Harry E. Payne Jr. (born September 11, 1952) is an American politician from North Carolina. He served 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 ...

for six terms and as

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 ...

for two terms. He is a 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 ...

Early life and career

Payne is from

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

. He has a twin brother, Frank. Payne overcame a

stutter Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

after attending the Hollins Communications Research Institute in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

. Payne graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1974. He earned his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Wake Forest University School of Law The Wake Forest University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Wake Forest University. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest University School of Law is a private American Bar Association (ABA) accredited ...

in 1977 and opened a law practice in Wrightsville Beach.

Political career

Payne was elected to the

in 1980. At the beginning of the 1989 legislative session he joined with 19 other Democrats and the Republican members of the House to unseat Speaker

Liston B. Ramsey Liston Bryan Ramsey (February 26, 1919 – September 2, 2001) was an American politician. A member of the North Carolina House of Representatives for nearly four decades, he held great influence in state government served as Speaker of the House ...

and replace him with

Josephus L. Mavretic Josephus Lyman "Joe" Mavretic (born July 29, 1934) is a former Democratic Party (United States), Democratic public official and military veteran from North Carolina. Born in Currituck County, he made his career as a United States Marine Corps, Mar ...

. He chaired the House Rules Committee in 1990. He served six terms in the House. In 1992, Payne ran for

, challenging John C. Brooks, the incumbent, in the

. Brooks' reputation had suffered due to a deadly fire at a chicken processing plant the previous year. Payne accused him of being ineffective and promised to push for workplace safety reforms. Payne won the primary election on May 5. He defeated

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 ...

Nelson Dollar in the November general election. Payne was reelected in the 1996 elections against R. Tracy Walker. He opted not to run for a third term in the

2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...

. He was succeeded by

Cherie Berry Nora Cherie Killian Berry (born December 21, 1946) is an American politician who served as the North Carolina Commissioner of Labor from 2001 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she was the first woman to hold the office. Early life Nora ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mike Easley Michael Francis Easley (born March 23, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 72nd governor of North Carolina from 2001 to 2009. He is the first governor of North Carolina to have been convicted of a felony. A member of ...

appointed Payne as chair of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission in 2001. In 2007, Payne sought to become president of

Cape Fear Community College Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) is a public community college in Wilmington, North Carolina. It enrolls nearly 23,000 students each year. The service area of Cape Fear Community College includes New Hanover and Pender counties with a main ca ...

. In 2010, he ran for the

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was created ...

Cressie Thigpen Cressie H. Thigpen, Jr. is a North Carolina lawyer and jurist who served on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Early life and education Thigpen was born August 12, 1946. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from North ...

and

Douglas McCullough J. Douglas McCullough is an American lawyer and former judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. McCullough retired in 2017. Education and career After earning a history degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967 and ...

advanced to a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

Personal life

Payne is married to Ruth Sheehan, a columnist for ''

The News & Observer ''The News & Observer'' is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state (second is the '' Charlotte Observer''). The paper has be ...

''. They have three sons.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Harry Living people 1952 births Politicians from Wilmington, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Wake Forest University School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina Commissioners of Labor