Paul Luebke (January 18, 1946 – October 29, 2016) was a Democratic member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

, representing the 30th House District, which includes constituents in Durham County. A professor of

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

, Luebke served eleven consecutive two-year term in the state House of Representatives.

Childhood and education

Paul Luebke was born on January 18, 1946, in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, to Paul and Eunice Luebke. His father was a teacher and education administrator and his mother was a homemaker. Luebke spent his childhood living in Chicago,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. During his high school years he moved to

Ankara, Turkey Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, makin ...

, where his father worked as an education advisor to the Turkish government for the U.S. Foreign Aid Program. While living in Turkey he studied at Privatschule der deutschen Botschaft, a German embassy school in Ankara, from 1959 until 1962. After high school, Luebke attended

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. In 1966 he earned a bachelor of arts in government from

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

in Indiana. He earned a doctorate in political sociology from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1975. After graduate school he moved to the Durham area.

Career

Paul Luebke taught

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Yo ...

, a historically black college in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

from 1971 to 1975. He taught sociology at

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 ...

from 1975 to 1976. Luebke began teaching sociology at UNC Greensboro in 1976 and was awarded tenure in 1982. He was a member of the sociology faculty at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, specializing in political sociology. He served on the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority from 1987 until 1991. He served as a board member of the North Carolina Consumers Council as a consumer rights advocate. He was elected to the state House of Representatives in Durham's District 23, which then had three members, in 1990 and took up his position in 1991. As of February 2011 Luebke represented District 30 and was a member of the following committees: *Agriculture *Education *Finance *Government *Public utilities *Rules, calendar and operations of the House He was a chairman of the Finance committee and of the select committee on Municipal Annexation, as well as vice-chairman of the Election Law, Campaign Finance Reform and Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House committees. He was also a member of the Energy and Energy Efficiency committee and the Environmental and Natural Resources committee. He thought of himself as a "Progressive Democrat" and said that "I am especially proud that, during the 1990s, I led the bipartisan effort to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries; and that, in 2009, I was a primary House sponsor of the Racial Justice Act." Luebke died of lymphoma on October 29, 2016 at the age of 70, while still in office.

Books

Luebke wrote of two books about

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

politics: ''Tar Heel Politics: Myths and Realities'' (1990) and ''Tar Heel Politics 2000'' (1998).

Electoral history

2016

2014

2012

2010

2008

2006

2004

2002

2000

Committee assignments

2015-2016 session

*Finance (Vice Chair) *Environment *Local Government *Public Utilities

2013-2014 session

*Finance (Vice Chair) *Agriculture *Education *Environment *Government *Public Utilities

2011-2012 session

*Finance *Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House *Agriculture *Education *Government *Public Utilities

2009-2010 session

*Election Law and Campaign Finance Reform *Energy and Energy Efficiency *Environment and Natural Resources *Finance *Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

References

External links

* NC General Assembly
"North Carolina General Assembly - Representative Paul Luebke"
ncleg.net. Retrieved on 2011-02-10 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Luebke, Paul 1946 births 2016 deaths Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Valparaiso University alumni Politicians from Chicago Writers from Chicago Writers from North Carolina 21st-century American politicians