By Tony Kukulich
With only two Republican candidates registered in the race for Beaufort County auditor, the winning candidate will likely be decided in the June 14 primary.
Candidates David Cadd and Willie Turral are seeking the office currently held by Jim Beckert, who was elected in 2014 and 2018.
Beckert’s tenure has been marked by turmoil. He’s been sued by Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls and former Beaufort County Financial Officer Alicia Holland on charges related to harassment. He has also been sued twice by the county in an effort to compel him to perform the duties of the position.
Both Cadd and Turral assert that Beckert’s performance in the office, or lack thereof, has left the office in disarray.
“What drew me to the office was the need to get some outstanding leadership in that office,” Turral said. “As a resident of Beaufort County and chair of Beaufort County Young Republicans, I’m very familiar with the political landscape and where we have our strengths and our weaknesses. One of the glaring weaknesses in the Beaufort County political structure is the auditor’s office which has misperformed for the greater part of eight years. As somebody who’d been involved in public service for the last 15 years, I’ve always wanted to go into the fire, where I’m needed the most. This was the biggest need that we have in front of us.”
Turral cites his experience in nonprofit leadership and his ability to communicate as key factors that will restore the lines of communication between the auditor, treasurer, county assessor and the county administrator.
“Those offices, although separate, need to work together,” Turral said. “They have to work together to provide the best tax experience for the taxpayer. That didn’t happen primarily due to the corrosive leadership in the auditor’s office. That’s something I seek to address and fix.”
Cadd, a military veteran with 30 years of service, is seeking elected office for the first time. He spent five years working in the auditor’s office under Beckert until he was terminated just days after he filed a grievance. In the grievance, he complained that Beckert created a hostile work environment and undermined Cadd’s ability to do his job as deputy auditor. That action motivated Cadd to seek elected office.
“As I worked as deputy auditor before, I believe I know the ins and outs of the office,” Cadd said. “I know the 10 different property taxes and the laws that govern them. We’re all governed by the state laws and I’ve been trained by the state to do the job. I think I’m best suited to go in there and turn this place around.”
Noting that he is the only candidate with experience in the office, Cadd identified a number of steps that he sees as necessary to improve the operation of the auditor’s office.
“We’ve got to have cooperation – we have to rebuild that trust and cooperation with people inside the county and outside. We’ve gotta improve customer service. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough training to ensure that if you walk in the office and I walk in the office with the same problem we get the same answers. You’ve got to put the integrity back in there and you’ve got to be transparent to the public. Most importantly, you need to be professional.”
Cadd did not seek donations or endorsements for his campaign. Turral received support from the Beaufort County Republican Party and endorsements from Sheriff P.J. Tanner and S.C. Sen. Tom Davis among others. However, a recent video that posted of Turral reportedly recorded in 2020 in which he made comments critical of police and disparaged former President Trump, those endorsements have evaporated.
“I could not be more disappointed about a political newcomer to the Republican Party than I am about the recent developments involving Willie Turral,” said Tanner in a May 29 social media post. “I watched a live stream video that was recorded in 2020, in which Willie displays anti-police views and other radical viewpoints. I am very disappointed and have stripped any and all connection of him to my campaign and to me personally.”
Turral explained that the video was made prior to his joining the Republican Party, and was in response to racial unrest that followed the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in 2020 while in police custody. Derek Chauvin, A White police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department, knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes causing Floyd’s death. The incident sparked protests and riots across the country and around the world.
“I thought at the moment I had a decision to make,” Turral explained in a social media post on May 30. “I can become bitter or I can become better, and I chose better.”
Turral went on to say that the video represents who he was then, not who he has become over the last two years and pointed to his work growing the ranks of the Beaufort Young Republicans and evidence of his commitment to conservative ideals.
“Everybody can change,” Cadd countered. “You just can’t change to get a job.”
The primary responsibilities of the auditor are to assemble the county’s records of real and personal property and to calculate individual property taxes to be paid each year.
The auditor prepares the official tax book, which lists the owners of taxable property, the real and personal property that they own, and the equalized value of that property. The auditor provides a copy of the tax book to the treasurer. This book is the treasurer’s warrant for the collection of taxes, assessments and penalties. Both property tax books, held by the auditor and treasurer, are called the county duplicate.
Tony Kukulich is a recent transplant to the Lowcountry. A native of Wilmington, Del., he comes to The Island News from the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent seven years as a reporter and photographer for several publications. He can be reached at tony.theislandnews@gmail.com.
