David Thomas Flaherty (December 9, 1928 – December 20, 2020) was an American businessman and politician.

Early life

David Thomas Flaherty was born on December 9, 1928, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States. He graduated from

The English High School The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation ...

and served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He then attended

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, where he was elected student body president before graduating in 1956 with a degree in business administration. While his parents were Catholics and members of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Flaherty converted to Methodism and became a member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. He later said of these differences, "I just didn't like being told what to do." He married Nancy Hamill on December 6, 1953, and had several children with her. In 1955 he moved to

Lenoir, North Carolina Lenoir is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,263 at the 2020 census. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To the north ...

after being hired by

Broyhill Furniture Broyhill may refer to: * Broyhill Furniture of Lenoir, North Carolina, United States **James Edgar Broyhill (1892–1988), founder of Broyhill Furniture **Jim Broyhill (1927–2023), American politician and U.S. Representative and Senator from the ...

as an assistant sales manager. He later became manager of the company's advertising division and head of its plastics division.

Political career

Since Broyhill Furniture's owner,

James Edgar Broyhill James Edgar "Ed" Broyhill (May 5, 1892 – July 1, 1988) was an American industrialist and the founder of Broyhill Furniture Industries, Inc. Early life Broyhill was born on a small farm in Boomer Township located in Wilkes County, North Caro ...

, was heavily involved in Republican politics, Flaherty decided to get involved in the state chapter. By 1960 he was involved in the North Carolina Young Republicans and campaigned for

Robert L. Gavin Robert Lee Gavin (May 22, 1916 – June 11, 1981) was an American attorney and politician. Early life and education Robert Gavin was born on May 22, 1916, in Roseboro, North Carolina, United States, to Edward Lee Gavin and Mary Caudle Gavin. ...

in the 1960 gubernatorial election. He was elected to the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

in 1968 and 1970, representing

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

and Caldwell Counties. As the body was under Democratic control and hostile to Republican proposals, he had little impact on state legislation. Flaherty supported

James Holshouser James Eubert Holshouser Jr. (October 8, 1934 – June 17, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 68th Governor of North Carolina from 1973 to 1977. He was the first Republican candidate to be elected as governor of the s ...

in the 1972 gubernatorial election. After Holshouser won, he appointed Flaherty Secretary of the Department of Human Resources (DHS) on January 5, 1973. He served until 1976 and restructured the department during his tenure. He ran as a candidate for governor in 1976. At this time the

North Carolina Republican Party The North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in North Carolina. Michael Whatley has been the chair since 2019. History Nineteenth century Although Republicans first nominated a candidate for President o ...

was divided between a moderate group led by Holshouser and a more conservative group led by U.S. Senator

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ...

. Flaherty expended significant resources to defeat conservative Coy Privette in the Republican primary election, and faced Democratic Lieutenant Governor

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the List of governors of North Carolina, 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governo ...

in the general election. Hunt largely ignored Flaherty and campaigned on his own issues, defeating him with 65 percent of the vote in the November election. Flaherty quickly conceded and congratulated Hunt on receiving the "mandate from the people he asked for". He chaired the North Carolina Republican Party before becoming chairman of the Employment Security Commission and then Secretary of DHS under Governor

James G. Martin James Grubbs Martin (born December 11, 1935) is an American organic chemist and politician who served as the List of Governors of North Carolina, 70th governor of North Carolina from 1985 to 1993. He was the third Republican elected to the of ...

Later life

Flaherty's wife died in 2019. He died on December 20, 2020, at his home in

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh–Cary, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 Census, its population was 174,721, making it the seventh largest muni ...

after several years of declining health.

References

Works cited

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flaherty, David 1928 births 2020 deaths State political party chairs of North Carolina North Carolina Republicans Politicians from Boston State cabinet secretaries of North Carolina