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COLUMBIA — Former Mayor Steve Benjamin’s chief of staff is stepping into the race for one of Columbia’s at-large council seats.
Sam Johnson plans to officially file for the race on Aug. 13. He will challenge incumbent at-large City Councilmember Aditi Bussells, who won the seat four years ago.
“Sometimes I think people think government is this great thing that we see on the news, but does it actually, really, truly help people?” Johnson said in an exclusive interview with The Post and Courier on Aug. 12.
Johnson said his campaign slogan — “It’s about you” — hits at the core of his platform: being responsive and honest with his constituents.
He said sometimes the federal and state government can get too focused on philosophy, and not enough on action.
While Johnson acknowledges the need for what he calls “highbrow” conversations, he said the work done on the local level is more important for him, both to see change being made in peoples’ lives and for those people to see that their government is listening to them.
“Realizing how much impact you can make, relatively quickly, in local government and the ability to change people’s lives is such a cool thing,” he said.
Johnson, 37, previously ran for mayor in 2021 and lost to Daniel Rickenmann. Rickenmann is running for reelection this year. So far, one person has declared she will run against him — Jessica Thomas.
Johnson has a background in politics. He served in a top role for both longtime Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and worked as a legislative aid for former South Carolina House Representative Anton Gunn before that.
Issues
When reflecting on the lessons he learned in his 2021 campaign for mayor, Johnson said that Columbia, and the country as a whole, is very different than it was four years ago.
“You want to be responsive to the issue of the day, and make sure that you are really addressing those needs,” Johnson said.
One of those key areas is economic development, where Johnson says he brings particular expertise.
Johnson thinks the current council has done well with a lot of their initiative, like the emphasis around bike and pedestrian friendliness, and expanding the greenway, but said they’re missing an opportunity to invest in the arts as an “economic development tool.”
“When you look at some of our peer cities, they have that ability to retain talent and growth because they’re viewed as a city with so much cultural texture. I think that texture comes from having a very valuable arts community,” Johnson said. “I think leaning in and finding out how we double down on our amazing arts organizations is something that we’ve got to focus on.”
Some issues, like housing and homelessness, remain central to his platform.
Johnson said the council needs to be “bullish” on housing, suggesting the city give private-sector developers more of a seat at the table.
As for homelessness, Johnson said it’s a conversation that’s circled around Columbia for decades, but the only way to go forward is to bring more people to the table. Johnson said he can leverage political connections to Richland County Council and local homelessness organizations to help bring in more perspective.
“It’s not a simple solution, but one of the things that I think stops us from even beginning the conversation is collaboration between the city, the county, neighborhood leaders, and service providers,” Johnson said.
