Jim Gardner (politician)

For the Democratic former mayor of Shreveport and former Louisiana state representative, see James C. Gardner.

Jim Gardner
30th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
In office January 7, 1989 – January 9, 1993
Governor	Jim Martin
Preceded by	Bob Jordan
Succeeded by	Dennis Wicker
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 4th district
In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1969
Preceded by	Harold Cooley
Succeeded by	Nick Galifianakis
Personal details
Born	(1933-04-08) April 8, 1933 (age 85) Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	North Carolina State University

James Carson Gardner (born April 8, 1933) is an American businessman and politician who served as a U.S. Representative (1967–1969) and as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina (1989–1993).

Contents

• 
  1 Business career
  


• 
  2 Political career
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 Lieutenant Governor
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Political activity after retirement
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 References
  


• 
  4 External links
  

Business career

In May 1961, Gardner, along with Leonard Rawls, opened the first franchise store of the fast food restaurant Hardee's in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.^[1] Later, in 1969, he bought the troubled Houston Mavericks of the American Basketball Association and moved them to North Carolina a year later as the Carolina Cougars.^[2][3]

Political career

Active in Republican politics from the days the party barely existed in North Carolina, Gardner first made a splash when he ran for Congress in 1964 and nearly defeated 30-year Democratic incumbent Harold D. Cooley, the powerful chairman of the United States House Committee on Agriculture.^[4] In 1966, Gardner (by then chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party) toppled Cooley by a shocking 13-point margin to represent a district that included Raleigh as well as his home in Rocky Mount.^[5]

He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of North Carolina in 1968, 1972, and 1992. In both 1968 and in 1992, he won the Republican nomination, but lost to Democrats Robert W. Scott^[6] and Jim Hunt,^[7] respectively. In 1972, he lost the nomination to Jim Holshouser,^[8] the first of only two Republican governors of North Carolina in the 20th century.

Lieutenant Governor

In 1988, Gardner defeated Democrat Tony Rand^[9] and became the first Republican elected lieutenant governor since Charles A. Reynolds, who served from 1897 to 1901. Gardner served from January 1989 to January 1993, during the second term of Republican Governor James G. Martin. In response to the election of Republican Gardner, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly transferred many of the powers of the Lieutenant Governor over to the President Pro Tempore of the North Carolina Senate.^[10]

Political activity after retirement

In September 2011, Gardner endorsed the (ultimately unsuccessful) 2012 candidacy of Wake County Commissioner Tony Gurley for lieutenant governor.^[11] As an "elder statesman," Gardner has been called one of the "Four Jims" of the North Carolina Republican establishment, the others being former Governors Holshouser and Martin and former U.S. Sen. Jim Broyhill. (Holshouser died in 2013)^[12] In January 2013, Gardner served as master of ceremonies at the inauguration ceremony for newly elected Gov. Pat McCrory, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and other members of the North Carolina Council of State.^[13] The ceremony celebrated the return of Republicans to the governor's office for the first time since Gardner's defeat in 1992. Forest also became the first Republican Lieutenant Governor since Gardner (Democrats Dennis Wicker, Beverly Perdue, and Walter Dalton served in the post after Gardner).

At age 79, Gardner came out of retirement when McCrory appointed him chairman of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (a full-time position) in 2013.^[14]

References

1. 
   ^ NC History Project
   


2. 
   ^ NBA.com
   


3. 
   ^ Sports Encyclopedia
   


4. 
   ^ OurCampaigns: 1964
   


5. 
   ^ OurCampaigns: 1966
   


6. 
   ^ OurCampaigns: 1968
   


7. 
   ^ OurCampaigns: 1992
   


8. 
   ^ OurCampaigns: 1972
   


9. 
   ^ OurCampaigns: 1988
   


10. 
    ^ News & Observer: Pittenger's bully pulpit
    


11. 
    ^ Christensen, Rob (26 September 2011). "Gardner backs Gurley for lt. gov". Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved 3 November 2011..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
    


12. 
    ^ News & Observer: Broyhill, Gardner, Holshouser and Martin to fete McCrory
    


13. 
    ^ News & Observer: Jim Gardner gets another day in the sun
    


14. 
    ^ WRAL: McCrory appointed ex-Lt. Gov. Gardner to ABC chair
    

External links

• 
  United States Congress. "Jim Gardner (id: G000055)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Harold Cooley	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 4th congressional district 1967–1969	Succeeded by Nick Galifianakis
Party political offices
Preceded by Robert Gavin	Republican Party nominee for Governor of North Carolina 1968	Succeeded by Jim Holshouser
Preceded by Jim Martin	Republican Party nominee for Governor of North Carolina 1992	Succeeded by Robin Hayes
Political offices
Preceded by Bob Jordan	Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina 1989–1993	Succeeded by Dennis Wicker

v t e Governors and Lieutenant Governors of North Carolina
Governors	Caswell Nash Burke A. Martin Caswell Johnston A. Martin Spaight Sr. Ashe Davie Williams Turner Alexander Williams Stone Smith Hawkins Miller Branch Franklin Holmes Burton Iredell Owen Stokes Swain Spaight Jr. Dudley Morehead Graham Manly Reid Winslow Bragg Ellis Clark Vance Holden Worth Holden Caldwell Brogden Vance Jarvis Scales Fowle Holt Carr Russell Aycock Glenn Kitchin Craig Bickett Morrison McLean Gardner Ehringhaus Hoey Broughton Cherry W. K. Scott Umstead Hodges Sanford Moore R. W. Scott Holshouser Hunt J. Martin Hunt Easley Perdue McCrory Cooper
Lieutenant Governors	Caldwell Brogden Jarvis Robinson Stedman Holt Doughton Reynolds Turner Winston Newland Daughtridge O. Gardner Cooper Long Fountain Graham Horton Harris Ballentine Taylor, Sr. Hodges Barnhardt Philpott Scott Taylor Jr. Hunt Green Jordan J. Gardner Wicker Perdue Dalton Forest

Authority control	WorldCat Identities LCCN: no96019400 SNAC: w6x35p7j US Congress: G000055 VIAF: 73445089

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