COLUMBIA, S.C. — Daniel Rickenmann was officially sworn in as Columbia's newest mayor on January 4th, making this the cities first new mayor in a decade.
At the inauguration, community members and business owners said they're excited for a change in leadership.
Hundreds of people attended the inauguration ceremony, watching as the new Mayor of Columbia was officially sworn in, after a decade of the previous Mayor, Steve Benjamin at the helm.
Members of the community say they hope this change in leadership will spark growth across the city.
Rosendo Lucio, a bartender on Main Street says he wants to see investment back into the city. “The new mayor coming it’s a welcome change, especially with the world with how’s it been the last two years with COVID," said Lucio.
He went on to say, “I just want to see more growth, especially here on Main street, and all throughout Columbia.”
Lucio says he hopes Mayor Rickenmann’s changes uplift the community. “A fresh face , a positive outlook and hopefully new ideas that everybody will be able to take a look into.”
Columbia resident Ursula Pallares says she is excited to see a fresh face in the Mayor’s seat, saying, “Very supportive, he’s helped me in the past, over the years as he was a councilmen, on and off.”
She went on to say, “I am a fan of term limit, sometimes when someone or some people are in one place too long, it doesn’t always serve us well.”
Pallares went on to say she’s excited to hear this council are working to be more accessible. “I think we should be inclusive and include everyone and listen, listen to what people have to say.”
As for Mayor Rickenmann, he says he excited to finally be in office and is ready to lead the city into the new year.