COLUMBIA, S.C. — Longtime Columbia City Councilman Howard Duvall will not seek re-election this year.
Duvall said Thursday he would step down after his term concludes at the end of 2023.
Duvall has been in office for eight years, serving as one of the two at-large councilmembers, which means he's elected by the entire city, not just one district.
Duvall was first elected to City Council in 2015. During his tenure, Duvall has chaired the city's Technology Committee and been a member of the Arts & Historic Preservation Committee and Administrative Policy Committee.
Before coming to Council, he also served on the boards of the River Alliance, Transitions, and the State Retirees Association of South Carolina, and was the director of the South Carolina Municipal Association.
While on council, Duvall has championed the cause of banning e-cigarettes, redeveloping Finlay Park, and repealing the all-night permits for bars in the city to help combat the problems in the Five Points entertainment district.
Before taking office in Columbia, Duvall was involved for decades in politics in his hometown of Cheraw. He was elected to the town council in 1973 and in 1980 became mayor. In 1986, he resigned as mayor to become an executive assistant to then South Carolina Gov. Dick Riley. He briefly served on the South Carolina Tax Commission before moving on to the Municipal Association of South Carolina.
In 1992, he became the director of the Municipal Association and served there until his retirement in 1992.
Duvall went to college at The Citadel and served in both the U.S. Air Force and the South Carolina National Guard.