Ruffin takes Columbia first ward council seat

UPDATE: Ruffin has taken the seat with 475 votes.

ORIGINAL: Three candidates are vying the First Ward council seat in Columbia.

Incumbent Clyde Ruffin served on the city council for two years. Ruffin said he would love to continue the city’s work on social equity and support more community policing and believes that the First Ward’s infrastructure should be the city’s priority because it’s the oldest.

Pat Kelley, the co-founder and treasurer of the Ridgeway Neighborhood Association, believes that the city needs to have an affordable housing policy and wants to see the police department figure out how to implement more community policing before turning to a ballot measure to pay for more officers.

Andrew Hutchinson, who will graduate in May from the University of Missouri, supports the “right kind of tax” to fund more police officers and believes that the city needs to focus on repairing old sewer pipes and other infrastructure issues before spending money on adding infrastructure to attract new business.