Chaz Beasley (born October 24, 1985) is an American attorney and politician in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. Beasley represented District 92 (part of Mecklenburg County) in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

and was elected to his first term on November 8, 2016.

Early life

Chaz Beasley was born in

Statesville, North Carolina Statesville is a city in and the county seat of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and it is part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. Statesville was established in 1789 by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. The population was r ...

, and grew up in a low-income, single parent home.

Education

Beasley graduated as

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

Newton-Conover High School Newton-Conover High School (NCHS) is a public high school located in Newton, North Carolina, and is the one of two secondary schools in Newton-Conover City Schools system, alongside Discovery High School. Athletics The school is a member of t ...

in 2004, with high honors in economics from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 2008, and from

Georgetown Law School The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and t ...

in 2013, during which time he also coached youth basketball at a small grade school.

Career

Currently an associate with the law firm of Moore & Van Allen, Beasley works in finance, focusing on capital markets transactions, representing financial institutions in corporate and structured debt financing. Before that, Beasley served on the staff of the

United States Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

and as an employee of the law firm

Alston & Bird Alston & Bird LLP is an international law firm with over 800 lawyers in 13 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the UK, and Asia. The firm provides legal services to both domestic and international clients who conduct business worldwide ...

. He also interned for judges on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryla ...

and the

Supreme Court of North Carolina The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

. During the

financial crisis of 2008 Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...

, he performed risk management in the residential mortgage industry.

Politics

Beasley has been elected twice (in 2016 and 2018) as a member of the

for District 92. In 2019, he announced his candidacy for

Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member o ...

in the 2020 election. Beasley tied for third place on March 3, 2020, with 18.86% of the vote. In 2022, Governor

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 20 ...

appointed Beasley to the State Board of

Community Colleges A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

.Press Release: Governor Cooper Announces State Boards and Commissions Appointments
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Personal life

Beasley lives in the Steele Creek area of Charlotte.

Electoral history

2020

2018

2016

References

*Hampton, Lacey
"Jeter, Beasley look to November election”
"The Herald", April 14, 2016. *Myrick, Susan
"The 21 North Carolina Races to Watch in 2016”
"Civitas Institute", January 11, 2016.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Chaz Living people 1985 births People from Statesville, North Carolina People from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Georgetown University Law Center alumni Harvard College alumni North Carolina lawyers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians African-American state legislators in North Carolina Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives