Roughly 20 percent of the incoming General Assembly membership for the next biennium will have municipal experience to call upon in their legislating. They include mayors, council members, planning commissioners and the like, with 26 of them in the House and 9 in the Senate. New or returning to the legislature, they are:
Senate
-District 5, Sen. Don Davis, Mayor, Snow Hill
-District 6, Sen. Michael Lazzara, Mayor Pro Tem, Jacksonville (pic'd here)
-District 19, Sen. Kirk deViere, Council Member, Fayetteville
-District 22, Sen. Mike Woodard, Council Member, Durham
-District 23, Sen. Valerie Foushee, Chapel Hill Police Department
-District 26, Sen. Phil Berger, Attorney, Mayodan
-District 44, Sen. Ted Alexander, Mayor, Shelby
-District 47, Sen. Ralph Hise, Mayor, Spruce Pine
-District 49, Sen. Julie Mayfield, Council Member, Asheville
House
-District 8, Rep. Kandie Smith, Mayor and Council Member, Greenville
-District 9, Rep. Brian Farkas, Greenville Comprehensive Planning Committee
-District 12, Rep. Chris Humphrey, Council Member, La Grange
-District 13, Rep. Pat McElraft, Commissioner, Emerald Isle
-District 26, Rep. Donna White, Clayton Planning Commission, Board of Adjustment
-District 27, Rep. Michael Wray, Commissioner, Gaston
-District 28, Rep. Larry Strickland, Commissioner, Pine Level
-District 29, Rep. Vernetta Alston, Council Member, Durham
-District 27, Rep. Erin Pare, Holly Springs Board of Adjustment
-District 41, Rep. Gale Adcock, Mayor Pro Tem, Cary (pic'd here)
-District 42, Rep. Marvin Lucas, Mayor, Alderman, Spring Lake
-District 49, Rep. Cynthia Ball, Raleigh Service Commission
-District 61, Rep. John Faircloth, Council Member, High Point, Chief of Police, High Point/Salisbury
-District 71, Rep. Evelyn Terry, Council Member, Winston-Salem
-District 73, Rep. Lee Zachary, Mayor, Commissioner, Yadkinville
-District 74, Rep. Jeff Zenger, Council Member, Lewisville
-District 79, Rep. Julia Howard, Commissioner, Mocksville
-District 89, Rep. Mitchell Setzer, Mayor, Commissioner, Catawba
-District 92, Rep. Terry Brown, Charlotte Board of Adjustment
-District 93, Rep. Ray Pickett, Council Member, Blowing Rock
-District 94, Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, Commissioner, North Wilkesboro
-District 98 Rep. John Bradford, Council Member, Cornelius
-District 99, Rep. Nasif Majeed, Council Member, Charlotte
-District 100, Rep. John Autry, Council Member, Charlotte
-District 107, Rep. Kelly Alexander, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission
-District 119, Rep. Mike Clampitt, Firefighter, Charlotte
The General Assembly has an official Municipal Caucus, formed in 2015. “The mission of the (Municipal) Caucus is to create an opportunity and open environment for legislators who are former mayors, city council representatives, attorneys or employees to offer education about the state-city partnership, and to share information and ideas about legislation that will impact city government,” the formation letter stated. “Active participation by caucus members will bring greater awareness to the decisions made at the state level and how they will practically affect services to citizens at the city level.”
Past coverage from Southern City: Municipal Caucus: The Lawmakers Bringing City Government Experience to the General Assembly