Tina Herbert strongly considering Columbia City Council run

Tina Herbert spent plenty of time at Columbia City Hall in her former role as the director of the city’s Office of Business Opportunities.

Now it appears she may look for a return to City Hall in a policy-making role.

Herbert, an attorney, told The State she is strongly considering a run for Columbia City Council in District 1. That seat in the largely African American district in north Columbia has been held by Councilman Sam Davis for 23 years. However, Davis announced recently he would not be seeking reelection this year.

There are a host of seats up in this year’s Nov. 2 municipal election, including mayor, an at-large post, District 1 and District 4. Filing for the elections is expected to be in August.

Herbert said she would likely make a formal announcement about her Council intentions in the spring. However, she was clear that she is seriously examining a run.

“I think I can do something to help the district and make it better and address concerns,” Herbert said. “I’m weighing whether or not I can have a positive impact on the district. And if I think that I can, I will run.”

Herbert is currently an attorney with the Mickle & Bass firm. She previously worked for a number of years as the director of the Office of Business Opportunities at the city, where she worked to reduce barriers for small, minority and women-owned businesses.

There have been a number of chess pieces moving on the city political board lately.

Mayor Steve Benjamin announced he wouldn’t seek reelection this year after three terms. Subsequently, longtime at-large Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine announced she would run for mayor, as did District 4 Councilman Daniel Rickenmann. Former Benjamin aide Sam Johnson also said he’s running for mayor.

With Devine turning her attention to the mayoral race, two candidates — businesswoman Heather Bauer and public health official Aditi Bussells — have said they’ll seek the at-large seat.