This Marine veteran wants to oversee Beaufort Co.'s taxes, so he's running for this post

A retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant hopes to become the county's next auditor.

George Wright, a Republican who served 20 years in the Corps, announced his candidacy Thursday in a news release to The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.

"I do not take this decision lightly," he said in the release. "The Beaufort County Auditor’s office plays a vital role in the process of local taxation that includes the Beaufort County Assessor’s and Treasurer’s Offices, and directly impacts the County’s municipalities, school districts, fire districts and other public service districts. These local governments, as well as our taxpayers, rely on the Auditor’s Office to correctly audit and maintain the tax roll."

Wright has served as the county's deputy treasurer for the past three years and, prior to that, worked in the county's information technology department, supporting the auditor's, treasurer's and assessor's offices.

His announcement joins those of several county Republicans, who've said they'll run for soon-to-be vacated Beaufort County Council seats.

On Friday, Lawrence P. McElynn announced his candidacy for county council (District 10 — Hilton Head Island), following Chris Hervochon (District 8 — Bluffton and Hilton Head) and Mark Lawson and Mike Raymond, both of whom will vie to represent District 9 (Bluffton, Pritchardville and Daufuskie Island).

Earlier, county council veterans Jerry Stewart, Rick Caporale, Steven Fobes and Roberts "Tabor" Vaux, Jr. announced they would not seek reelection.

Wright has lived in the county for more than four decades.

He ran unsuccessfully for the auditor post in 2014.

In the past he's had military training on aircraft avionics, worked as a traffic manager for almost a decade at Vanguard Industries and was a procurement specialist for the county.

He lists former Beaufort County Administrator Gary Kubic and former county treasurer Doug Henderson as part of his campaign committee.

Candidate filing opened Friday for June 12's statewide primaries.

This story was originally published March 16, 2018 at 12:34 PM with the headline "This Marine veteran wants to oversee Beaufort Co.'s taxes, so he's running for this post."