Decade-long Richland 1 school board member Beatrice King files to fill Columbia City Council seat

Longtime Richland 1 school board member Beatrice King is among the first to file to fill a now-vacant Columbia City Council seat.

Councilman Joe Taylor died unexpectedly Dec. 29. He served Columbia’s District 4, which borders Forest Acres.

After Taylor’s death, King said she started getting calls from friends and acquaintances suggesting she would be a good fit to fill the new void on council.

“Joe Taylor was a friend, and a giant,” she said. “He came with a wealth of experience and knowledge … and I want to honor his legacy and continue the path of growth he was so passionate about.”

Candidates were able to file to run for the seat beginning at noon Friday.

King’s top priorities on council should she be elected mirror those that Taylor himself championed.

The city’s tax base needs to be expanded, and hurdles for small and large businesses must be cleared, King told The State.

Most importantly, King said, she believes in being a good steward of public money. She believes she’s already led by example on these issues while serving on the Richland 1 school board.

In 2020 she gained attention when she publicly decried the district for spending $100 each on windbreakers for the seven-member school board. The incident became known as “jacket gate.”

She even wrote an op-ed for The State about the issue, writing, “Such gifts are unwarranted, and they don’t represent a prudent use of taxpayer money that should be directly invested in classrooms.”

King says she is qualified for reasons beyond her experience with Richland 1. She’s lived in Columbia for 30 years.

She came to Columbia from Paris in the spring of 1989, drawn by her brother’s love of the south and the University of South Carolina. She fell in love with the way everything blooms in Columbia in the spring, so she stuck around.

She later graduated from the school’s Masters of International Business program.

She raised three children in Columbia. When she retired from the school board last year, Mayor Daniel Rickenmann gave her the key to the city.

“It’s a love story, right?” King said. “I fell in love with the city. And I think our relationship has come to the point where I’m ready to tie the knot and say ‘I do, so help me God.’”

King was not the only candidate to enter the District 4 race Friday. Columbia businessman Peter Brown, who runs the Colite professional signage company, filed for candidacy and was endorsed by Rickenmann.

The special election for the District 4 Columbia City Council seat will be held March 28. Candidates can file to run for the seat until 12 p.m. Jan. 23.