John J. Tecklenburg (born September 1955)[2] is an American businessman and politician.[3][4] He served two terms as mayor of Charleston, South Carolina,[5]sworn in on January 11, 2016.[6] Tecklenburg was defeated in 2023 by former state legislator William S. Cogswell Jr.[7] He became the first mayor of Charleston to lose a reelection campaign since 1959.
Tecklenburg was Charleston's director of economic development from 1995 to 1999.[10][11] He is a commercial realtor.[12][13][14]
Tecklenburg ran for mayor of Charleston and won against Leon Stavrinakis on November 17, 2015.[15][16] Tecklenburg was preceded by Joe Riley who was mayor of Charleston for 40 years.
In June 2020, in the wake of widespread protests against racism, Mayor Tecklenburg announced a decision to remove a statue of John C. Calhoun, a prominent South Carolinian defender of slavery, from a prominent public space in Charleston, in Marion Square.[17]
Personal life
Tecklenburg and his wife Sandy have five children and five grandchildren.[18][19]
In May 2018, Tecklenburg was removed from being a conservator for an elderly woman. Tecklenburg had used his ward's funds to make unsecured loans to himself and his wife totaling $80,000. He had not sought the court's approval as required by law.[20]
