This Richland County elected official won’t seek re-election. What we know.
The Richland County Auditor, Paul Brawley, won’t seek re-election after serving two decades in the position, the county announced Wednesday.
Brawley, the first Black official in one of the county’s seven countywide elected positions, was first elected to the role in 2006. At the time, he beat out incumbent Harry Huntley, who had served as auditor since being elected in 1998, in the primary and went unopposed in the general election, according to The State newspaper archives.
Brawley’s current term ends in June 2027 and Brawley plans to retire, the release said.
In South Carolina, county auditors are typically elected. Under council-manager forms of government, auditors can be appointed. Both Richland and Lexington counties have elected auditors. The county auditor is largely in charge of the collection of property taxes.
The release credited Brawley with modernizing the county’s auditor’s office and implementing a system that allowed the county to continue its work amidst the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
“I have taken great pride in making the Auditor’s Office transparent and accessible to the taxpayers of Richland County, while stressing to my staff the importance of prompt and courteous customer service,” Brawley said in the release.
Filing for the auditor’s office in Richland will open in March and the auditor elected in 2026 would begin the new auditor’s term in June 2027.
