William Gray "Bill" Daughtridge Jr. (December 19, 1952 – September 2, 2019) was a businessman from

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Nash and Edgecombe counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 census, making it the 20th-most populous city in North Carolina. The city is east of Raleigh, the st ...

, who served three terms from 2003 to 2008 as a Republican member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

representing the state's twenty-fifth

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

district, including constituents in Nash County. Daughtridge's time in office ended with his 2008 bid for North Carolina Treasurer.

Early life and education

Born in Rocky Mount, Daughtridge was president of an oil distribution/transportation/retail company formed by his grandfather in 1929. He earned BS and MBA degrees at

UNC-Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

, where he was a Morehead Scholar. Daughtridge has served on the North Carolina Economic Development Board, the Travel and Tourism Board and was appointed to numerous economic development positions while serving in the Legislature. In addition, Daughtridge served on the UNC Board of Governors as the Vice Chair of Budget, and Chair of Governance. Daughtridge served in the

North Carolina National Guard The North Carolina National Guard (NCNG), commonly known as the North Carolina guard, is the National Guard (United States), National Guard component of the state of North Carolina. It is composed of North Carolina Army National Guard and North C ...

from 1972 to 1978.

Political career

While in office, his appointments included serving as the Commerce Committee Chairman, Small Business and Entrepreneurship Vice Chairman and serving as Co-Chair on the Joint Select Committee UNC Board of Governors and Economic Growth Development. Daughtridge ran for

North Carolina State Treasurer The North Carolina State Treasurer is a statewide elected office in the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The current state treasurer is Brad Briner. The office o ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. His only opponent in the primary election, State Representative Dale Folwell, dropped out. Daughtridge lost in the general election to Democratic State Senator

Janet Cowell Janet Cowell (born July 19, 1968) is an American politician. She was elected the 63rd mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina on Nov. 5, 2024. She served as the North Carolina State Treasurer from 2009 to 2017, making her the first woman to hold that po ...

. In 2011, Daughtridge became a senior advisor to new

Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives The speaker of the North Carolina North Carolina House of Representatives, 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 the ...

Thom Tillis Thomas Roland Tillis ( ; born August 30, 1960) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from North Carolina, a seat he has held since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Tillis served in the North Carolina House ...

. In 2013, newly elected Governor

Pat McCrory Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 53rd mayor of Charlotte ...

appointed him to serve as his Secretary of Administration. He died in Rocky Mount on September 2, 2019, at the age of 66.

References

State cabinet secretaries of North Carolina Republican Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives UNC Kenan–Flagler Business School alumni 2019 deaths 1952 births People from Rocky Mount, North Carolina 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub