Richard A. Eckstrom (born June 23, 1948) is an American politician from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served as the

comptroller general of South Carolina The comptroller general of South Carolina is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of South Carolina. Forty individuals have held the office of comptroller general since 1800. The office has been held by Brian J. Gai ...

from 2003 until his resignation in 2023. From 1995 to 1999, he served one term as the South Carolina Treasurer. When elected as Comptroller General, he was the first Republican to serve in the post since 1876.

Early life

Eckstrom was born in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, on June 23, 1948. His family moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

, in 1957, when his father, a professor, took a job at the University of South Carolina (USC). He graduated from USC in 1971 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, reaching the rank of captain, and worked in business. Eckstrom returned to school and earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from USC in 1977. He went to work for Peat Marwick Mitchell in Columbia in 1978. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in accounting from USC in 1978. He is a certified public accountant.

Career

In the 1994 elections, Eckstrom ran as a

for

Treasurer of South Carolina The South Carolina Office of the State Treasurer is a government organization responsible for all state government funds. The current treasurer is Republican Party (United States), Republican Curtis Loftis, who assumed office January 12, 2011. ...

and defeated

Grady Patterson Grady Leslie Patterson, Jr. (January 13, 1924 – December 7, 2009) was a Democratic Party politician who served as the South Carolina Treasurer and a United States Air Force Lieutenant General. Born in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, Patte ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who served in the role for 28 years. Patterson defeated Eckstrom in the 1998 elections. In 1999, Eckstrom ran in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seati ...

to succeed

André Bauer Rudolph Andreas "André" Bauer (born March 20, 1969) is an American businessman and politician who was the 87th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Bauer was a member of the South Car ...

, who resigned after being elected to the

South Carolina Senate The South Carolina Senate is the upper house of the South Carolina General Assembly, the lower house being the South Carolina House of Representatives. It consists of 46 senators elected from single member districts for four-year terms at the sa ...

. Eckstrom lost to

Chip Huggins "Chip" Huggins (born November 30, 1961 in Columbia, South Carolina) is a Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. He has represented his Lexington County district (the 85th) since being elected in 1999 to succeed André Ba ...

. In 2002, Eckstrom ran for

. He defeated

Jim Lander James Albert Lander (April 9, 1930 – October 29, 2020) was an American politician. He sat on the South Carolina Senate between 1993 and 1999, then became Comptroller General of South Carolina until 2003. Early life and military career Lander ...

, the incumbent, in the general election. He was reelected in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. He won reelection to a sixth term without opposition in 2022.

2023 accounting error and resignation

In February 2023, Eckstrom informed the

that the budget was off by $3.5 billion due to an accounting error. According to Eckstrom, over the period of ten years, money was given to colleges and universities but was not reflected in financial records. Eckstrom blamed an issue in the state's accounting system dating back to 2007. In March, representative Gil Gatch introduced a resolution that could begin an impeachment inquiry. After an investigation from the Senate Finance Constitutional subcommittee, the panel recommended that Eckstrom be removed from office and that the office of comptroller general be abolished. Subcommittee members felt that Eckstrom’s actions did not constitute an impeachable offense as there was no criminal misconduct, but recommended that the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

remove the comptroller from office for willful neglect of duty, as allowed by the state constitution. On March 14, the

passed legislation in a 104–7 vote that reduced Eckstrom's salary to $1 annually for the remainder of his term. Eckstrom announced on March 23 that he sent his resignation to the governor, which took effect April 30, 2023.

Personal life

Eckstrom and his first wife, Peggy, had three children. Eckstrom married Kelly Payne in December 2019.

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckstrom, Richard 1948 births Comptrollers General of South Carolina Living people Military personnel from Minnesota Politicians from Columbia, South Carolina Military personnel from Columbia, South Carolina Politicians from Duluth, Minnesota South Carolina Republicans State treasurers of South Carolina University of South Carolina alumni United States Navy officers