Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives

The Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives is the presiding officer of one of the houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The Speaker is elected by the members of the house when they first convene for their regular session, which is currently in January of each odd-numbered year. Perhaps the most important duty of the Speaker is to appoint members and chairs of the various standing committees of the House.

Seal of the Speaker
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The office evolved from the office of Speaker of the lower house of the legislature in the Province of Carolina, called the House of Burgesses. Since the House was the only elected body in the colony, the Speaker was often seen as the leading voice of the people. In 1776, North Carolina created its first constitution, which established a Senate and a House of Commons, both of which were elected by voters. In the 1868 North Carolina Constitution, the name of the house was changed to "House of Representatives."[1]

For most of the twentieth century, the office's power was limited, because Speakers usually only served for a single legislative session. This changed with Speakers Carl J. Stewart, Jr. (1977–1980), Liston B. Ramsey (1981–1988) and James B. Black (1999–2006).

Democrats held the speaker's chair continuously from 1899 until 1994, when Republicans gained a majority and elected Harold J. Brubaker in January 1995.

In the 2003–2004 session, a unique power-sharing arrangement was created by Democrats and a handful of Republicans. This resulted in the first election of two speakers simultaneously, Jim Black (Democrat) and Richard T. Morgan (Republican). The two held roughly equal power and took turns presiding over the House. After Democrats won a majority in the 2004 election, this arrangement was ended, but Morgan again supported Black and was named Speaker Pro Tempore.

List of Speakers

Speakers of the House of Burgesses

The following were speakers of the House of Burgesses during the Province of Carolina and Province of North Carolina periods:[house 1]

  • George Catchmaid 1666
  • Valentine Bird 1672–73
  • Thomas Eastchurch 1675
  • Thomas Cullen 1677
  • George Durant 1679
  • John Nixon 1689
  • John Porter 1697–98
  • William Wilkison 1703
  • Thomas Boyd 1707
  • Edward Moseley 1708
  • Richard Sanderson 1709
  • William Swann 1711
  • Thomas Snoden 1711–12
  • Edward Moseley 1715–23
  • Maurice Moore 1725
  • John Baptista Ashe 1726
  • Thomas Swann 1729
  • Edward Moseley 1731–34
  • William Downing 1735–39
  • John Hodgson 1739–41
  • Samuel Swann 1742–54
  • John Campbell 1754 – c. 1760
  • Samuel Swann c. 1760–62
  • John Ashe 1762–65
  • John Harvey 1766–69
  • Richard Caswell 1770–71
  • John Harvey 1773–75

Speakers of the House of Commons
Abner Nash, 1st Speaker of the House of Commons, 1777
Speaker Richar Dobbs Spaight, 1785

The following members were elected speakers of the House of Commons in the state of North Carolina[2][3][4][5]:

Speakers of the House of Representatives

The following members were elected speaker of the House of Representatives[3][2][12]:

House Notes
  1. Note that some sources refer to the lower House as the House of Commons before the Revolution as well as afterward.
  2. Marmaduke Swain Robins was elected on November 24, 1863 when illness kept Richard Spaight Donnell from that session. See Cheney, page 356, footnote 580.
  3. William E. Mann served for a brief period as Speaker in the January adjourned session when Richard Donnell was ill.
  4. Joseph Holden resigned in the middle of the 1869–1870 session and W. A. Moore was elected to succeed him, according to the North Carolina Manual of 1913.
  5. John R. Webster was elected by the coalition of Independents and Republicans in the House, according to the New York Times and J. G. de R. Hamilton.
  6. George Whitfield Connor resigned after the January 8 – March 12, 1913 session. Walter Murphy served as speaker during the "extra" session that began September 24, 1913, according to the North Carolina Manual of 1913.

See also

References
  1. Cheney, John L. Jr. (1974). North Carolina Government, 1585–1974. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  2. Connor, R.D.D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. p. 453-. Retrieved April 27, 2019., Alternate link
  3. Wheeler, John H. (1874). "The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina". Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  4. "Session Laws: North Carolina". HeinOnline. New York: William S. Hein & Co., Inc. Retrieved March 22, 2019. (subscription required)
  5. Lewis, J.D. "NC Revolution State House 1780". The American Revolution in North Carolina. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  6. Littleton, Tucker Reed (1994). "Edward Starkey". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  7. Smith, Claiborne T., Jr. (1991). "John Leigh". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 30, 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Mcarver, Charles H., Jr. (1991). "William Miller". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 30, 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Kirkman, Roger N. (1991). "James Mebane". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  10. Kirkman, Roger N. (1979). "William Julius Alexander". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
  11. Alexander, Roberta Sue (1991). "Rufus Yancey McAden". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 2019. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. "North Carolina General Assembly". Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  13. Bell, John L., Jr. (1991). "William Armistead Moore". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 30, 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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