North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture
The North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture is the head of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as well as chairman of the Board of Agriculture. As an executive officer elected statewide, the commissioner is also a member of the Council of State.
Commissioner of Agriculture of North Carolina | |
---|---|
Member of | Council of State |
Seat | Raleigh, North Carolina |
Term length | Four years |
Inaugural holder | Leonidas L. Polk |
Formation | 1877 |
Website | www |
Leonidas L. Polk was the first Commissioner when the office was established in 1877. At the time, the commissioner was appointed by the state Board of Agriculture. In 1900, the post was first elected by the people. Samuel L. Patterson of Caldwell County, North Carolina, the (appointed) incumbent, was elected.
The current commissioner, elected by the people of North Carolina in the 2004 election, is Steve Troxler. Troxler defeated the incumbent, Britt Cobb, who was appointed to the office by Governor Mike Easley after the resignation of Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps, the granddaughter of former Commissioner W. Kerr Scott.
The commissioner serves a four-year term, and there are no term limits.
List of Commissioners
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The following is a list of Commissioners of Agriculture and their terms of office:[1][2]
- Leonidas L. Polk, 1877–1880
- Montford McGehee, 1880–1887
- John Robinson, 1887–1895
- Samuel L. Patterson, 1895–1897
- James M. Mewborn (or Mewborne), 1897–1898
- John R. Smith, 1898–1899
- Samuel L. Patterson, 1899–1908 (Democratic)
- William A. Graham, 1908–1923 (Democratic)
- William A. Graham, Jr., 1923–1937 (Democratic)
- William Kerr Scott, 1937–1948 (Democratic)
- David S. Coltrane, 1948–1949 (Democratic)
- Lynton Y. Ballentine, 1949–1964 (Democratic)
- James Allen Graham, 1964–2000 (Democratic)
- Meg Scott Phipps, 2001–2003 (Democratic)
- Britt Cobb, 2003–2005 (Democratic)
- Steve Troxler, 2005–present (Republican)
References
- Connor, R.D.D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina (PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. p. 445. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- "The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina". 1874. p. 445. Retrieved April 9, 2019.