We Need Change. Restoring Trust. Protecting Taxpayers.

South Carolina's Comptroller General should be more than a bookkeeper—it must be a taxpayer watchdog. After $3.5 billion went unaccounted for in the state’s ledger, it’s clear the job has been treated as a formality, not a responsibility. That ends when I take office.

I’m running to turn the Comptroller General’s office into a Department of Oversight, Governmental Ethics, and Accountability—a taxpayer-first watchdog that exposes waste, challenges spending, and opens the books to the people who paid the bill.

Expose the Budget: Build Transparency Tools for the Public

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The state’s financial data may live in a modern accounting system—but the public can’t see it. I will change that immediately. As Comptroller General, I’ll pull clean, real-time spending data out of State computer systems and publish it in an Online Checkbook anyone can access. You'll be able to:

Track state spending by agency, project, or vendor
See how your tax dollars are used—no login or red tape
Hold decision-makers accountable with facts

You shouldn’t need a FOIA request to know where your money goes!

Watchdog Oversight: Scrutinize Every Expense

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I will examine and challenge agency spending the way a business CFO should. Every dollar that leaves the state treasury should meet clear standards for legality, necessity, and impact. If it doesn’t—I'll stop it and expose it.

In business, if money disappears, someone gets fired. In government, they get promoted. I’m running to end that culture of zero accountability.

Reform the Role: From Bookkeeper to Taxpayer Advocate

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The current structure of the office is too passive. It’s time to redefine the mission:

From: balancing spreadsheets
To: demanding fiscal discipline
From: signing off on spending
To: auditing spending for impact and waste

I’ll bring business discipline, common sense, and the courage to say no when bureaucrats say “trust us.”

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Michael Burkhold for Comptroller General