
Columbia City Council met in the dark last night because of a power outage at the Eau Claire Print Building.
It didn’t.
Mayor Steve Benjamin, in his second full council meeting, suggested the council not vote on a controversial ordinance that would exempt cigar bars from the city’s smoking ban. The reason was because Councilman Daniel Rickenmann, a former restaurant owner, was not at the meeting and couldn’t vote. Also, newly elected District 2 Councilman Brian DeQuincey Newman, won’t be sworn in until tonight so he couldn’t vote.
It will be until at least the middle of September until council members take up this issue again. That’s because Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine will be out on maternity leave until then, and Benjamin said he wants to have the full council take up the issue. It’s probably a smart idea, because it would avoid the possibility of a tie vote.
Devine was at the meeting last night because it was an evening meeting. She can’t make the morning meetings because she has to care for her newborn.
Brian Newman’s swearing-in ceremony
The new Columbia City Council, from left: Sam Davis (District 1), Leona Plaugh (District 4), Brian DeQuincey Newman (District 2), Tameika Isaac Devine (at large) and Steve Benjamin (mayor). Not pictured: Belinda Gergel (District 3) and Daniel Rickenmann (at large).
Columbia City Council is back to full strength after District 2 City Councilman Brian DeQuincey Newman was sworn in last night to fulfill the remaining two years of former Councilman E.W. Cromartie’s term.
Cromartie, as I’m sure most of you know, was forced to resign in March after he agreed to plead guilty to federal tax evasion charges. He has not been sentenced yet.
Newman was sworn in by his father, Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman. Judge Newman said it was 10 years and one month ago that his son held the Bible for him as he was sworn in as a judge. It was a nice moment.
During his speech, Newman called Cromartie the “most effective councilman in our history,” which earned a few “that’s right” from people in the audience, made up of mostly longtime District 2 residents. His comment got at least one opposite response from a Twitter user, showing that Cromartie is still a divisive figure in city politics.
Newman ended his speech this way:
His first council meeting will be Wednesday at 9 a.m. An agenda has not been released yet.