Joe Sam Queen (born June 18, 1950) is a North Carolina

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. He has served in both the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

and 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 ...

Political career

Queen represented the state's 47th

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

district, including constituents in Avery,

Haywood Haywood may refer to: Places Canada * Haywood, Manitoba United Kingdom * Haywood, Herefordshire * Great Haywood, Staffordshire * Little Haywood, Staffordshire United States * Hayward, California, formerly Haywood * Haywood, Kentucky * Haywood, ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, McDowell,

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

and Yancey counties. He was first elected in 2002, serving in the 2003-2004 session before being defeated in 2004 by former

Yancey County Yancey County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,470. Its county seat is Burnsville. This land was inhabited by the Cherokee prior to European settlement, as was much of the S ...

commissioner Keith Presnell. Queen then defeated Presnell in 2006 and again in 2008. In 2010, he lost a bid for reelection to

Ralph Hise Ralph E. Hise, Jr. (born August 15, 1976) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represents District 47 in the North Carolina Senate. Hise joined the Senate in 2011 after winning election on November 2, 2010. He is from ...

. He was elected to the North Carolina House in 2012, defeating

Mike Clampitt James Michael Clampitt (born February 17, 1955) is an American politician. He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2016 and 2020. Before his election in 2016, he ran unsuccessfully for office for Swain County Board of C ...

, and defeated Clampitt again in 2014. He began his second term in the North Carolina House of Representatives (his 5th total term in the General Assembly) on January 14, 2015. He represented the 119th district, including constituents in Jackson, Swain and Haywood counties. He was defeated for reelection by Mike Clampitt in the 2016 general election. In the 2018 general election, Queen defeated Clampitt in a rematch to gain back his seat. In the 2020 general election, Queen lost to Clampitt. Queen has served as the vice-chairman of the Aging Committee and was a voting member of committees on Agriculture, Transportation, Appropriations, Appropriations General Government, Judiciary II and Regulatory Reform. He was a vocal leader in the call to expand Medicaid in North Carolina and issues such as raising teacher pay. He is adamantly against fracking in North Carolina and has made strong public remarks against it.

Personal life

An architect and a sixth generation resident of Haywood County, Queen is also heavily involved in other civic and cultural activities, including producing the summer street dances on Main Street in Waynesville and serving as director of the Smoky Mountain Folk Festival for more than 30 years. He has also served as a boy scout master, a Sunday school teacher, a youth soccer coach and on various boards and committees. He attends many arts and educational events in his district, including plays and concerts. He is married to Dr. Kate Queen and has two children, both of whom are graduates of

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. He has an architectural practice in Waynesville.

Electoral history

2020

2018

2016

2014

2012

2010

2008

2006

2004

2002

References

External links

Official campaign website
, - , - , - http://ncleg.net/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=H&nUserID=669 {{DEFAULTSORT:Queen, Joe Sam Living people People from Waynesville, North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina state senators Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives 1950 births 21st-century American politicians