March 17, 2008
Add another Iredell native to the list of Charlotte mayors
By O.C. Stonestreet
I thought Ben Douglas and Stan Brookshire were Iredell County’s only two gifts to Charlotte’s executive leadership position and did a recent column here in the R&L about the two gentlemen.
Ben Elbert Douglas Sr. from the Scotts community and for whom Charlotte’s airport is named, was mayor from 1935-41. Stanford Reynolds “Stan” Brookshire from Troutman was Charlotte’s mayor from 1961-69. The Brookshire Freeway is named for him.
Turns out there have actually been at least three Iredell men who have served as mayor of Charlotte.
A very polite reader e-mailed me after my piece on Iredell’s two Charlotte mayors appeared and set me straight.
Kenneth Rhyne Harris of Harmony was mayor of the Queen City from 1977-79.
Harris, I was informed, grew up in a house that stood near Rose Chapel United Methodist Church on U.S. Highway 21 and graduated from Harmony High School, Class of 1953.
Born on May 16, 1935, in Statesville, Ken was one of four children of Roy Lee Harris and Beulah Barker Harris.
He demonstrated leadership qualities early, as quarterback of the school’s six-man football team and as pitcher of the Harmony High School baseball team. He also drove a school bus.
Harris joined the Civilian Air Patrol in Statesville, eventually becoming a licensed pilot and an Air Guard officer, eventually retiring from the North Carolina Air National Guard with the rank of major in 1973. After he retired, he continued to fly a small Cessna for a number of years.
Harris graduated from Charlotte College (now UNC- Charlotte) in 1957 and did further studying at UNC-Chapel Hill, receiving a business administration degree there in 1959. He later worked for North Carolina National Bank for 10 years and then entered insurance and had his own agency.
His experience in Charlotte government prior to the office of mayor consisted of his term on the Charlotte City Council from 1973-75.
Harris also gets into the history books as Charlotte’s first-ever Republican mayor and as the first mayor to preside over Charlotte’s City Council with representatives elected from districts as well as those with an at-large representation.
Mayor Harris supported mass transit system for Charlotte and strongly supported the construction of the current Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, although it was completed during the administration of his successor, Eddie Knox. His overseeing of the passage of the bonds for the new Charlotte-Douglas Airport was, reportedly, his proudest achievement.
As mayor, Harris also was heavily involved in arrangements for a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. to be placed in Marshall Park. Eventually Dr. Selma Burke, a Mooresville native, was selected for this project.
Was this a case of one Iredell native helping another?
Ken Harris Jr., an attorney, says his father only wanted to be mayor for one term, and after a term as mayor, Harris successfully ran for a seat in the North Carolina Senate and served there from 1982-84.
Following service in the legislature, Harris became a member of the State Board of Education, serving in that capacity from 1988-98 and was chairman of that body from 1992-94. He was also president of the Charlotte Rotary Club in 1995-96.
According to his son, “He loves the Atlantic Coast Conference and his Tar Heels, especially basketball, and the Panthers. My dad has smoked a pipe his whole life and has always loved to read — especially the newspaper.”
Harris, now 72 but in poor health, lives in Charlotte with his wife, Sally. The Harrises have nine children and 18 grandchildren. Ken Harris Jr. also has three siblings residing in Iredell, his sister, Phyllis, and brothers, Roy and R.C.
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Just goes to show that there’s always something to learn about this place, Iredell County and its people.
Anyone out there know of any other Charlotte mayors from old Iredell?
