Equity, coalition-building talk highlights Columbia Council women’s candidate forum

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Though there is still more than a month to go before filing opens for this year’s Columbia City Council races, it’s already clear that women will be a force on the ballots. Four seats are up for grabs this year — mayor, an at-large post, District 1 and District 4 — and, of the 11 hopefuls who have formally announced campaigns, six are women. They include Tameika Isaac Devine running for mayor; Heather Bauer, Dr. Aditi Bussells and Deitra Stover Matthews running for the at-large seat; and Tina Herbert and Christa Williams seeking the District 1 seat. On Monday night, the South Carolina Democratic Women’s Council hosted a forum for the women seeking office in the capital city this year, and touched off a wide-ranging conversation on each of their candidacies. Themes of equity, communication, business and coalition-building ran throughout the forum.