by Adam Beam
The State
Columbia mayoral candidate Steve Benjamin has hired one of President Barack Obama’s political consultants to lead his campaign — a sign some observers say of what it would take to unseat the popular, powerful 20-year incumbent Mayor Bob Coble.
Craig Schirmer, who led the get-out-the-vote efforts for Obama in the 2008 South Carolina primary and again in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in the general election, has signed on as Benjamin’s general consultant for the April City Council elections.
Schirmer first appeared in South Carolina in 1998, when he authored a coordinated campaign plan for state Democrats in the year they won five statewide races — including the governor’s office for Jim Hodges.
Since then, Schirmer has developed a reputation as an organizational guru whose specialty is identifying likely voters and getting them to the polls.
“He’s the gold standard,” Hodges said. “He did a remarkable job finding many voters who have never voted before, and to get them out to vote.”
City political observers say that’s what it will take for Benjamin to defeat Coble.
So far, the mayor’s elections have been easy victories bookended by a pair of serious challengers — the first in 1990, when Coble defeated Mayor Patton Adams and the second in 2006, when Coble defeated local advertising executive Kevin Fisher. ...
While Benjamin has statewide election experience — he raised more than $1 million in a failed bid for state attorney general in 2002 — this is his first foray into the hyper-local politics of city government, where races are won and lost at neighborhood association meetings and backyard barbecues. ...
Others on Benjamin’s team include Laurin Manning, one of the state’s first political bloggers, who worked on new media for Obama’s presidential campaign in six states. She is helping Benjamin with his Web site.
And Joseph Oppermann, a local attorney, is Benjamin’s campaign manager. Oppermann worked on Terence Roberts’ successful 2006 campaign when he beat a 20-year incumbent to become the first black mayor of Anderson, in the Upstate — something Benjamin hopes to replicate in Columbia.
“It’s a similar situation,” Opperman said. “But the big thing that attracted me to this race is Steve Benjamin. I think he’s one of the most brightest young leaders in this state.” ...
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The State
Columbia mayoral candidate Steve Benjamin has hired one of President Barack Obama’s political consultants to lead his campaign — a sign some observers say of what it would take to unseat the popular, powerful 20-year incumbent Mayor Bob Coble.
Craig Schirmer, who led the get-out-the-vote efforts for Obama in the 2008 South Carolina primary and again in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in the general election, has signed on as Benjamin’s general consultant for the April City Council elections.
Schirmer first appeared in South Carolina in 1998, when he authored a coordinated campaign plan for state Democrats in the year they won five statewide races — including the governor’s office for Jim Hodges.
Since then, Schirmer has developed a reputation as an organizational guru whose specialty is identifying likely voters and getting them to the polls.
“He’s the gold standard,” Hodges said. “He did a remarkable job finding many voters who have never voted before, and to get them out to vote.”
City political observers say that’s what it will take for Benjamin to defeat Coble.
So far, the mayor’s elections have been easy victories bookended by a pair of serious challengers — the first in 1990, when Coble defeated Mayor Patton Adams and the second in 2006, when Coble defeated local advertising executive Kevin Fisher. ...
While Benjamin has statewide election experience — he raised more than $1 million in a failed bid for state attorney general in 2002 — this is his first foray into the hyper-local politics of city government, where races are won and lost at neighborhood association meetings and backyard barbecues. ...
Others on Benjamin’s team include Laurin Manning, one of the state’s first political bloggers, who worked on new media for Obama’s presidential campaign in six states. She is helping Benjamin with his Web site.
And Joseph Oppermann, a local attorney, is Benjamin’s campaign manager. Oppermann worked on Terence Roberts’ successful 2006 campaign when he beat a 20-year incumbent to become the first black mayor of Anderson, in the Upstate — something Benjamin hopes to replicate in Columbia.
“It’s a similar situation,” Opperman said. “But the big thing that attracted me to this race is Steve Benjamin. I think he’s one of the most brightest young leaders in this state.” ...
Click here to view the original article.
