David Grier Martin III (born October 21, 1968) is an American politician and attorney. He served several terms as a Democratic 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 34th district. His district included the northern part of

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

in Wake County. He resigned in 2023 to serve as Acting

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs In the United States Department of Defense, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (ASD (M&RA)), formerly the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (ASD (RA)), serves as Principal Staff Assistant and adviso ...

. In 2024, Martin was appointed Secretary of the

North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs The North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) is a state agency designed to advocate for the relationship the state has with its military and veterans' installations and populations. It was created by the North Carolina Ge ...

by Governor Roy Cooper.

Early life and education

Born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, Martin is the son of D. G. Martin, a lawyer, political candidate, and college administrator. Martin's grandfather,

David Grier Martin David Grier Martin Sr. (November 11, 1910 – April 5, 1974) was the 13th president of Davidson College. A graduate of Davidson College, class of 1932, he served as college treasurer under President Cunningham. He was forty-eight years old when ...

, served as the 13th president of

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

. Martin graduated from

and the

University of North Carolina School of Law The University of North Carolina School of Law (branded as Carolina Law) is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law sch ...

, where he served as a Note Editor of the ''

North Carolina Law Review The ''North Carolina Law Review'' is a law review, law journal of the University of North Carolina School of Law. It publishes six issues each year as well as its online supplement, the ''North Carolina Law Review Forum'' (Bluebook abbreviation: ') ...

''.''The News & Observer''
/ref> He also has a

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in Military Law ( International and Operational Law concentration) from the Judge Advocate General's School.

Career

Military service

Martin is a lieutenant colonel in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

and served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

in 2002 and 2003. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army's

Airborne School The United States Army Airborne School—widely known as Jump School—conducts the basic paratrooper (military parachutist) training for the United States Armed Forces. It is operated by the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Infantry, United S ...

, Air Assault School, and the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course.

Politics

Martin was first elected to the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, after defeating incumbent Republican Don Munford. Martin defeated Republican J.H. Ross in the November

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

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 ...

elections, and Republican Steve Henion in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. He chose not to run for re-election in 2012 after

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

placed him in the same district with fellow Democratic Rep. Deborah Ross. But in 2013, Ross resigned from the legislature, and with her endorsement, local Democrats selected Martin to take her place for the remainder of the term. He was unopposed for a full term in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and was easily reelected in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. Martin serves as the House Democratic Conference Co-Chair. During his first tenure in the House, Martin at one point co-chaired the Transportation Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee and chaired the Homeland Security, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee. He received the

Disabled American Veterans The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created in 1920 by World War I veterans for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. It was issued a federal ch ...

of North Carolina "Legislator of the Year" award, the Pesticide Education Project (now Toxic Free NC) "Legislative Leadership" award, the National Guard Association of the United States'

Charles Dick Medal of Merit The Charles Dick Medal of Merit is awarded by the National Guard Association of the United States The National Guard Association of the United States was founded in 1878 as a congressional lobbying organization for National Guard issues. A mem ...

, the Brain Injury of North Carolina's "Our Hero Award," and was named a "Freshman of the Year" by the Conservation Council of North Carolina. In 2010, Martin was named "Defender of the Environment" by the League of Conservation Voters of NC. National and state Democrats recruited Martin to run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

against incumbent Republican

Elizabeth Dole Mary Elizabeth Alexander Dole (née Hanford; born July 29, 1936)Mary Ella Cathey Hanford, "Asbury and Hanford Families: Newly Discovered Genealogical Information" ''The Historical Trail'' 33 (1996), pp. 44–45, 49. is an American attorney, auth ...

in the 2008 election, but he declined in order to spend time with his family. In 2011, Martin was appointed by

Secretary of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

Leon Panetta Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is an American retired politician and government official who has served under several Democratic administrations as secretary of defense (2011–2013), director of the CIA (2009–2011), White House chi ...

to serve on the Reserve Forces Policy Board. Martin was named a 2014

Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but also has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, its original home. Its stated miss ...

Rodel Fellow. On June 2, 2022, Martin announced that he would be resigning his seat in the NC House to take a job at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

as Acting

. Martin had been planning to run for re-election in 2022, but his name will be replaced on the general election ballot by another candidate chosen by the Wake County Democratic Party. His last day would be July 8.

Personal life

Martin is married with one daughter.

References

External links

North Carolina General Assembly - Representative Grier Martin
official NC House website
Project Vote Smart - Representative Grier Martin (NC)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Grier Martin
200820062004
campaign contributions
Grier Martin
official campaign site
News & Observer profile
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Grier 1968 births Living people Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Davidson College alumni Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina Lawyers from Charlotte, North Carolina United States Army officers United States Army reservists The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School alumni State cabinet secretaries of North Carolina 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly