Brown, Lumpkin face run-off election for District 4’s City Council seat
COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Early voting has begun for Columbia residents in the upcoming November 18th run-off election — including two candidates vying for District Four’s City Council seat.
Neither incumbent Councilman Peter Brown or challenger Julie Lumpkin received 50% of the votes to cross the threshold needed.
ABC Columbia’s Lee Williams spoke with each candidate on Wednesday, both highlighting their different backgrounds. Lumpkin spent decades as a public health professional and leader in community service. Brown is the president of a local company based in Columbia.
“I think we have a really clear choice between myself and Mr. Brown. He emphasizes that he’s a business man and that’s been his whole life. My life has been focused on community and public health. So I have a different set of skills which are more relational,” says Lumpkin.
“I think we’ve done a good job of running it (City Council) like a business, but also with the care that a municipality has to keep in mind as well, so yea, we’re not about profit and loss but we are about spending money and being careful with how we spend money and taking it seriously so I think we’ve done a good job,” says Brown.
Both provided perspectives on growth within communities, believing it starts with trust.
“We’ve got 2,100 empty residential lots in Columbia. That’s not good for public safety either. So a lot of this is just getting people on board building this trust and bringing the communities along,” says Brown.
“We have more building of single residents as well as town homes and apartments going on in Columbia. What I want to make sure is the site inspected for its ability to support incoming population. Do we have infrastructure? Water, sewer, roads, lights — all the things people in neighborhoods expect to have,” says Lumpkin.
Brown has been endorsed by Mayor Daniel Rickenmann. Lumpkin is endorsed by both Senator Tameika Isaac Devine, and Rep. Heather Bauer.
“If you like what’s going on in Columbia, vote for me. I think we’ve done an amazing job on this council, collaborating with all the partners and stakeholders to try to move Columbia forward. And that’s what we talk about all the time, it takes collaboration, it takes leadership, it takes purpose, it takes strategy,” says Brown.
“I think this is an extremely important city election. I cannot emphasize that enough. What I see happening on the City Council right now, is a kind of imbalance of perspectives and visions for the city. I see a lot of concentration on Main Street and Downtown, and for District 4 that’s not as helpful, because while we can enjoy the amenities there, we also have our own concern in the district,” says Lumpkin.
Incumbent At-large Councilwoman Aditi Bussells will also face off against challenger Sam Johnson in the run-off. Early voting is available Wednesday, November 12th through Friday, November 14th between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Run-off Election Day is Tuesday, November 18th.
