Former two-term Speaker Joe Hackney announced Thursday he wouldn't seek re-election to his House seat this year after more than 30 years in the legislature.
Hackney, D-Orange, the current House minority leader, released a statement saying he was looking forward to a more predictable schedule with his family, law practice and the Chatham County farm that he and his brother operate. Now in his 16th term, Hackney will remain in the House through the end of the year.
"I will serve out the remainder of my term with enthusiasm," Hackney wrote. "As minority leader, I will work actively this year for a Democratic majority and a new Democratic Speaker for the N.C. House in 2013."
Hackney, 66, didn't mention in his statement that the Republican redrawing of election districts last year placed him in the same district with Democratic Rep. Verla Insko of Orange County, meaning they would have had to run against each other in a primary. Candidate filing begins Feb. 13.
Hackney said in a phone interview the new maps had nothing to do with his decision, saying simply: "I had a feeling that it was a good time to step down."
Hackney was elected speaker in 2007, succeeding disgraced Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg. Hackney was widely credited with restoring confidence in the speaker's post after the political corruption case against Black, who went to federal prison.
Hackney lost the speaker's job when Republicans gained a majority after the 2010 elections, but Democrats elected him minority leader — a sign that they didn't blame him for losing the party's control of the chamber.
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