Tecklenberg Takes the Auditor's Race

Democrat Peter Tecklenberg will be Charleston County's new Auditor when the next fiscal year begins in July 2013.

Tecklenberg beat Republican Paul Gawrych, who had unseated incumbent Republican Peggy Moseley in the June primary. Tecklenberg outpaced Gawrych by 11.75 percent, capturing 76,357 votes to Gawrych's 60,291.

Tecklenberg attributed the win to his strategy to go after every voter and to eschew partisan politics in favor of focusing his campaign on improving customer service in the Auditor's office.

"I tried to go beyond party politics," he said. "We knew from the beginning I'd need Republican votes to win, so we tried to just drop all the partisan rhetoric."

He said he wanted the county's residents to make their decision based on who they thought would do a better job, not which political team each candidate played for.

"I was humbled by the response I received throughout the whole campaign," Tecklenberg said.