Richard A. Vinroot (born April 14, 1941) is an American politician and attorney from
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 ...
. He served as the 52nd
Mayor of Charlotte
The office of the Mayor of 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 a ...
from 1991 to 1995. Vinroot ran unsuccessfully for
Governor of North Carolina in
1996,
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and
2004. The City of Charlotte's Richard Vinroot International Achievement Award is named in his honor.
Early life
The son of a Swedish immigrant, Richard Vinroot was raised in
Mecklenburg County schools becoming
student body president
The student government president (sometimes called "student ''body'' president," "student ''council'' president" or "''school'' president") is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class p ...
at
East Mecklenburg High School
East Mecklenburg High School is a public secondary school in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and one of 21 high schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system. The principal of the school is Richard "Rick" Parker. East Mecklenburg ...
, where he graduated from in 1959. He was a high school athlete in three sports and captained the basketball and football teams. He won a
Morehead Scholarship
The Morehead-Cain Scholarship (originally the Morehead Scholarship) was the first merit scholarship program established in the United States. It was founded at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1951 and was named for its benefact ...
to attend 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 ...
, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1963 and a
Juris Doctor degree in 1966. He served as
class president in his junior and senior years. Vinroot's height is billed at 6'7", and he played
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
for the
North Carolina Tar Heels under
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel H ...
.
Vinroot married his wife Judy (Allen) Vinroot, whom he met while both were students at University of North Carolina. They have three children, Richard Vinroot Jr., Laura Vinroot Poole, and Katy Vinroot O'Brien, all of whom graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Military
From January 1967 to 1968, he was in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
where he served in the
1st Signal Brigade. He was at
Fort Jackson, South Carolina and
Fort Dix, New Jersey. In November 1967, he deployed to Vietnam during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
and was awarded a
Bronze Star Medal.
Political career
Vinroot was a member of the Charlotte City Council from 1983 to 1991 and served as mayor of Charlotte from 1991 to 1995. As mayor, Vinroot was successful in establishing a Taxpayer Protection Act, limiting growth of the city's budget. He created the state's first "drug court" to speed prosecutions. He established the Mayor's International Cabinet, a predecessor to the Charlotte International Cabinet. A national magazine named him Municipal Leader of the Year. Vinroot decided against running for a third term in order to focus full-time on his first run for North Carolina governor in
1996. Vinroot lost in a close primary to then-state representative
Robin Hayes
Robert Cannon "Robin" Hayes (born August 14, 1945) is an American politician and businessman from North Carolina. A member of the Republican Party, he represented North Carolina's 8th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 19 ...
of
Kannapolis
Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. Th ...
. Hayes went on to lose the general election to incumbent governor
Jim Hunt.
Vinroot ran again for governor in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, and secured the Republican nomination over state representative
N. Leo Daughtry. He faced North Carolina's attorney general,
Mike Easley, in a bitterly contested election. Despite a favorable national Republican tide that won North Carolina for
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, Democrat Mike Easley won by 52% to 46%, and succeeded fellow Democrat Jim Hunt as governor. In the closing weeks of the race, actor
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his character ...
filmed an ad endorsing Easley, which some observers believe led to Easley's victory, called the "Mayberry Miracle".
In
2004, Vinroot attempted a third run for governor, but never made it past the Republican primary. He conceded the race to
Wilmington State Senator
Patrick J. Ballantine
Patrick J. Ballantine (born March 17, 1965) is an American attorney and politician who was a United States Republican Party, Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly, rising to become the North Carolina General Assembly#North Car ...
, who lost to Easley in November, 55.62% to 42.88%.
Since his retirement from politics, Vinroot has served on the boards of Martin-Marietta Materials, Inc. and the
North Carolina Institute for Emerging Issues. He also was appointed to the search committee for the next chancellor of 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 2012.
Legal practice
Vinroot's legal practice at the Charlotte-based firm of Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson concentrates in the areas of civil litigation including construction, labor, employment discrimination, and commercial disputes and controversies.
Richard Vinroot International Achievement Award
The Richard Vinroot International Achievement Award is presented by the
City of Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
to recognize those who "have worked for the continued internationalization of Charlotte... contributed to efforts to improve the international community... and have a record of outstanding service to the greater Charlotte community." Recipients are chosen by the
Mayor of Charlotte
The office of the Mayor of 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 a ...
and the award is presented annually at the Mayor's International Community Awards event each spring. Recipients have included prominent leaders in government, non-profits, and academia.
City of Charlotte: Mayor's International Community Awards
/ref>
Notes
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vinroot, Richard
1941 births
Living people
American men's basketball players
American people of Swedish descent
Basketball players from North Carolina
Mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina
North Carolina Republicans
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players
United States Army personnel
United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
Candidates in the 2000 United States elections