COLUMBIA, SC – Steve Benjamin’s Mayoral Campaign broke onto the airwaves this week with a radio ad featuring a 2007 voicemail left by then Senator Barack Obama.
 
“I’ve saved this voicemail for well over two years now,” Benjamin explains. “It has been a personal inspiration for me because I still believe in what we can do when we work together. I still believe in hope.”
 

Steve Benjamin wants to be your next Mayor of Columbia! He has been doing what it takes to make that happen. Along with supporters like you, Steve has been knocking on doors and calling folks personally in the community to inform them on why he would to lead the City of Columbia!

We encourage you to join us every Saturday as we make it our mission to the neighborhoods all across Columbia. We will meet at the Benjamin for Mayor HQ (1529 Washington Street) at 10am. If you are interested in assisting please feel free to email that campaign at info@stevebenjamin.com.

COLUMBIA, SC - Columbia mayoral candidate Steve Benjamin called on the Mayor and all City Council Members to forgo half of their city salaries for two years as part of a larger plan to eliminate waste and maximize efficiency within Columbia's City Government.
 

It has been truly wonderful to have your support as we have launched a campaign driven at delivering leadership, accountability, and vision to the city of Columbia.

This was a fantastic and eventful week as we continued our push to bring Bold, New Leadership to the city of Columbia! Because of the energetic response that we have gotten from supporters all over the city, we have been able to effectively address the key challenges that our city is facing:

Earlier today Steve issued the following statement on the racial graffiti found on City Hall this morning:

“I was disgusted this morning to learn that what should be a symbol of inclusion in our representative democracy had been vandalized with bigotry and intolerance.

This incident was clearly designed to frighten and intimidate but it has had the opposite result.

This is exactly why we need a new leader who can unify all of us behind a new vision for Columbia, and I am now more than ever dedicated to that cause.

I have absolute faith that our city’s police force will identify and apprehend those responsible but, more importantly, I have faith that the people of Columbia will come together to reject this kind of illegal and unacceptable activity.

The challenges facing our city are as serious as the stakes are high. We cannot address them distracted by ignorance. We cannot overcome them if we are divided by hate.
We are one people. We are one Columbia. Only by coming together can we make this a city of vision, opportunity, and hope for all.”

In these difficult times when many struggle in the shadows of fear and despair, I can think of few celebrations more fitting than a festival of light.

I can think of few better expressions of community than reminding those who are less fortunate that they do not stand alone and that even the deepest darkness can be driven away with the lighting of a single candle.

So it is with faith and hope in our hearts that we wish you a safe and happy Hanukkah.  From our family to yours, we say, "Shalom."

Yesterday Steve appeared on WACH Fox's "Good Day" with Ashleigh Messervy.  Check out his interview below:

Be sure to check out Steve's blog post on putting first responders first.  We urge you to join Steve in calling on Columbia City Council to fully restore funding for our first responders by signing our petition.

Like most of you, I have watched with mounting frustration as the drama of our city’s financial woes has played out in the media. Each new revelation of irresponsible spending, shoddy accounting, and ballooning debt has further reinforced my conviction that an underlying Culture of Carelessness has entrenched itself in our City Hall.

Nowhere is this development more disturbing than in Council’s neglect of our city’s public safety.

The City of Columbia has slashed public safety funding by almost $9 million and the consequences of these decisions are as far reaching as they are dire. Still, too many of our leaders are refusing to see these hard truths.