Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina

Mayor of the City of Columbia
Incumbent
Stephen K. Benjamin

since July 2010
Style His Honor
Term length Four years
Inaugural holder Edward J. Arthur
Formation 17th century

The mayor of Columbia, South Carolina is elected at large for a four-year term. The duties of the mayor is to create policy and enact laws, rules and regulations for the city of Columbia. Stephen K. Benjamin, who assumed office on July 2010 after a run-off election, is the current mayor of Columbia, and the first to be elected of African descent.

On November 5, 2013, Benjamin received 64% of the total vote, allowing him to remain mayor for four more years.[1]

Mayors of Columbia

Term Mayor
1855–1857 Edward J. Arthur
1857–1859 James D. Tradewell
1859–1861 Allen J. Green
1861–1863 John H. Boatwright
1863–1865 Thomas J. Goodwyn
May 1865 – April 1866 James C. Gibbes
April 1866 – July 1868 Theodore Stark
July–August 1868 Francis L. Guenther
August–November 1868 Cyrus H. Baldwin
1868–1870 John McKenzie
1870–1878 John Alexander
1878–1880 William B. Stanley
1880–1882 Richard O'Neale Jr.
1882–1890 John T. Rhett
1890–1892 Fitz William McMaster
1892–1894 Walter C. Fisher
1894–1898 William M. Sloan
1898–1900 Thomas J. Lipscomb
1900–1904 Fort Sumter Earle
1904–1908 Thomas H. Gibbes
1908–1910 William S. Reamer
1910–1914 Wade Hampton Gibbes
1914–1918 Lewie A. Griffith
1918–1922 R. Johnson Blalock
1922–1926 William A. Coleman
1926–1941 Lawrence B. Owens
1941–1946 Fred D. Marshall
1946–1950 Frank C. Owens
1950–1954 J. Macfie Anderson
1954–1958 J. Clarence Dreher
1958–1970 Lester L. Bates
1970–1978 John T. Campbell
1978–1986 Kirkman Finlay, Jr.
1986–1990 T. Patton Adams
1990–2010 Bob Coble
2010–present Stephen K. Benjamin

Current Mayor of Columbia

Steve Benjamin, the current mayor of Columbia, won in a run-off election after mayor Bob Coble stepped down. Benjamin's parents are from Orangeburg, SC but he was born in Queens, New York during the 1960s when many African-Americans decided to relocate to the North for better economic opportunities. Benjamin spent his childhood growing up in New York City where his parents, Sam and Maggie Benjamin, worked numerous jobs to support Steve and his elder brother Samuel. After a stable adolescence in New York, Benjamin relocated back to Columbia where he was admitted into the University of South Carolina to study Political Science.

During his studies, Benjamin became active in many student organizations that influenced his career path. He was actively involved in the student chapter of NAACP, eventually becoming president. Benjamin was also elected as student body president during his undergraduate career and went on to become president of the University of South Carolina School of Law student bar association during his third year. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

See also

References

  1. Petty, Kelly; Wallace, Allen (6 November 2013). "Steve Benjamin wins re-election in Columbia mayoral race". Coldaily.com. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
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