Columbia business owners undecided on 2010 mayoral race

The Columbia Chamber of Commerce has endorsed candidate Bob McDavid.

By Nichole Ballard

Published April 6, 2010

Business owners in Columbia are unsure whom to choose for mayor in today's election, but they want the winner to address the concerns of local small businesses.

Despite the Columbia Chamber of Commerce's endorsement of Bob McDavid for mayor, many business owners remain undecided.

The Chamber chose McDavid based on a survey of candidates' positions on issues such as economic development and crime, President Don Laird said.

"It boils down to where they feel in terms of the best person to represent and do the job for the city of Columbia," he said.

He did not say what positions specifically made the chamber choose McDavid.

Chamber of Commerce member Mickey Marrero said she hasn't decided whom to vote for yet. Marrero, who owns New York Deli on Vandiver Drive, is leaning toward McDavid because she was able to speak with him in person.

Marrero said McDavid told her the city should be serving small businesses better.

"We are like their customers," she said. "It's us small business people that are really keeping Columbia going. We should be treated with more respect and consideration."

Marrero said she and her husband are having trouble obtaining an occupancy permit to expand the restaurant, even though the city inspector told her there would be no problems with the reconstruction.

Marrero said her restaurant finished renovations only to get turned down for an occupancy permit three times for different reasons each time.

"I feel that when I called them and explained that they should have said 'look, this is what might occur,' " she said. "Then I could have made the decision on whether to proceed or not, bottom line."

Marrero said the new mayor should immediately address problems like hers.

CD Tradepost Manager Matt Robb is also undecided, but he said he is glad Mayor Darwin Hindman is retiring.

Robb said he wants to see policy geared toward the business and not toward the city's agenda. The money invested in the unused bike lane on Chapel Hill is an example of how the city is trying to be "PC," Robb said.

He said he wants the city to move away from the influence of "old money" and said only a handful of people in Columbia control the decisions for new businesses in town.

"They screw businesses that they don't want personally," he said. "It's that kind of thing that I would like to see eliminated."

Crime is another big issue in the race for mayor. Marrero and Robb both oppose Proposition 1, which McDavid and the Chamber of Commerce support.

This proposition, if approved, would let Columbia Police Department Chief Kenneth Burton place cameras in the downtown area. Supporters of the proposal said these cameras would reduce crime, but opponents said their presence would amount to an invasion of privacy.

Robb said he has seen more people coming into his electronics store looking for items that have been stolen from their home in the past year.

Marrero said she agrees with candidate Jerry Wade that neighborhood watch programs would be more practical than putting cameras downtown.

A New York native, Marrero said there wasn't much of a crime problem in Columbia, but she said drugs and youth are probably the biggest factors contributing to it.

Several downtown business people, including Shakespeare's Pizza's Kurt Mirtsching and Broadway Diner's Ed Johnson said even though they have a business in the city, they couldn't vote because they live outside city limits.