Bob Coble
Robert D. "Bob" Coble (born April 27, 1953) is a former mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. Coble has been a resident of Columbia for most of his life having graduated from Dreher High School in 1971 where he was student body president. Coble and former Columbia City Council member Frannie Heizer won the South Carolina state debate championship in 1971. Coble graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1975 cum laude and the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1978 cum laude. Coble was elected to the Richland County Council in 1985 and served until 1988. Coble was elected Mayor of Columbia South Carolina in 1990 and served until 2010. Mayor Coble was elected Mayor five time and in his last re-election in 2006 received well over 60% of the citywide vote. Coble did not run for re-election in 2010 and is now an attorney with the Nexsen Pruet Law Firm in Columbia South Carolina where he chairs the firm's South Carolina Public Policy and Government Affairs Team http://www.nexsenpruet.com/attorneys-45.html. Coble was elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2013 as the Chairman of the Columbia World Affairs Council. In October 2013 Coble was appointed Chairman of the Columbia Museum of Art Government Relations Advisory Committee.
During Coble’s tenure as Mayor Columbia’s population grew by 27%. Downtown revitalization projects included the Gervais Streetscaping, a new Columbia Art Museum, Main Street Streetscaping, and new buildings including the Meridian and First Citizens as well as the new Sheraton on Main Street. Coble led a regional effort to develop the Three Rivers Greenway, the EdVenture Children’s Museum, CanalSide, and the Columbia Convention Center. In October 2008, the city council voted in favor of Bob Coble's plan to prohibit smoking in all bars and restaurants in the City of Columbia.
Also, during Coble's time as Mayor, Columbia established Sister City relationships with Kaiserslautern, Germany; Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Chelyabinsk, Russia; and Yibin, China. Coble led delegations from Columbia to visit those cities with the most active relationship being with Kaiserslautern.
Coble received numerous awards including the Ambassador of the Year 2004 by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the Knowledge Economy Award 2007 by SCRA, the Global Vision Award 2008 by the World Affairs Council, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Leadership in Historic Preservation 2009 by Historic Columbia Foundation, The Richland One School District Hall of Fame, the Urban League 2010 Dr. Martin Luther King Legacy Award, and Order of the Palmetto by Governor Mark Sanford June 2010. In December 2010 Coble was presented with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of South Carolina.
Coble Plaza was dedicated and opened on July 3, 2013. At his retirement Columbia City Council named a portion of the Three Rivers Greenway behind EdVenture Children's Museum, Coble Plaza in his honor. ( The State July 3, 2013 http://www.thestate.com/2013/07/03/2846309/former-columbia-mayor-coble-honored.html and The State April 10, 2013 http://www.thestate.com/2013/04/10/2717789/new-section-of-three-rivers-greenway.html). Also at his retirement, the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center named a portion of the main ballroom the Coble Ballroom in his honor.
Coble married the former Beth McLeod in 1978. Beth Coble founded the "First Ladies Walk for Life" by the Palmetto Health Foundation which raised funds for breast cancer research. The event averaged 8,000 walkers each year. They are the parents of six children and five grandchildren.