Jerry Meek, the chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, who presided as Democrats improved their electoral standing in the state from president all the way down to county commissioner, said Tuesday he won't run for another two-year term.
Meek, 38, is leaving the post he won in 2005, when he was the favorite of local party activists over the preferred candidate of Gov. Mike Easley. The party's executive committee will meet Jan. 31 in Raleigh to choose his replacement.
"I've enjoyed my four years. But four years is a long time in a full-time unpaid job," Meek said in an interview.
Meek, a Fayetteville lawyer, is also stepping down in part because he is getting married Dec. 5 to state Rep. Tricia Cotham, D-Mecklenburg. He will share time between Charlotte and Raleigh while working at the Poyner Spruill law firm.
During his tenure, Democrats wrested congressional seats away from Republican incumbents Charles Taylor in 2006 and Robin Hayes two weeks ago. Also this month, Kay Hagan upset GOP U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, and Barack Obama won North Carolina's electoral votes, the first time for a Democrat since 1976.
"Jerry is a great young leader with a lot of enthusiasm and he adds a lot of life to the party," said Hunt Johnson, the party chairman in Alamance County, where Democrats now have a majority on the county commission just four years after the GOP had a 5-0 advantage.
Meek said he was proud of eliminating the party's roughly $500,000 debt and increasing the number of e-mail addresses on the party's database from 5,000 activists to 400,000. He also focused on improving county party operations by helping them with strategy and Web sites, spending many nights on the road working with county leaders.
The executive committee elected Meek, previously the party's vice chairman, over Raleigh lawyer Ed Turlington in February 2005. Turlington had received endorsements from Easley, most other Democratic statewide elected officials and former Gov. Jim Hunt.
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