West Columbia Residents Vote in Strong Mayor Referendum

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — It seems that from the start of just a proposal for a Strong Mayor form of government, controversy has swarmed in West Columbia. That controversy is coming to a head, as West Columbia voters have turned out in numbers to cast their ballot. Every polling place we visited Tuesday reported high turnout. But, the lines for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are drawn. “It is about the form of government that our city will use going forward, that will outlast this mayor and this series of councilman,” says Bruce Brutschy, Co-Chair of West Columbia United “I think it gives us the ability to move forward. It gives the Mayor an opportunity to have some say in what’s going on right now when they pretty much, for the last six months, tried to take that away from the Mayor. I think in order for our city to move forward and have a good city, we need to have an active, participant Mayor and that’s not been happening for the last six months,” says Jimmy Brooks, Spokesperson for the “Vote Yes” campaign. While the two sides may not agree on the issue at hand, there is something they do seem to agree on. “We’re hoping for a ‘yes’ vote, but if it doesn’t go the way we want it to, you know, I hope ultimately at the end of the day, yes or no, we can all get back to doing the businesses of the city and get along. We can move forward from here no matter what the vote is,” says Brooks “If you look back over time, if you’ll remember when Ronald Reagan was President. He was able to reach across to Tip O’Neal, get things done. Same thing here, we need to reach across, mend fences and make our city the best it can be, very important,” says Brutschy The polls will remain open until 7:00 p.m. Stay with ABC Columbia News for team coverage on the results tonight at 11.