Joe Taylor, Columbia city councilman and ex-SC commerce secretary, has died

Columbia City Councilman Joe Taylor, an outspoken force in politics and business in the capital city, has died at the age of 64.

Councilman Howard Duvall and others confirmed Taylor’s death on Thursday morning.

Taylor was elected to a seat on Columbia City Council in 2021 representing District 4 on the east side of the city. He took the council seat of Daniel Rickenmann, who was elected Columbia’s mayor in the same election.

Rickenmann on Thursday called Taylor one of the city’s “biggest advocates.”

”I can think of no person who cared more about Columbia, the Midlands, or South Carolina than Joe,” the mayor said. “He led with his heart and passion to help others. He was more than a colleague or a friend, he was family. I will deeply miss him and am very grateful to have known him.”

Taylor previously served as South Carolina’s commerce secretary from 2005 to 2011, the primary figure in state government promoting business development and investment in the Palmetto State, serving under former Gov. Mark Sanford.

Sanford praised Taylor’s work building the kind of business environment South Carolina enjoys today by attracting major international manufacturers to the state, particularly the Boeing airplane manufacturing plant that opened in North Charleston in 2011.

“His impact in our state was monumental,” said Sanford, who as governor awarded Taylor the Order of the Palmetto. “You can see that with deals like Boeing, which have impacted the lives of thousands upon thousands of people in our state, but frankly that was just the tip of the iceberg.

“He was a giant among men, that rare combination of highly effective businessperson, but someone who hadn’t lost his soul,” Sanford said. “You couldn’t find a greater friend than Joe Taylor.”

Taylor was a South Carolina native who studied at Wofford College and helped his father found Southland Log Homes, according to his City Council biography. He is survived by his wife, Amanda, and an adult son and daughter.

As a young man, Taylor took the helm of the business he built with his father “and really accelerated it to a level that I don’t think anyone thought possible,” said Joe Walker, a Richland County councilman and a cousin of Taylor’s. “He fought through a lot of obstacles along the way to do it.”

Walker described Taylor as “a leader among leaders and a big presence in any room he entered. He could be intimidating but had a softness and kindness and charitability to his character that a lot of us strive to emulate. ... That will be his legacy.”

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca, also mourned Taylor’s passing on Twitter.

“I was shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of my good friend, Joe Taylor,” Graham tweeted. “Joe was a force in South Carolina business and politics, and a friend to so many.”

“His time as South Carolina’s Secretary of Commerce was one of unprecedented growth for our state,” Graham said in a statement. “He was also a strong and challenging voice on the Columbia City Council — always looking out for the taxpayer.”

Gov. Henry McMaster announced that the flags at the S.C. State House will fly at half staff on the day of Taylor’s funeral service.

“Joe Taylor has had an enormous impact on the Midlands and on the state of South Carolina,” McMaster said. “Please join Peggy and me in praying for Amanda and the Taylor family.”

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Springdale, honored Taylor as a constituent and a frequent sight at Columbia’s First Presbyterian Church.

“A highlight of my service has been to work with Joe on so many issues on behalf of the citizens of the Midlands, the city, and the state,” Wilson said in a statement. “As fellow members of the First Presbyterian Church, our family will always recall sitting three rows behind him. He was a reassuring presence.”

Even before becoming a city councilman, Taylor had been a longtime voice on Columbia city affairs. Before launching his campaign, he had been critical of the city for what he saw as impediments to doing business, and trumpeted a sprawling property tax analysis the city commissioned last year that showed the Columbia area having the highest taxes in South Carolina among large metros.

“This sudden and unexpected loss has had a major impact on our City of Columbia family,” the city said in a statement Thursday. “During his tenure on City Council, Councilman Taylor was an advocate for business development, particularly as it related to small business owners, and a champion of commerce. He truly believed in the greatness of our city and he was focused on making Columbia better for all citizens. We will miss his leadership and his dedication to our community.”

Councilwoman Aditi Bussells added her own comments in a statement, calling Taylor a “bold, passionate, and caring person, who made me excited about waking up to solve problems facing our city everyday.”

“Joe and I couldn’t have been more different on paper in terms of where we come from or how we grew up,” Bussells said. “However, our love for Columbia and our outlook on life was the same: he would not settle for anything but the best for our community, our neighbors and our family — even if that meant ruffling feathers along the way.”

A confident and loquacious character, Taylor quickly became a dominant force on City Council. He was leading a charge to overhaul the city’s property tax structure, and he, in tandem with Rickenmann, frequently advocated for moves to improve conditions for local businesses across the city.

He had a hand in numerous real estate developments and was CEO of Park and Washington LLC and co-owner of Il Bucato pizza restaurant on Beltline Boulevard.

“It’s shocking. I just can’t believe it,” said Duvall, who said the mayor informed him of Taylor’s death Thursday morning. “He was a real change agent on council. ... I just hate to see this.”

“Joe will be missed greatly,” said former Columbia Mayor Bob Coble, who said Taylor’s focus was on economic betterment. “Making the tax burden fairer for all citizens was one project he was working on recently.”

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who knew Taylor more than 40 years, said he first met him in 1977, when Lott was a young Richland County sheriff’s investigator and Taylor was in his early 20s.

At that time, Lott said, Taylor’s younger brother Tommy had been brutally murdered along with his girlfriend, Carlotta Hartness, by three killers, two of whom were later executed. The third died in prison. The Taylor-Hartness case was one of the Midlands’ most notorious killings at the time.

For years afterward, Lott said Thursday, he remained close to Taylor, even becoming “hunting buddies” with him.

“He was a no-nonsense person. And if something was to be done, he wanted it done right, and he wanted it to be done now,” Lott said. “But behind the scenes, he was a kind and gentle person.

“Joe was somebody who was a very shrewd businessman who made a lot of money and put that back into the community,” Lott said. “He ran for city council — that’s not something he needed to do. That’s something he wanted to do to bring the city forward.”

Steve Cook, owner of Saluda’s restaurant in Five Points who also co-owned Il Bucato with Taylor, said he met Taylor “the way that he met hundreds of other people” — through Taylor’s curiosity and penchant for connecting with people all over Columbia.

Taylor “knew everybody in Columbia and in South Carolina, and it seems like he made an impression on everybody,” Cook said. “The thing I’d always say about Joe is if I achieved the success that he did in his life, it would be very difficult to continue to give back the way he did every single day.”

Walker, Taylor’s cousin, echoed that sentiment.

“I hope that everyone remembers Joe as the guy who was giving back all the way to the end,” Walker said.