Just before he conceded defeat in the strong-mayor referendum Tuesday night, Mayor Steve Benjamin looked to the future.
“My parents told me that you win some, you lose some,” Benjamin said, calling the election’s result a “missed opportunity” and said he would continue to work hard for the city of Columbia under the current system.
The referendum was a key point of Benjamin’s reelection campaign over the past year and would have overhauled the current form of local government. Had the referendum passed, Benjamin would have gained more power and authority in the city government.
But the referendum failed as nearly 57 percent of voters rejected the change. With 96 percent of precincts reporting, 6,684 voters had voted “no.”
Benjamin said he didn’t think that rain played a factor in the low voter turnout Tuesday but that he wants to make sure that future elections will be held in November.
Dennis Lambries, a USC professor who works with the Institute for Public Service and Policy Research, said that the strong-mayor form of government has both positive and negative aspects.
“It would make the elected official more involved and let him speak with authority,” Lambries said. “However, on the downside, a strong mayor could move the city in a direction that not everyone wants.”
Lambries said that with a strong-mayor system, the mayor would be more accountable to the people, could get things done more quickly and would serve as a true leader in government. However, with that power would come the possibility for the mayor to act in a more political manner to serve his own interests.
“Hypothetically, with the absence of guidance from council, his decisions could be of a purely political nature,” he said.
It was important for voters to look at other South Carolina cities and weigh their successes with the two different forms of government, Lambries said.
“If you look at Charleston, you can see the successes of Mayor (Joe) Riley and the strong mayor system,” he said. “But Greenville has a council-manager form of government, and they’ve had lots of growth and a dynamic downtown area.”
As for his personal opinion on the matter, Lambries said either system could be successful, but it depends on the political skill of the mayor elected.
“The proof in the pudding is implementation. It could be very effective, but also can be dysfunctional if blatantly political and if politics trump management,” he said.
A proponent of the strong-mayor system, Tim Goldman, said he would have believed in the new system because he “believed in Steve” and trusted that Benjamin had the political skill necessary to make such a system successful.
“After seeing all of the troubles that have happened in Columbia, I believe in holding the mayor accountable,” Goldman said. “I like the idea of a strong-mayor system better because it’s the lesser of two evils. Both systems are so bureaucratic.”
Another supporter of the referendum was Tom Prioreschi, who attended Benjamin’s post-election party Tuesday night.
“Our only hope is a great leader with great vision to make it happen,” Prioreschi said.
Mayor Benjamin conceded the race shortly after 9 p.m. and said that he had run a “solid, positive race.”
Looking forward, Benjamin said that public safety and economic development will be the main focus of his new term.
“Columbia is destined for greatness,” he said.