Former FBI analyst endorses Benjamin after ‘prayer breakfast’
With a week left before voters head to the polls, Larry Sypolt withdrew from Columbia’s mayoral race Monday. He endorsed incumbent Steve Benjamin and accepted chairmanship of a citywide anti-crime task force.
The former FBI analystsaid he and Benjamin found themselves agreeing on almost every key issue in the race, especially on law enforcement and crime issues. Those issues were the main reasons Sypolt, a law enforcement veteran, chose to run in the first place.
“It’s hard to pick each other apart when we’re agreeing about everything,” Sypolt said. “It’s a disservice to the community to run against each other.”
The two came to the decision over the course of several conversations after public forums, Sypolt said. Benjamin and his family had Sypolt over for a “prayer breakfast” this weekend where they did not talk politics. That breakfast solidified Sypolt’s decision to drop out of the race, he said.
Sypolt will now chair the “Blue Ribbon Citizen’s Task Force for Crime Reform,” which will focus on Five Points but serve the needs of the entire city, Benjamin said. Additional members of the task force will be named this week.
The task force will consider Sypolt’s 13-point plan for fighting crime in Columbia, originally put forth as a campaign tool. The plan will also incorporate Martha’s List, recommendations to make Five Points safer suggested by the family of Five Points shooting victim and first-year business student Martha Childress. Input from USC students, Columbia residents and members of law enforcement agencies will also be considered. Benjamin said he had “a ream of paper” with ideas and suggestions for the task force and the issue of violent crime in Columbia.
Besides the task force, Sypolt did not disclose any future plans. But Benjamin was confident Sypolt would stick around.
“It’s better working together,” Benjamin said. “Larry’s not going anywhere.”