Steve Benjamin Is In, People

As we first reported back in January, Columbia attorney Steve Benjamin is running for mayor of South Carolina’s capital city.

He hasn’t officially announced his candidacy yet, but he’s got at least three fundraisers on his schedule over the next few weeks – according to sources close to the former Democratic Attorney General candidate.

And we noted in our original report back in January, Benjamin has an excellent chance of defeating five-term incumbent Bob Coble in this race – especially given the fiscal mismanagement that has plagued South Carolina’s capital city over the last few years. Estimates vary as to the depth of the financial hole that Columbia has dug for itself, but sources tell FITS it could be as deep as $6 million – which will obviously cut against all incumbent politicians.

Last year’s deficit was $9 million – and that’s two years after the city had a surplus of $25 million.

There’s also the “O-factor” – as in President Barack Obama – who is expected to weigh in on Benjamin’s behalf. In fact, sources following the race say that Coble is deeply concerned about the impact of Obama’s rumored involvement. According to them, this is why Coble made such political hay over the Rusty DePass scandal, in which a Columbia-based Republican activist insulted First Lady Michelle Obama by comparing her to an escaped gorilla at a local zoo.

Yeah … that actually happened.

Looking to score political points, Mayor Bob was all over the television blasting DePass. He even sent a letter to Michelle Obama apologizing for the comment and assuring her that DePass did not speak for the city. (To which we can only say, “duh.”)

Some sources also claim it was Coble who insisted that DePass be fired from his job, although the Mayor has denied those reports.

Anyway, we can only interpret Coble’s aggressiveness in going after this “low-hanging fruit” as a sign that he fears Benjamin’s candidacy. And judging from an inaccurate (imagined?) blog post that got Columbia insiders in a tizzy on Thursday, he may not be the only one.

The blog post – which originated from a website with ties to City Councilman Kirkman Finley – stated that Benjamin was sending checks back to contributors, the obvious implication being that he was “out” of the race.

From The Pulse of Columbia:

The Pulse has received a number of phone calls this morning with the word that Benjamin is returning checks to contributors. If that’s the case, could it be that he’s calling it quits before he’s even officially announced? There’s plenty of speculation as to why… but suffice it to say that what was gearing up to be a very interesting three-way race next April could easily become a battle of the political axes in Columbia. Kirkman Finlay is expected to officially throw his hat into the ring soon, putting him head-to-head with Mayor Bob who’s vying for a sixth term.

Hmmm … anybody else reading between the lines here?

Like this was a calculated flight of fancy?

Again, Benjamin is running – although for whatever reason he’s pulling a Henry McMaster and waiting an exceedingly long time before officially declaring his intentions. Benjamin declined to provide a specific date for his announcement to FITS, though he did call The Pulse story “wishful thinking for some folks.”

Which it is.

Look, we’ve always stood up for The Pulse – particularly when the website was the victim of some unfair persecution at the hands of the local mainstream media. Truth is, they’ve always been one of our favorite local blogs – and they perform an invaluable service by exposing numerous examples of the waste, inefficiency, corruption and incompetence within city government.

But given The Pulse’s close proximity to the Finley campaign, an article like this one comes off as unsubstantiated political gamesmanship – which will damage the website’s credibility when it seeks to effect change on a city that desperately needs it.

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