Martin Nesbitt (politician)

Martin Luther Nesbitt Jr. (September 25, 1946 – March 6, 2014) was a Democratic member of the North Carolina Senate. He represented the 49th district (Buncombe County). An attorney from Asheville, North Carolina, Nesbitt was elected to eleven terms in the state House before moving to the state senate in 2004.

Political career

Nesbitt was first appointed to the House in 1979 to fill out the remainder of the term of his mother, Mary Cordell Nesbitt, who held the House seat until her death. Groomed by one of North Carolina's most famous and influential politicians, Liston Ramsey, Nesbitt rose to become an appropriations chairman and top budget writer in the 1990s. Former Speaker of the House Jim Black (who was later incarcerated) found disfavor with Nesbitt after Nesbitt challenged his power in the early 2000s.

In February 2004, Martin Nesbitt was appointed to the North Carolina Senate by Governor Mike Easley to fill the vacant seat left by the resignation of Steve Metcalf. After moving to the Senate, Nesbitt rose to become chairman of the powerful Judiciary I Civil Committee.

Nesbitt was unanimously elected majority leader on November 17, 2009, replacing Tony Rand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prior to his election, he received an endorsement from Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, a powerful nod in North Carolina politics.<ref>News & Observer: Nesbitt gets Basnight nod Template:Webarchive</ref> After Democrats lost their Senate majority in the 2010 elections, Nesbitt was unanimously elected minority leader for the next legislature.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He stepped down as minority leader in 2014 for health reasons, and was succeeded by Sen. Daniel T. Blue Jr.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Within two days of resigning from the leadership, Nesbitt died.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="WRAL">Template:Cite news</ref>

Committees

Nesbitt was in several senate committees:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Appropriations/Base Budget
• Commerce
• Finance
• Judiciary I
• Mental Health & Youth Services
• Redistricting
• Rules and Operations of the Senate
• State and Local Government

Education and personal life

Nesbitt earned his bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970 and his law degree from UNC in 1973.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was married with two grown children and two grandchildren at the time of his death.

He died on March 6, 2014, one week after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was 67.<ref name="WRAL"/>

Legacy

Martin L. Nesbitt Discovery Academy, a STEM high school in Asheville, North Carolina, is named in his honor.<ref>"Buncombe schools to dedicate Nesbitt Discovery Academy," Asheville Citizen-Times, Sep. 20, 2014. Retrieved Feb. 16, 2024.</ref>

External links

• Official site

Template:S-start Template:S-par Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-par Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft |- Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-end