Rep. Chuck Mcgrady Says He Won’t Seek Re-Election in 2020 | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal, and written by John Trump, Managing Editor.


    Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Hendersonville, won't seek re-election when his term expires next year.

    He's now serving his fifth term in the N.C. House.

    "Serving in the North Carolina House of Representatives has been one of the greatest honors of my life; my gratitude to the people of Henderson County for providing me with that opportunity goes beyond measure," he said in a news release Monday, May 13.

    McGrady, who is 66, taught law at Wayne State University Law School and worked as legal counsel in Atlanta.

    A graduate of Mercer University School of Law in Macon, Georgia, McGrady was North Carolina's executive director for the Environmental and Conservation Organization of Henderson County, a legislative bio says. He has served on the board of directors for the Henderson County Board of Social Services and was first elected to serve on the Henderson County Board of Commissioners in 2004.

    He was elected to the N.C. House in 2010.

    McGrady, of Baltimore, has a long history of volunteerism and is a leader among Republicans for his work on the environment.

    He served as chairman of the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Land-of-Sky Regional Council of Governments. In 2012, McGrady was presented with an award given by North Carolina's 24 land trusts for his work protecting North Carolina's land and water.

    He's also been a staunch advocate of a free and open marketplace and has taken the lead in efforts toward easing restrictions on North Carolina's craft brewers. He also has introduced several pieces of legislation this session to fix the state's outdated Alcoholic Beverage Control system.

    McGrady, in his announcement, thanked fellow legislators and staff and said it's time he returned his focus to home - to his friends and to his family, especially wife Jean.

    "In the near future, I hope to hike and camp more in places that it's been my privilege to protect. And I also have a lengthy list of books that I've had to put off reading for far too long.

    "For those reasons, I will not seek re-election when filing starts in seven months. I look forward to supporting the next representative of House District 117, and I will assist that person in any way I can."