Runyan concession letter

Catching up with e-mail, I ran into this from Wednesday:

CAMERON A. RUNYAN

                                                    02 April 2008
Dear Mr. Rickenmann,
    Congratulations on your re-election to the Columbia City Council. Like me, I am sure that you are very grateful to your many supporters. Although I needed to limit my run for this important office to only a few months and ran a campaign built on small donations and many volunteer hours, I am pleased with the result. Our joint appearances raised many important issues, addressed a number of significant concerns, and challenged voters to consider what priorities they want to see addressed as we look to the future of our great city.
    At times our conversations were spirited – as they should have been. We disagreed on many matters. And that is as it should be. We owed our constituents our directness, our honesty and our zeal as we challenged each other and offered differing visions for the city. We each presented a unique set of experiences and skills to be applied to Office of City Council Person.
    While my support grew steadily throughout the campaign from 11 percent in its first days to 42 percent last night, it is clear that a majority of voters considered you worthy of a second term. I hope it is one marked by an overriding concern for the needs of our citizens.
    I stand ready to be of assistance as you and your fellow council members grapple with how to ensure that every tax dollar is spent carefully with citizens able to access information related to this easily and in a timely manner. I stand ready to be of assistance as you all weigh in on the future development of Five Points especially in regards to the clean up of the recently identified contamination at the Kenny’s site and as you gather all the pertinent information regarding the best use of the property. I stand ready to be of assistance as the Council addresses safety in our city through innovative gang intervention programs, an expansion of the number of police officers on the streets, better pay and benefits for our officers to encourage retention, and the study of the establishment of a police reserve/auxiliary like those in our county and in so many other cities in this state.
    I believe in local political action as the first step in any national movement toward reform. I will stay actively involved and committed to my city and its people. Call on me if I can be of help. I look forward to continued engagement with you and your fellow Council Members in the years ahead.
Respectfully,
Cameron Runyan
PO Box 1933 • Columbia, SC 29202

3 thoughts on “Runyan concession letter

  1. Phillip

    What immediately comes to mind in reading this letter is the omission of any mention of the famous flyer. (I admit that I do live across the street from Bethel AME but it wasn’t me, just for the record).
    I know Runyan has denied having anything to do with it, but he wouldn’t have had to admit any responsibility in the letter while still saying something to the effect that he was sorry to see something like that injected into the campaign at the last minute and that it did an injustice to the otherwise dignified campaign they ran against each other, yada yada yada.
    Would have been an added touch of class to the concession letter.

  2. fonzie

    What an asswipe! He takes the entire letter to tell Rickenmann how important he (Runyan) is.
    Hey Cammy, you lost. Go pick up your signs.

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