Charles Carpenter Meeker (born July 27, 1950) is an American politician and member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

who served as the 34th Mayor of

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. He was first elected in 2001 over

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 ...

Paul Coble Paul Yelverton Coble (born October 19, 1953, in Raleigh, North Carolina) served one term as Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina from December 1999 to December 2001. Coble served on the Wake County Board of Commissioners from 2006 to 2014, and served ...

, and reelected for a fifth two-year term in 2009. A fifth term tied Meeker with Avery C. Upchurch as Raleigh's longest-serving mayor. He is the son of Leonard C. Meeker who served as

United States Ambassador to Romania A United States diplomatic representative to Romania has existed since 1880. The United States formally recognized Romania in 1878, following the Treaty of Berlin; diplomatic relations were opened in 1880, and American diplomats were sent to the ...

from 1969 to 1973 and brother of architect

Sarah Meeker Jensen Sarah Louise Meeker Jensen, FAIA, is an American architect, licensed general contractor, LEED-certified professional, healthcare planner, and founder of the firm Jensen Partners. Early life and education Sarah Louise Meeker was born in Washi ...

Career

Meeker is a Raleigh-based lawyer whose firm focuses on local government issues, including public transportation and development. In his five terms as mayor and during previous service on the

Raleigh City Council Raleigh City Council is the governing body for the city of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina. Raleigh is governed by council-manager government. It is composed of eight members, including the Mayor of Raleigh. Five of the members ar ...

(1985–89 and 1991–95), Meeker, living and raising his family in Boylan Heights, advocated downtown redevelopment and the creation of a light rail system connecting Raleigh to

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

Research Triangle Park Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the largest research park in the United States, occupying in North Carolina and hosting more than 300 companies and 65,000 workers. The facility is named for its location relative to the three surrounding cities ...

, and

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under the auspices of the

Triangle Transit Authority The Research Triangle Regional Public Transportation Authority, known as GoTriangle (previously Triangle Transit and Triangle Transit Authority or TTA), provides regional bus service to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina in Wake, Durha ...

. He also successfully pushed for the construction of a new downtown

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

and hotel, as well as the reconstruction of

Fayetteville Street Fayetteville Street is a major street in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America. It is a north-south thoroughfare that connects the North Carolina State Capitol, State Capitol to the Raleigh Convention ...

, a $9.33 million project to convert the pedestrian mall to an urban "main street" with outdoor dining, art galleries, and open spaces. Meeker was a member of the

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined forc ...

. Meeker announced in April 2011 that he would not run for a sixth term. He was a candidate for

North Carolina Commissioner of Labor The Commissioner of Labor is a statewide elected office in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The commissioner is a constitutional officer who leads the state's Department of Labor. North Carolina's general statues provide the commissioner with br ...

in the 2016 election, losing to Republican incumbent Cherie K. Berry.WRAL.com: Meeker seeks Labor seat
/ref> Upon leaving office, he joined the Charlotte-based law firm of

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado *Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Parker ...

as a partner in the firm’s Raleigh office.

Education

Charles Meeker received his BA in 1972 from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and in 1975 received his JD from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Meeker became a member of the North Carolina bar in 1975 and a member of the District of Columbia bar in 1984.

References

External links

Parker Poe biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeker, Charles 1950 births Columbia Law School alumni Living people Mayors of Raleigh, North Carolina North Carolina Democrats North Carolina lawyers Raleigh City Council members Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Yale College alumni

Career

Education

See also

References

External links