Julia Olson-Boseman is an American politician, who served as a Democratic member of the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, 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 Senate ...

. She represented the state's ninth Senate district, covering all of

New Hanover County New Hanover County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. The county seat is Wilmington. Though the second-smallest county in North Carolina by land area, it is one of the m ...

, from January 2005 to January 2011. She ran in 2010 for District Court Judge in New Hanover County and finished third in the race. In 2016, she ran again for New Hanover County Commission and finished in fourth place where the top three candidates serve.

Early life and career

She was born and raised in New Hanover County and attended the

University of North Carolina at Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrol ...

before going on to

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliati ...

in 1992 for a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree. She has been a practicing attorney since. The 2024 Spring Quarterly of the North Carolina State Bar reports she was disbarred.

Political career

Boseman was elected to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners in 2000. In 2004, she ran for the North Carolina Senate and beat Republican incumbent Sen. Woody White by a margin of only 885 votes, 50.55% to 49.45%. White had been appointed six months earlier to finish the term of Sen. Patrick Ballantine who had resigned from the senate in order to make an unsuccessful run for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. In her first Senate term (2005–06), Julia Boseman was ranked the 20th most effective senator (of 50), giving her the highest ranking for a first-term female senator and the second highest for a freshman. The ratings were published by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR), which has published biennial surveys ranking the effectiveness of legislators based on the opinions of lobbyists, reporters and legislators themselves since 1978. She was a candidate for re-election in 2006 and defeated her Republican opponent, Al Roseman, by a margin of 11,000 votes. Her 2008 re-election was closer, with Boseman taking 51.7% of the vote and winning by a margin of about 3,000. In the 2008 presidential primaries, Boseman was an active supporter of

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

. The North Carolina primary, coming late in the process, was unusually high-profile and Boseman travelled the state campaigning with Clinton and her husband, former President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. In January 2009, Bill Clinton returned the favor, hosting a fundraising reception for Boseman in Raleigh. Boseman announced in 2009 that she would not seek re-election to a fourth term in 2010. Her senate term ended in January 2011 and she was succeeded by Republican

Thom Goolsby Thomas Cowart Goolsby (born September 11, 1961) is a former Republican North Carolina State Senator representing New Hanover County. A graduate of The Citadel and regimental commander of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets, Goolsby served as a ...

. In 2016 Boseman ran again for New Hanover Commission and placed fifth in a race that saw the top three elected. Woody White, Patricia Kusek and Jonathan Barfield finished as the top vote winners. Derrick Hickey came in fourth followed by Julia Boseman and Nelson Beaulieu

Personal life

She is notable for her many achievements whilst serving her NCGA constituents and as the first

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

member of the North Carolina General Assembly.She is estranged from her wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boseman, Julia Living people Democratic Party North Carolina state senators American lesbian politicians LGBTQ state legislators in North Carolina University of North Carolina at Wilmington alumni North Carolina Central University alumni Women state legislators in North Carolina 21st-century American women politicians 1966 births County commissioners in North Carolina 21st-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly