Kenneth Rhyne Harris Sr. (May 16, 1935 – January 17, 2009) was the 48th Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina serving from 1977 to 1979. Harris was born in

Harmony, North Carolina Harmony is a town in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. The town was incorporated in 1927 and is located in northeastern Iredell County and lies in the eastern portion of the North Carolina High Country. It is primarily located in Tu ...

on May 16, 1935 to Roy Lee and Beulah Barker Harris. He attended

Iredell County Iredell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 186,693. Its county seat is Statesville, and its largest town is Mooresville. The county was formed in 1788, subtracted from Ro ...

Schools and received his degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Harris was the first Republican Mayor of Charlotte in the twentieth century having been elected in 1977 in what was then considered a major upset. During his term he championed the development of the

Charlotte Douglas International Airport Charlotte Douglas International Airport ( IATA: CLT, ICAO: KCLT, FAA LID: CLT), typically referred to as Charlotte Douglas, Douglas Airport, or simply CLT, is an international airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, located roughly six miles we ...

including passing a bond issue which resulted in the construction of a new terminal which was instrumental in the growth of the city in the following decades. After leaving the office of mayor, Harris was elected to the

North Carolina State 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 ...

for two terms. He was appointed in 1988 to the North Carolina State Board of Education by Governor Jim Martin and later served as the chairman of that board under Governor

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

. Harris worked professionally in the insurance industry and was a member of the North Carolina Air National Guard for twenty years rising to the rank of major. Harris's son, Ken Harris Jr. ran unsuccessfully for the Charlotte City Council in 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Kenneth R. 1935 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American legislators Mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni North Carolina state senators People from Harmony, North Carolina 20th-century North Carolina politicians