BRACK: Why I’m voting for John Tecklenburg

By Andy Brack, editor and publisher  |  John Tecklenburg has the best line in the campaign to be Charleston’s next mayor:

“Charleston is not a theme park,” he tells people during meetings and in ads.

In just six words, he succinctly captures what’s different about his candidacy and lets us in on his secret: he’s running to serve the people of Charleston. He wants to work collaboratively with people to foster a community vision that focuses on what Charleston’s residents want their future to be. As the Charleston Mercury sagely noted in a recent endorsement, “Mr. Tecklenburg is a rejection of the hucksterism we have seen in too many political rings.”

I’m voting for John Tecklenburg for mayor on Nov. 3 because he’s the kind of decent, service-focused leader our community needs for the post-Joe Riley era. There’s a lot to be said for common decency — for someone who is kind, generous with time and who listens. You don’t see it much these days in public officials, who often seem more obsessed about self and power than others and service.

Tecklenburg

I’m voting for John Tecklenburg because his life is a testament to working for the common good. A successful businessman, John helped guide the successful economic development of the upper King Street area. In private life, he has focused on a personal ministry of helping the less fortunate. As a Rotarian, he lives the creed “service above self.”

And finally, I’m voting for John Tecklenburg to be our next mayor because he understands the job of mayor — that our next mayor must bring together people and factions and then steer them toward common goals to make our city more livable. Unlike other leading candidates who focus on poll-driven issues of building roads and fixing education, John isn’t misleading. He knows mayors don’t build roads or teach in schools.   He knows mayors make sure trash gets picked up. Mayors make sure potholes get filled. Mayors make sure communities work together toward common goals. Mayors lead. And while part of their leadership is to use the bully pulpit to guide others who build roads and improve schools, John know that a mayor’s number one job is to make sure people who live here have a good quality of life.

John Tecklenburg is running for mayor to serve, not for individual power or glory. We should give him the chance to show how he can bring our community together in new ways. I urge you to join me in voting for John Tecklenburg to lead us forward.

Andy Brack is editor and publisher of Charleston Currents and Statehouse Report. You can reach him at: editor@charlestoncurrents.com