Raleigh Rep. Grier Martin announces resignation from NC legislature
Rep. Grier Martin, a Democrat from north Raleigh, announced Thursday he will resign from the N.C. House of Representatives next month to take a job in Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.
An Army Reserve officer who served in Afghanistan in the early 2000s, Martin has represented Wake County in the legislature for nearly two decades.
“Our system of representative democracy is precious, and it has been immensely fulfilling to play a small part in its continuation,” Martin’s resignation letter says.
Martin had previously filed to run for reelection in the fall. So his resignation, effective July 8, came as a surprise.
Martin said in an interview that although he’s currently a military officer, and is going to be working at the Pentagon, he will be taking on a civilian role that’s focused on logistics.
“I can finally grow my hair long if I want,” he joked.
Reflecting on his years in the legislature, Martin said he’s most proud of his work shaping a significant chunk of the state budget back when Democrats were in the majority and he was chairman of the House’s transportation budget committee — as well as his work on military affairs, environmental issues and on reforms to the ethics rules that govern state legislators.
“There’s more work to be done on all those issues, but we’ve made great progress,” he said.
Since he will no longer be running for election this fall, the Wake County Democratic Party will need to pick a candidate to replace him on the ballot. The Republican nominee for that district, which includes North Hills, Five Points and many of the neighborhoods off Six Forks Road, is Ashley Seshul. There is also a Libertarian candidate in the race, Kat McDonald.
Martin said he was confident the Democratic Party would make a good choice but he didn’t want to interfere by weighing in about who should succeed him.
His new job means he will also have to resign as chairman of the North Carolina Military Affairs Commission, Martin said, and that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will appoint a replacement for him in that role soon.
Martin’s father is D.G. Martin, a longtime North Carolina newspaper columnist and higher education professional who ran for Congress several times in the 1980s and 1990s. His grandfather was president of Davidson College during the civil rights movement.
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This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Raleigh Rep. Grier Martin announces resignation from NC legislature."
