James Collins "Jimmy" Green (February 24, 1921 – February 4, 2000) was an American politician who served as

Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives The Speaker of the North Carolina North Carolina House of Representatives, House of Representatives is the presiding officer of one of the houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The Speaker is elected by the members of the house when they ...

(1975–1976) and as the 28th

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 ...

(1977–1985).

Political career

Green 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 ...

from 1961 through 1976. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1976 after defeating

Howard Nathaniel Lee Howard Nathaniel Lee (born July 28, 1934) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from 1969 to 1975. He was the first African-American mayor elected in Chapel Hill, and the first African American to be electe ...

in a Democratic primary runoff. He was sworn in on January 8, 1977. In 1980, after a change to the

Constitution of North Carolina The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...

, Green became the first lieutenant governor elected to a second term. He defeated fellow former House Speaker Carl J. Stewart, Jr. in the 1980 Democratic primary, and then went on to defeat Republican

Bill Cobey William Wilfred Cobey Jr. (born May 13, 1939) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives for North Carolina's 4th congressional district from 1985 to 1987. Biog ...

in the general election. Green was charged in 1983 with accepting a bribe from an

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

agent, but he was acquitted. The next year, he ran for

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

but finished fifth in the Democratic primary behind

Rufus Edmisten Rufus Lige Edmisten (born July 12, 1941) is an American attorney who served as North Carolina North Carolina Secretary of State, Secretary of State, North Carolina Attorney General, Attorney General, and was the Democratic nominee for North Caro ...

. Green then threw his support to the Republican nominee, Jim Martin, giving him critical backing among conservative Democrats in eastern North Carolina. Martin went on to win the election.

Later life and death

He was convicted of income tax fraud in 1997 and was sentenced to 33 months of house arrest. The scandal was in connection with a multimillion-dollar tobacco fraud scheme. He died in Bladen County hospital at

Elizabethtown, North Carolina Elizabethtown is a town in Bladen County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,583 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bladen County. History Some hold Elizabethtown is named for Elizabeth, the wife of George Carteret, whi ...

on February 4, 2000.

References

External links

Mention
at The Political Graveyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Jimmy 1921 births 2000 deaths American people convicted of tax crimes American Presbyterians Lieutenant Governors of North Carolina People from Bladen County, North Carolina People from Halifax County, Virginia Speakers of the North Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians North Carolina politicians convicted of crimes