Attorney Sarah Read to run for Fourth Ward seat

Sarah Read laughs with other members of the First Christian Church planning committee as they debate about the church's meeting room rental rates and schedule. Read is involved with several other planning committees across the city to help improve quality of life in Columbia.   ¦  Kyle Spradley

COLUMBIA — Columbia attorney Sarah Read has confirmed that she is running for the Fourth Ward City Council seat that Jerry Wade will leave vacant as he runs for mayor.

Read said she is running because she believes the council needs “fewer factions and more focus.”

She said she has “a lot of experience and skills” that she believes would be an asset to “strengthen the way our government works."

Read has lived in Columbia since 1996.  She owns a law practice and is a co-owner and president of The Communications Center Inc., a business that provides communications training and coaching.

She previously worked as a partner and energy attorney at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago. She also worked recently as a consultant for the Columbia Vision Commission.

Read said her work as a “mediator, arbitrator and facilitator” would be useful to the City Council.

“We need to go forward together as a community,” she said.

The city's Fourth Ward encompasses an area in southwest Columbia bounded by the MKT Trail, Providence Road and West Broadway.

The filing period for council candidates began Friday and ends in late January. The city charter dictates that those interested in running for mayor must collect between 100 and 150 signatures from registered voters in Columbia and submit their petition to the city clerk for validation. Those who want to run for ward seats must collect at least 50 signatures from registered voters within their wards.