE THREE RIVERS GREENWAY.

COLUMBIA IS READY.

BUT IF WE’RE GOING TO LEAD ON JOB CREATION, WE FIRST MUST LEAD ON TRANSPORTATION.

NOW, LET ME BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR: EVERYONE RELIES ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

WHETHER YOU’VE EVER SET FOOT ON A BUS OR NOT, WHETHER YOU KNOW WHAT CMRTA MEANS OR NOT, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT – YOU RELY ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

THE LAB TECH THAT DREW YOUR BLOOD THE LAST TIME YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL, THE COLLEGE STUDENT THAT’S WORKING PART TIME WAITING TABLES IN YOUR RESTAURANT, THE SECURITY GUARD IN YOUR BUILDING – THEY ALL RIDE THE BUS.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM IF THERE ARE NO MORE BUSES TO RIDE? WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE BUSINESSES WHEN THE EMPLOYEES THEY RELY ON CAN’T GET TO WORK?

WE HAD A MEETING TODAY WITH LEADERS FROM ALL ACROSS THE REGION SO WE CAN START PREPARING OURSELVES FOR THE NEWEST ROUND OF BASE CLOSURES COMING DOWN THE PIPE ANY DAY NOW.

BETWEEN FORT JACKSON, MCENTIRE, AND SHAW AIR FORCE BASE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT $7.1BILLION A YEAR IN COMBINED ECONOMIC IMPACT. I’M NOT GOING TO PUT THAT AT RISK BECAUSE WE TAKE THE BUSES AWAY FROM THE 1,400 FORT JACKSON EMPLOYEES THAT RELY ON THEM TO GET TO AND FROM WORK EVERY DAY.

I DON’T THINK WE CAN CONVINCE THE BRAC COMMISSION THAT THIS CITY FULLY SUPPORTS THE MILITARY IF WE REFUSE TO MAKE SURE A SOLDIER ON LEAVE HAS A RIDE INTO TOWN OR WE STOP THEIR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES FROM REPORTING TO WORK.

EVERY SINGLE STATE CAPITAL IN AMERICA HAS A VIABLE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM AND I’M NOT GOING TO LET COLUMBIA BE THE ONLY ONE LEFT BEHIND.

BUT THIS ISN’T ABOUT MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO. THIS ISN’T ABOUT SUBSIDIZING THE SAME OLD BUS SYSTEM. THIS IS ABOUT FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGING THE WAY WE LOOK AT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.

IMAGINE A FLEET OF CLEAN, NEXT GENERATION, ENERGY-EFFICIENT BUSES, OUTFITTED WITH MOBILE BROADBAND SO COMMUTERS CAN WORK ON THEIR WAY TO WORK.

IMAGINE INCREASING RIDERSHIP BY TAPPING INTO THE ROUGHLY 50,000 STUDENTS FROM USC, BENEDICT, ALLEN, COLUMBIA COLLEGE, MIDLANDS TECH AND CIU.

IMAGINE INTER-MODAL, REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION HUBS THAT CONNECT USC WITH DOWNTOWN AND THE VISTA, CAYCE, WEST COLUMBIA, LEXINGTON AND BLYTHEWOOD – CENTERS OF ACTIVITY BRINGING BUS AND RAIL TOGETHER PROVIDING NEW OUTLETS FOR LOCAL MERCHANTS AND NEW CUSTOMERS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.

IMAGINE MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE 1,400 WORKERS AT FORT JACKSON WHO RELY ON CMRTA BY CONNECTING THEM AND THOUSANDS MORE WITH ALL OF THE CENTERS OF CULTURE AND COMMERCE THROUGHOUT THE MIDLANDS

IMAGINE POSITIONING COLUMBIA AS A NEW, VIBRANT AND GREEN 21ST CENTURY METROPOLIS WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AT ITS CORE.

THIS IS ABOUT A NEW VISION THAT SEES PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NOT AS A BURDEN TO BE CARRIED BUT A BOON THAT CAN CARRY US INTO A BRIGHT NEW FUTURE TOGETHER.

WE HAVE A LOT TO CELEBRATE HERE IN COLUMBIA.

THE STATE OF OUR CITY IS STRONG – STRONG, BUT UNSATISFIED.

BECAUSE, AS PROUD AS WE ARE OF HOW FAR WE’VE COME, I LOOK OVER THE HORIZON TO WHERE WE’RE GOING AND I SEE A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY UNLIKE ANYTHING WE’VE EVER KNOWN AND WITH ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER – EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM AND EVERYONE AT HOME DOING THEIR PART – I KNOW WE CAN GET THERE.

COLUMBIA IS A GREAT CITY. BUT WE CAN BE EVEN BETTER.

WE’RE READY TO GET STARTED.

WE’RE READY TO LEAD.

WE’RE READY TO BE THE MOST TALENTED, EDUCATED AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CITY IN AMERICA!

WE’RE READY TO BE ONE GREAT COLUMBIA!

THANK YOU. GOD BLESS YOU. AND GOD BLESS THE CITY OF COLUMBIA.

Benjamin joins Ogletree, Deakins law firm

Just got this release…

OK, never mind! I was going to copy a couple of grafs out of the release here for your perusal, but it’s a blasted PDF file, and you know how sometimes you can copy text out of a PDF and sometimes you can’t? This is one of those where you can’t, which is another occasion for me to say, as a blogger who values convenience and accessibility in information online…

I FRICKIN’ HATE PDFS, AND DON’T KNOW WHY PEOPLE INSIST UPON USING THEM!!!

OK, that’s out of my system.

Anyway, the release, which you can find here, says that Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, one of the nation’s largest labor and employment law firms, has hired Steve Benjamin effective Aug. 1.

I guess it’s kind of hard keeping a small law firm (Benjamin Law Firm, LLC) going when you’re distracted by the all-consuming “part-time” job of being mayor. Maybe someday we’ll get all grown up and have a full-time mayor in this town, and then the mayor won’t have to make arrangements on the side to feed his family. In the meantime, this kind of move makes sense: Going with a large firm that can afford to give you lots of leeway on your time…

Steve Benjamin’s fast start

It may look like the mayor is deeply involved in some problem facing the city, but actually he's "taking orders" from his wife./photo by Brad Warthen

Steve Benjamin wants to get a lot done as Columbia’s new mayor, and his first city council meeting is testimony to that: Right off the bat, he’s moving on getting Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott to take over the city’s troubled police department.

That’s real action, and of the sort that the city needs more of.

I dropped by the new mayor’s office yesterday to see how he’s getting along — which was a new experience for me, actually. I never visited Mayor Bob in his office before. (When I was at the paper, I didn’t get out much, and when I did it was usually to the State House, not local gummint offices.) Of course, it was a different office. There was nothing particularly remarkable about this one. It’s bigger than my office at ADCO, but not as well air-conditioned. It’s not as nice as the corner office I had at The State (which had formerly been the publisher’s office). Somewhere in the middle — a Mama Bear office. It had nowhere near the impressive drama of Joe Riley’s office in Charleston. There, the visitor can hardly see The Mayor seated behind his desk and gloriously backlit by a huge cathedral window, letting the visitor know he is in The Presence — which is perfectly appropriate, since I think Mayor Joe is America’s best mayor. Steve had a window behind him, but that was about it.

I mention those details because when I had lunch with ex-Mayor Bob yesterday he referred to an Adam Beam story that Bob felt implied Steve was being grandiose in taking the city manager’s office for himself — but I think Bob was being extra touchy on Steve’s behalf there. I thought Adam’s reference was sort of neutral. In any case, there’s nothing grand about the office.

Anyway, during my visit Steve touched on a number of things he wants to move on, from small to large:

  • He showed me mockups of highway signs that are to go at all the entrances to Columbia, saying “Welcome to Columbia, Home of the 2010 NCAA College Baseball National Champion University of South Carolina Gamecocks.”
  • As for his idea about getting the USC Law School to move into the office space formerly occupied by SCANA, “That’s something that I want so bad that I can taste it.” Ideally, a private 3rd party would buy the building and lease it to the university so that it stays on the tax rolls, but if that doesn’t happen it’s not a deal-breaker. He’s working on the USC trustees one at a time, and is finding some support for the move. There are some who still want to build a new building, but the Main Street idea is far more practical, and would do so much to further the continued revitalization of that corridor.
  • Speaking of which, he wants to get the streetscaping of Main Street finished. He thinks it’s an oversight that that didn’t get into the mix of projects that would be funded by the sales tax increase for transportation that will be on the ballot in November. Beyond that, he has a number of ideas about further enhancing the city center, including — this would be down the line, probably with federal dollars — a restoration of City Hall and a revamp of the space between it and the county courthouse, getting rid of the parking lot and tying the buildings together better.
  • Trolleys. He wants to bring them back at some point, not as part of the overall transportation strategy, but merely as an aid to tourism. With the convention center up and running and busy and the new convention hotel and the Vista still booming and Main Street coming back, he sees much more potential for the trolleys than was there when the used to ride around empty.
  • An industrial park. He sees Columbia as badly needing a place to put large businesses if it manages to recruit them. He sees the city as needing something — probably on the south end of town — like the space that the aforementioned SCANA moved to across the river.
  • Speaking of across the river — he continues to be all about regional cooperation, from the airport to the convention center (which is in need of expansion — we’re losing a lot of conventions for which it is too small, from what I hear). And he doesn’t see that running one way. He wants the city more involved in helping to promote the Lake Murray area and other parts of the Midlands.

He’s restless and ready to get moving. Which is promising.